Favorite Phonostage under $15k?

Mike

Mike

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What are some of your favorite phonostages below $15k?



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fm acoustics!
had a full phono-pre-amp combo 3 years ago, shouldnt have sold it i guess.
it was theyr smallest units, thats why the phonostage fits the budget for once:)
 
:popcorn:

I am still loving my K&K Audio Maxxed Phono Amp - it was a $3K kit. Much better than the Cambridge Audio unit I started with.

Not saying I might not upgrade one day...
 
Modwright PH 150. For a tube phono, not very tubey. More dynamic, better extension, more resolving, and a touch more tonal weight than previous solid state phonos, mostly British, e.g. Linn, Exposure and Whest. Also more expensive.
 
gordon said:
Modwright PH 150. For a tube phono, not very tubey. More dynamic, better extension, more resolving, and a touch more tonal weight than previous solid state phonos, mostly British, e.g. Linn, Exposure and Whest. Also more expensive.
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Welcome!
 
gordon said:
Modwright PH 150. For a tube phono, not very tubey. More dynamic, better extension, more resolving, and a touch more tonal weight than previous solid state phonos, mostly British, e.g. Linn, Exposure and Whest. Also more expensive.
Click to expand...

Welcome!


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Merrill Audio Jens
VAN DEN HUL THE GRAIL SE MM/MC PHONOSTAGE

Not sure if it fits in this list

Octave phono module
 
The new(ish) Lampi’ s (if you’re into the tube thing). I have the MC2 Silver edition (~$15k) and it is awesome. It’s like a Pacific, but for vinyl. That’s the most expensive one - the others are all below 15k if I recall.


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I found a used Ypsilon VPS for that range, best I've ever heard. Pretty much bulletproof, all transformers, 4 super long life tubes and a cheap and long lasting easy to swap rectifier tube. It should last forever. Lamm Lp2 is even cheaper and with a great SUT came within range of the Ypsilon, just less of the WOW factor and goosebumps, chills, emotions. Under 3k Chinnook with Amperex 7308s, stellar sound.
 
I have the Pass XP-27. Very versatile, lots of flexibility, ultra quiet and sounds terrific.
 
JeffK said:
I found a used Ypsilon VPS for that range, best I've ever heard. Pretty much bulletproof, all transformers, 4 super long life tubes and a cheap and long lasting easy to swap rectifier tube. It should last forever. Lamm Lp2 is even cheaper and with a great SUT came within range of the Ypsilon, just less of the WOW factor and goosebumps, chills, emotions. Under 3k Chinnook with Amperex 7308s, stellar sound.
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Nice on the Ypsilon. I almost pulled the trigger on one a couple years back, but the Benz LPS I was running at the time had internal impedance, iirc, at 40 ohms. Getting a good SUT for that load was not going to be easy, so I backed off.

Later, after finding an Etsuro Gold cartridge, I sold my Einstein “the turntable’s choice” (excellent and would fit this thread at ~$10k) and chose a CS Port c3eqM2, which uses the same small C3g tube as the Ypsilon. There’s something special about the linearity of that little tube, and the CS Port phono (designed for low impedance MC cartridges, but with a pair of MM inputs) matches superbly with the Etsuro. The improvement of the cart and phono put my analog rig a large step ahead of my digital side. I’m hoping adding a Taiko Extreme boosts the performance of my dCS Rossini so I get back to some small degree of parity.
 
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