Roy Mottram's Tubes4Hifi PH16 phono preamp

Posted by dls123 (D) on September 19, 2015 at 18:50:06

Hi all,
OK, not quite sure how to post this. I restore a lot of tube gear as I am Jim McShane's authorized tech. Also, I have been building custom 6sn7 based lines stages base on Roy Mottram's sp14 board. They are very good. I will not claim they are the best thing in the world, but they are really good. So Roy was after me to finally build the ph16 phono preamp. I have a Citation I in the basement in that system for whenever I spin a record or two. Maybe a few nights a year. So I really don't need a phono preamp. Then we just had this thread a few days back about cheap phono preamps. I don't know if the ph16 would be cheap, but if you build it yourself it probably comes in under $700. So I built one and it is jaw droppingly good. I used premium parts in key places. If 2.5 mV sensitivity is enough for you then I really doubt you are going to find anything better for less than stupid money...like $1500-2000+ If you added a pair of SUT's then it would be fine with a low output MC. Probably stunning. I am not in business with Roy. We just know each other and I buy boards from him for preamps. Also, I have listed my ph16 for sale on the asylum trader because I don't use my vinyl system much and I can always build another one in 2 days whenever I want. So I am being up front. This is not a shill. If you can read a schematic and solder you can have a killer phono stage for $600-700. I have pretty good ears and listen to a lot of gear. This thing is for real. Dead quiet, black background, huge soundstage, adjustable cartridge loadings. It just sounds very alive. I would rate it as very good value. It totally outclasses my fully rebuilt and tweaked Citation I and one or two other more modestly priced phono preamps I have heard over the years. I know this is blasphemy on the vinyl asylum, but music leaps out of this thing like it does on my really good DAC. Turntable was my old TD125Mk2 with SME arm and V15 IV. So not state of the art turntable, but pretty good. I was pretty stunned by how good it is. Hopefully someone will try one against some expensive factory unit and post a review!

My 2 cents, and if I have crossed some boundary then please pull down the post. I am just sharing info. If you are into building a phono preamp you should probably look at this one. Cheers....

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Topic - Roy Mottram's Tubes4Hifi PH16 phono preamp - dls123 18:50:06 09/19/15 (7)

Roy Mottram's Tubes4Hifi PH16 phono preamp - Steelhead 18:02:33 09/21/15 (0)

RE: Roy Mottram's Tubes4Hifi PH16 phono preamp - WntrMute2 04:35:23 09/21/15 (1)

RE: Roy Mottram's Tubes4Hifi PH16 phono preamp - dls123 14:39:11 09/21/15 (0)

Thanks!! nt. - dee eye why 06:30:18 09/20/15 (3)

RE: Thanks!! nt. - dls123 10:03:21 09/20/15 (2)

RE: Thanks!! nt. - rosendds@frontiernet.net 17:20:45 09/20/15 (1)

RE: Thanks!! nt. - dls123 20:41:32 09/20/15 (0)

Roy Mottram's Tubes4Hifi PH16 phono preamp

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