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Model: | Cornet |
Category: | Phono Preamp |
Suggested Retail Price: | $95 - $595 - $695 |
Description: | Hagerman Cornet Phono Pre |
Manufacturer URL: | Hagerman Technology |
Model Picture: | View |
Review by amandarae (A) on August 27, 2006 at 14:28:12 IP Address: 71.104.47.88 | Add Your Review for the Cornet |
Being familiar with the signature sound of my Trumpet phono preamp or lack there of, I was intrigued by the reports of people who built the Cornet 2 preamp. The Cornet 2 is one of the mid-price phono preamp (Original Cornet is the other one) in the Hagerman Technology line of phono preamps. According to Mr. Hagerman, it is basically the same as the original Cornet in circuit topology but it deviates from the similarity in a way that several upgrade features for the original were already incorporated to the 2 as standard in the circuit layout namely CCS and stereo/mono switch as notables.I built my Cornet2 with the stock parts list of resistors but with the Auricap capacitor upgrades as listed in the “Modification” section of the manual. I opted for the black Hagerman chassis as well.
Building the Cornet 2 is easy if you have some electronics background. The manual is clear and concise of the steps that are necessary to be successful in completing the project. The PCB was labeled clearly and the instructions to populate the circuit board up to wiring the transformer were straight forward. In retrospect, I populated, soldered, wired, and completed my preamp (assuming all parts are already on hand) in a day and a half including soaking the PCB with alcohol for a few hours to clean unwanted solder fluxes on the board.
I run my stock-Auricap upgraded Cornet2 for three weeks and was very happy with the results. Compared to the Trumpet, it is not as good in the bass region and how the Trumpet presents a smooth non-fatiguing presentation. It also lacks the Trumpet’s wider soundstage. The Cornet 2 has a wide soundstage, do not get me wrong, but the Trumpet at the time of my comparison in my system clearly has the advantage. I bought identical sets of tubes for the Trumpet and Cornet (JJ 12AU7’s and Sovtek 12AX7LPS) during my comparison by the way. A Sovtek 5Y3GT was the rectifier tube used in the Cornet2.
On the fourth week, I change all the stock resistors in the signal path with Rikens. I run it for about a week and then listened for improvement. IMO, there was none whatsoever. I left the Rikens in place since I do not want to solder and de-solder again that might lead to weakening the circuit board traces.
From a month and a half and onwards, I tried Hovland, then the Jensen Aluminum PIO, then the Jensen Copper PIO, and lastly the Mundorf SIO in the output (C208) cap position replacing the Auricap. In the inter-stage (C203) position, I tried the Orange drop, the stock ceramic, and the Sonicap Platinum replacing, again, the Auricap.
I also replaced the Auricaps on C202 (RIAA) and C204 with Sonicap Gen II film capacitors.
My observations after rolling the capacitors are as follows. There was a big change in level of quietness (noise background) from using the Sonicap Platinum in the C203 position compared to the Auricap. The Orange Drop on the same position did not produce the same result. In the C208 position (output), the Hovlands sound much better than the Auricap and/or the two types of Jensens I tried. The Jensens were fine but seems to have a slight “chugging along” character. It does not give me the same impact in the bass region and brass instruments seems to be tamed a little bit. It has a sonic signature for sure but in my system, I did not like the outcome using these capacitors in the output. The Hovlands sound very nice on the C208 position. In my system, it has all the qualities that I was looking for. Despite of the accolades, the Hovlands are no match to the Mundorf SIO.
Tubes
I found Sovtek 12AXLPS and Amperex BB large ring getter works well in my set up with the Sovtek 5Y3GT as rectifiers. I also like the Mazda 5Y3GB/RFT in the rectifier position or the Bendix 6106 in the same position with Tungsram 12AX7 and RCA 5814.
I tried RCA, Telefunken, Mullard, Amperex, Matsushita, Raytheon, and GE in the 12AX7 positions, as well as RCA, GE, and Sylvania 5751’s. In the 12AU7 position, I tried Amperex Globe, Telefunken (smooth and ribbed plate), Raytheon, GE, RCA, EI, and JJ.Comparison To The Trumpet (Post Cap Upgrade)
With the right tubes, the Cornet 2 is very close to the sound of the Trumpet in my system from the midband up to the high band. The main difference is that the bass impact of the Trumpet in my set up is first rate. I can get the Cornet 2 closer to the bass quality of the Trumpet by using 5AR4 as rectifier but it looses the accuracy on the mid and the highs in return, meaning the bass seems to be prominent than the rest. At about 100 hours on the caps (Mundorf and Sonicap), the results are very convincing. It seems that each day, there were some minute improvements as the caps burned in. It could be that or from the tubes settling as well.
At present, I am leaving the (Sonicap/ Mundorf) configurations as is. I am content with the outcome of my investment and will greatly welcome additional improvements as the caps reach users reported burn in time. Even if the “burned in” settling of the caps were a myth, I will not lose sleep from the outcome of my project.
IMO, the Cornet 2 is a real bargain in terms of the price performance ratio. It is a tweakers dream as well since you can try many different combinations of caps and tubes without abandoning your mistress. The preamp is an ease to build and sounds wonderful. The first week of operation might surprise you but if you give it a couple of weeks, the sound that this preamp is capable of will begin to bloom and form its character. Afterwards, the improvement is astounding and will continue to do so for about a month. Rolling the caps provides immediate feedback. But it will be a mistake to judge its impact to the overall sound of the preamp if you run it only for about 24 hours.
The Cornet 2 is a DIY product that you can enjoy and learn at the same time building it. With the quality of the PCB and the solid design concept producing predictable result (great sound!), it is difficult to understand why people who are shopping for a phono preamp within its price range failed to consider it. With this type of quality available to DIY nowadays, there seems to be only one reason why the same people did not hear about this product; "They forgot to do their homework"?
System
Teres 255, OL Silver, Denon 103R, Benz Ace, Shelter 901
Hagerman Trumpet, Cornet 2, Supratek phono
Supratek Chenin Full Function Preamp
Linkwitz Orions
Tribute Step Up Transformer wired to 10X
Thanks for reading my report!
Cheers
Product Weakness: | DIY |
Product Strengths: | Great Sounding Tweakers Delight Preamp |
Associated Equipment for this Review: | |
Amplifier: | ATI 6012 |
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | Supratek Chenin |
Sources (CDP/Turntable): | Jolida JD100A |
Speakers: | Linkwitz Orion |
Cables/Interconnects: | SoundKing |
Music Used (Genre/Selections): | jazz etc. |
Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
Follow Ups:
Nice Review.How does the Cornet compare to the Chenin phono section. I know the Chenin has the gain to do low output mc's so I am interested in how it compares/contrasts to the Chenin.
No matter what the circuit topology is, IMHO, a 6922 base phono preamp sounds different than a 12AX/12AU's to my ears. Which one is better? I do not know.The Chenin has an outstanding phono section! The only drawback is that you only have a few choices of cartridge loading selections. You know that a loaded head amp to a phono preamp using parallel resistors on RCA plugs compared to an MM preamp with a loaded SUT sounds and behaves different right?
Thanks for reading my review.
this is definitly the plan. very nice amandarae.I noticed you tinned the tips of the Audiocap leads. Any problem getting them thru the holes in the PCB? I had to cut a lot of 'threads' away and twist them to get them on the Bugles PCB. Looks like the holes are bigger on the Cornet board.
Nice pictures - they are a help for other builders.
Do you have pictures of the wiring of the transformer?
You say the manual was very clear up to wiring the transformer. Could the manual have been clearer in that regard? I made a mess of wiring the Bugle so that is where I am coming from. With some help I got it right but all I would have needed at the time were clear pictures like those you posted.
Thanks again!
I noticed you tinned the tips of the Audiocap leads. Any problem getting them thru the holes in the PCB? I had to cut a lot of 'threads' away and twist them to get them on the Bugles PCB. Looks like the holes are bigger on the Cornet board.The leads on the Auricap looks tinned from desoldering. When I was installing them, I noticed the incompatibility of the wires and holes as well. What I did is I stripped the lead and leave a portion of the wire insulation. From there, I twist the insulation and in turn twist the wires making it smaller. It worked!
Do you have pictures of the wiring of the transformer?Not at the moment but I could take a picture for you if you want.
You say the manual was very clear up to wiring the transformer. Could the manual have been clearer in that regard? I made a mess of wiring the Bugle so that is where I am coming from. With some help I got it right but all I would have needed at the time were clear pictures like those you posted.The PCB has all the terminals for the transformer wiring marked. On the primary, there's a table to follow for choosing the input voltage you desire (i.e. 110, 120, 240V, etc.). On the secondary, you just follow the color scheme of the wires plugged into the corresponding mark terminals.
cheers
Thanks for the reply.Yeah, I would like a picture of the tranny wired up...you can send it via the "send email" function here, por favor.
I had to do the same thing with the caps on the Bugle ... I was hoping the the board on the Cornet ... I guess I will just have to do the same thign again. :-)
The information about the manual re the tranny wiring is good news.
Thanks again.
I built the Cornet (classic) very soon after it came out. I installed the CCS upgrade as well as upgraded caps (Auricaps) during the initial build. I have been quite happy with this unit, with no urge to upgrade.I am running Telefunken 12AX7s and Bugle Boy 12AU7. A few months I replaced the 5Y3 with a 5V4G. I remember this swap offered some improvement, besides looking very cool due to the ST form factor.
....and I will try it sometime. With a filament current draw (2 amp) same as that of the 5Y3, it should be good. Thanks for the tip!
I know, I know, my every instinct said so but not knowing how to get the box I gave up and went Rogue Stealth.Suspect this will match my valve amps better so I will probably end up with a set later thus great help your review to Trumpet.
He, he he.Nice review. So what is the final cost after all of these cap swapping? Enjoy and may I borrow the unit in not too distant future? I'll lend you the Cinemag SUT I made.
I have the Hovlands and the Jensens already before building the preamp. It cost me $150 for the other caps. Those Rikens cost me a wasted $70!BTW, when we were at your place, the preamp was 3 days old! Not the same unit anymore bro!
Cinemag huh? I'll pass since I will have my pair showing up tommorow. You want to borrow the preamp? What have you done for me lately?
Hi Amandaraenice review & pictures. do you care to comment on the differences
on the PSU between Trumpet & Cornet... do you think the bass quality
could be attributed to psu quality differences?
...the Trumpet has a choke regulated PS while the Cornet, although tube rectified as oppose to SS in the Trumpet, does not have a choke. Size-wise, the Trumpets iron are plenty. I have a hunch that the difference lies on the PS design but instead of modifying the Cornet's, I will try to get the bass response as close to the Trumpet with cartridge/SUT loading scheme and see the result.
that matches my experiments....
Great article.Please give us an update in a month or so when everything has burned in completely.
Thanks for reading my mini review.
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