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Hello,I'm relatively new to vinyl and have a Thorens TD-160B MKII with a Rega RB-250 arm and Benz Micro MC silver cartridge. I've been looking at the Gram Amp 2 SE, the Hagerman Cornet and the Wright Audio PH-2.
Any thoughts on these or other phono stages under $1,000?
Any feedback is most appreciated.
Follow Ups:
I have a classic Cornet, Lundhal step ups and a P5/RB250 (full mod) with Denon DL103R. Lovely sound and it beat an EAR 834 and the Gram amp 2SE in my system.
I've been lovin' mine for over two years! It's fully modded to Cornet2 status and beyond!. I think it's the best component in my system, especially since I built it and tweaked it. A real great learning experience.
-S
...And recommend it heartily. It is the best phono stage I have ever owned.The Juicy Music Tercel looks good too.
--
Al G
Born To Tinker!
Thanks for the recommendations! I have a lot of research and deliberation to do.
!
.
"If it sounds good it is good!"
..
About $850 new. A liquid but not too-tubey presentation.
Second the Wright gear. I have the WPL20 pre and it's phono section hits the mark for me. I like the off board power supply too. Keeps the noise away.
...this suggestion is best!Build a Bottlehead Seduction and if you need an additional MC boost put together a pair of CineMag trannies for an SUT.
Stock they're very good and they respond well to tweaks. You need to spend a lot to beat a Seduction.
Hi,I run a modified Thorens TD 150 MKIIAB through Don Garber's Fi Audio YPH phono stage. Yes, it took 4 months to get it but it sounds very nice. Highly recommended.
I'm using a Lehmann black cube SE that I'm very pleased with. Plenty of detail and it lets the music come through with no apparent coloration. Used runs around 500.
I'm using a Wright WP 100 right now, and it's a good preamp. But I have to change the 6ER5 tubes about every 8 months. The nice thing about trhem is that are are pretty cheap. Last week I took delivery of one of Fran VanAlstein's phono stages (his best one), and from what I can see the build quality is excellent. Mine is not the way they normally build them in that it has two pairs of inputs instead of one (for a twin armed turntable). Anyway you can pick the WP100's up for about $450 to $500, and you'll have to spend a lot more money to get something better. The AVA sells for about $899 (maybe a bit less), is tubed, and made in the USA.
gary
I have the WPP 100 also and it is very nice. I change the tubes about every year to 1 1/2 yrs. They are cheap and the preamp is worth it IMO. The tubes in the 200 were changed because of the finicky nature of the 6ER5's which were in the 100. He may get one for $500, but that is a little on the low end I believe. A new wright sells for $825 and has a 30 day $$$ back
Life has lots of trials and lots of music to help us through them.
What goes wrong with the 6ER5's that you have to replace them? Noise, rolled-off highs, outright failure or what? Also, have you contacted George Wright about it and could this indicate a problem elsewhere in the preamp?I have a WPL11 with 6ES5's that has worked fine for a couple of years. I may pick up some spares to see if the present ones are going downhill (the ES are even cheaper than the ER most places) but I have not noticed any problem.
The tubes tend to get noisy. This usually happens after about 1 1/2-2 yrs for me. According to Geo Wright, this is a problem with some of the 6ER5's but not all. But my track record shows a life span of 1 1/2-2 yrs. Interestingly, the WPP 200 uses a different tube. Even with the tube life problems of the 100, it is still a great phono preamp. I highly recommend it to all.
Life has lots of trials and lots of music to help us through them.
in my WPP 100 and have some backups. Can't yet comment on tube life, but these were cheap to buy, quiet, and I've had them in there for about 4 months now. I'm really enjoying it.
the longest lasting of the 6er5/6gk5 are a set of Hitachis I put in a couple of years ago. Still not a hint of noise and I like their mellow sound. I've got a matched set of Sylvania's in reserve.The shortest lived were the Zeniths that came with the unit. I went through a set of RCA 6er5's in about a year before they got noisy. Btw, all the other tubes in the unit, including a pair of 12ax7's and those that are on the power supply are still original for me.
for what ever that's worth.
user510's system
I'm using Sylvania 6ER5's now. There was a thread about tube rolling for the Wright a few yrs ago. The Sylvania's along with Gold Ei 12AU7's were supposed to be real nice. Problem is that the EI's were noisy. I traded them for JJ's I think. So far so good. They have been in for over a year now.
Life has lots of trials and lots of music to help us through them.
... in a CJ Premier 1inestage, I tried a bunch. The Hitachies were the best and the Mullards were the worst, at least for reliability.
nt
or another vendor that screens their tubes but perhaps I should have. I bought a dozen Hitachi 6gk5 tubes (very cheap) and threw 8 away because of excessive noise, leaving me with only 4 that worked. On the flip side perhaps I was lucky with the Mullards I got...but I'm only 4 months into their use.
I bought mine on Ebay, never had a noisy one. Either I got lucky or the CJ Prem 14 isn't susceptible. Hardly any of my Mullards lasted 4 months in the same unit; tended to flare brightly on start-up which I assume (maybe wrongly) shortened their life.
Hi Dave....a preference for sound?
-Steve
user510's system
It was the Hitachi all the way, despite its being much the cheapest 6GK5 I tried --including the US and Brit GEs, the Mullards under various names, and (I think) the Sylvanias. A real winner.
I haven't tried the 6GK5's. This is the only piece of tube gear (for now) so I am not familiar with what is permissible as far as cross matching. The 12AU7's have given me no problems at all. And given that the 6ER5's are generally about $5 apiece, it doesn't break the bank to replace them.
Life has lots of trials and lots of music to help us through them.
Agreed. I still have the original RCA 6er5 and 12au7 tubes that came with mine (I bought it used on a'gon, with the Wright SUT) and they still sound good to me. After spending a few hours scouring the archives I found some recommendations that I thought I'd try. I'm holding one NOS set in reserve, along with the originals and the others I tried, so I should be fixed for a while!
...the Rogue Stealth. Do youself a favor and ignore that recommendation. On the used market the Benz Lukaschek is nice (especially with your cart), the Acoustec stuff is also pretty good.
I have one myself but am open to improve and I was considering a Hagerman cornet, Using Benz L2 and Shelter 501 II carts on Aphason Xenon and Thorens 125 II. Amps and speakers little known but I think outclass the cartridges.
But to me the Stealth really lacked bass. It just wasn't where it should be, not up against the $200 Rotel, the Rega Fono, the Benz Lukascheck PP-1, the Linn Linto, the Ayre P-5xe, or the Joule Electra OPS-2. I've had all these in my system for at least a week, and the Stealth was way bass shy.I also thought the Rogue lacked resolution in a pretend tube way that real tubes don't--although it occasionally sounded very nice with a particular piece of music, I always was aware that something was missing.
Sorry if this sounds defensive or self serving, but my experience with the Rogue Stealth varies drastically from yours. My carts are a Scheu-Benz LO (modified Glider) and a ZYX R20h. I tried the Benz-Lukaschek PP-1 expecting synergy with the Benz cart but was disappointed at its performance with both cartridges and preferred the Stealth by a substantial margin. The Lukaschek looks great in the box, but the shape and location of the input jacks made it inconvenient to deal with in my setup. It is notable that the Stealth and the B-L sell for about the same on the used market (~$600), but the retail price for the B-L is several hundred more suggesting that the Stealth is a better value. I also have tried the Dynavector P75, Lehmann Black Cube SE, and PS Audio GCPH but preferred the Stealth over all. I do not find it to be at all bass-shy or lacking in resolution as you suggest. Maybe if I were comparing it to the Joule or Ayre, costing thousands more, I might change my mind but even though it is no longer "flavor of the month" here on the VA, the Rogue Stealth still is a serious contender in the <$1000 range.
. . . in theory, practice and theory are the same; in practice, they are different . . .
a Cinemag SUT.
Henry
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