Thinking to replace my phono

exupgh12

exupgh12

Active member
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
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Location
Israel
Hi All,

I was wondering, what are the benefits I can get by replacing the phono stage with a more expensive one, say - 8K$-11K$?
My current analog setup made from Brinkmann Bardo turntable & 10.5 arm, Miyajima-Laboratory Kansui cartridge, Zesto Andros PS phono. The above setup connects to Luxman C\M900u pre+amp and Magico S3mk2 speakers.

Any thought or knowledge is welcome.
Thanks
 
Really tough call, as I’ve found there are a lot of phono stages available, at prices that can become stratospheric. Very difficult to audition as the whole analog front end is such a “system” of cart, cable, phono stage, and cable again. Lots of sideways moves that will bring a slight improvement in one area to sacrifice something in another. The used market is great for phono stages as its about the only way to hear pieces in your rig.

I was headed down the road of getting an Ypsilon, but turned out the step-up transformers wouldn’t mate well with my cartridge, so abandoned the new phono stage hunt and have chosen to get a new cartridge instead.
 
Sage advise above from Bob V. IMO.........

IMO when people start 'throwing' $$ at their systems it's very much a ego / audio forum thing ..........
 
Bobvin ​
thanks for the replay, i love my cartrige, so replacing is not an option at the moment.
i'll check some other phonos like PASS, Brinkmann and mybe Moon to see if the diffarence worth the money.
 
You seem to have a pretty well balanced high-end system, so the only way you're going to get useful information here is to audition phono stages in your own home (dealer loaners, or buy/sell on audiogon). Also consider trying some of the more exotic outboard SUTs to see if you can find a better match for your cartridge (run the Zesto in MM mode), though the ones in the Zesto should already be pretty good. And of course with a tube phono you can always try rolling some super NOS 12ax7 tubes - it can make a difference!

In your price range I have the VAC Renaissance phono stage and love it (I do use an outboard SUT though - its built in Lundahls aren't my favorite)! But I haven't heard the Andros to compare.
 
exupgh12 said:
Bobvin ​
thanks for the replay, i love my cartrige, so replacing is not an option at the moment.
i'll check some other phonos like PASS, Brinkmann and mybe Moon to see if the diffarence worth the money.
Click to expand...

I wasn’t suggesting you take the same path as myself wrt cartridge, thats just where I chose to go as my phono stage, upon a bit of comparison, is actually very good. At the reference level it sometimes is a matter of degrees and finesse/nuance. I’m likely to get more upgrading my cart as my Benz LPS is very good but not compared to some of the latest offerings from Otofon (Anna Diamond), Etsuro, or VdH to name a few. I’m jonesing for the Etsuro Gold.

There’s room for improvement with your phono, I was suggesting the used market for bang-for-buck, and ability to audition as until you have it in your own system you’re just guessing anyway.
 
Bobvin ​
i truly love your advice turning to second hand market, the issue is to wait for the right component....guess i'll have to be patient.


Many Thanks
 
mulveling said:
You seem to have a pretty well balanced high-end system, so the only way you're going to get useful information here is to audition phono stages in your own home (dealer loaners, or buy/sell on audiogon). Also consider trying some of the more exotic outboard SUTs to see if you can find a better match for your cartridge (run the Zesto in MM mode), though the ones in the Zesto should already be pretty good. And of course with a tube phono you can always try rolling some super NOS 12ax7 tubes - it can make a difference!

In your price range I have the VAC Renaissance phono stage and love it (I do use an outboard SUT though - its built in Lundahls aren't my favorite)! But I haven't heard the Andros to compare.
Click to expand...

Any suggestion for favorit NOS tubes?
Thank you.
 
You will be slightly exceeding your top end of budget, but you mentioned Brinkmann, and I would start that there with their Roont power supply.

IMO the Brinkmann combo is tough to beat.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
UltraFast69 said:
You will be slightly exceeding your top end of budget, but you mentioned Brinkmann, and I would start that there with their Roont power supply.

IMO the Brinkmann combo is tough to beat.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...

This was my first instinct, i will try to audtion the Edison in my system and see how it preforms.
Thanks for replying
 
exupgh12 said:
Hi All,

I was wondering, what are the benefits I can get by replacing the phono stage with a more expensive one, say - 8K$-11K$?
My current analog setup made from Brinkmann Bardo turntable & 10.5 arm, Miyajima-Laboratory Kansui cartridge, Zesto Andros PS phono. The above setup connects to Luxman C\M900u pre+amp and Magico S3mk2 speakers.

Any thought or knowledge is welcome.
Thanks
Click to expand...


My top contenders would be in no particular order

Merrill Jens Phono Stage
Van den Hul the Grail SB
Pass Labs XP-27
 
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