Vinyl Asylum: Hagerman Piccolo head amp - First impressions (pics) by HenryH

Just got this in today and do not want to get real critical until I've had more time with it. Associated equipment includes a VPI Scout TT, JMW-9 arm, Dynavector 20XL cartridge with about 150 hours on it, Hagerman Cornet II phono preamp, Hagerman Clarinet line stage, Parasound HCA-1201A monoblocks, Kimber 8TC speaker cables and Maggie 1.6 speakers.
I purchased this because of a persistent hum issue with my CineMag SUT. My Denon AU-300CL is dead quiet, but lacks the loading options I need with the Dyna cart. Setup is 20dB gain (The Cornet II offers 44dB gain) and a 47-Ohm load.
On first firing things up, no hum!!! Reports of hiss issues were not revealed in my setup. With the gain set for 26dB, the highest setting, only a faint hiss is audible with no input signal and even then not at the listening chair. At 20dB, the setting I use for the Dyna, none at all, just a quiet "blackness." I'm only grounding to the Piccolo. Jim Hagerman said grounding either to the Piccolo or the Cornet should work.
Now, how does it sound? Just fine thank you. The bass was the first difference from the CineMag that I noticed. The opening bass track on the Eagles "One of These Nights" was stonger, more full bodied and resonant than with the SUT in line. Highs were clear and detailed without sounding analytical or sterile. And the critical mids impeccable as well.
As I said I'm making no definitive judgements yet, but this looks promising.

Henry

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