Phono Preamps/Moving-Coil Step-up Devices:
A+:
CH Precision P1 Phono Stage: from $31,000. As reviewed, $48,500 ★
Built with a sleek aluminum-alloy case with no screws visible on any of its surfaces, the Swiss-made CH Precision P1 is no less sophisticated inside. This solid state phono preamplifier offers multiple inputs, two of which address current-amplification circuits—an approach that, according to MF, produces “the best signal/noise ratios” and does not require cartridge loading to achieve flat response. For use with its voltage-amplification inputs, the P1 offers a menu-driven “wizard” that analyzes the entire record-playing system and calculates and applies the optimal load. Beyond that, as MF points out, the user can manually test the P1’s entire loading range of 20 ohms to 100k ohms, selectable in 500 steps: “load fetishists, knock yourselves out!” Used with its optional X1 outboard power supply ($17,000), the P1 provided Mikey with tonal neutrality and an ultralow noisefloor: “Some products have me up all night, pulling out record after record; some don’t. The P1 did, and gave me an exciting and fully pleasurable sonic ride every time.” In the June 2017 Stereophile, MF refocused his attention on the X1 power supply, observing that, “with the X1 off, the P1’s image solidity and pile-driver–like rhythmic certainty … were somewhat diminished”—and noted that he’d purchased the CH Precision combo for his own enjoyment. In August 2018, MF wrote about his experiences with a double P1/X1 combo—something that seems to have been done by more than one hobbyist of immodest means. Thus connected, these four high-tech boxes know what has happened and behave accordingly—but while “the four-box version was even more dynamic” and possessed of “a more relaxed and supple midrange,” Mikey could not countenance a $96,000 phono preamp. In his July 2023 report, MT discussed his auditioning of the two-box P1/X1 combo, especially using its current-mode input. While noting that the P1 is supremely quiet with both current- and voltage-mode inputs, he wrote that the P1’s characteristic quality “was its uncanny ability to unravel densely packed music and present it with utter clarity.” It offers “resolution and transparency that belies its apparent complexity,” he concluded, though he warned that “it doesn’t offer a rose-tinted view of your record collection.” (Vol.40 Nos.4 & 6, Vol.41 No.8, Vol.46 No.7 WWW) Channel D Lino C 3.3: $3799, basic model; $7082 as reviewed
This battery-powered, direct-coupled, wide-bandwidth, balanced, transimpedance phono preamplifier keeps the basic circuitry of the Lino 2.0 that was reviewed in Vol.42 No.6 but adds a high/low cartridge impedance damping switch that allows the use of cartridges with internal impedances up to 40 ohms even in current mode, as well as an impedance reduction by a factor of 3 of the RIAA network’s passive section. The “fully loaded” review sample was fitted with ultrahigh-precision RIAA certification, front-panel LED indicators, and a remote control. It also had the optional balanced or unbalanced moving magnet input and an optional voltage-based moving coil input, both with variable gain. As with the 2.0, if your tonearm cable isn't terminated with XLRs, you'll need RCA-to-XLR adaptersand pin 1 must not be internally connected to either pin 2 or 3. MF loved the sound of the Lino C 3.3, writing that it offered “ultratransparency; jet-black backgrounds; deep, tightly gripped, powerful bass; airy, fully extended highs free of etch, grain, or hardness.” He found the soundstage expansive with solid, 3D imaging and the sound was fast, responsive, effortless. “Macro- and microdynamics were impressive, producing forceful macro slam and subtle micro shifts when on the record,” he noted. JA was equally impressed with the 3.3’s measured performance, finding that it featured astonishingly accurate RIAA correction, extremely low noise, high overload margins, and vanishingly low distortion. “Channel D’s Lino C 3.3 is the best-measuring phono preamplifier I have encountered,” he concluded, adding “Wow!” (Vol.45 Nos.6 & 7 WWW) Manley Steelhead RC Special Edition Mk II: $10,899
The RC Special Edition Mk II is the result of a collaboration between Manley and Los Angelesarea audio retailer, tube dealer, and importer Upscale Audio. It differs from the original Steelhead, reviewed by PB and MF in 2001 and 2003, by offering different loading settings for the autoformer that also serves as the MC step-up, and two cryogenically treated 6922 tubes. The review sample substituted Tungsram PCC88s. (The other tubes are four American-made military-spec 7044 dual triodes.) It still has two inputs for MC cartridges, one input for MM cartridges, a volume control, a remote control, a tape loop, an outboard power supply, and buttons for muting, lowering the volume by 20dB, activating a line-level input, summing the channels for mono playback, and entering standby mode. Listening at length to a John Prine LP, AH wrote: “The Manley rendered the band in holographic high relief; Mike Leech’s electric bass sounded more thunderous and better defined than I’d heard it. Every wisp of reverb around Bobby Emmons’s organ became obvious. The tone colors of the band bloomed like wildflowers in an Appalachian meadow. But what captivated me most was how relentlessly the Manley zeroed in on the flow and emotional meaning of Prine’s songs.” He decided that the Manley phono stage “sounded more detailed, refined, and coherent than most of the step-up transformers I’ve heard, and more colorful, textured, and vivid than most of the solid state preamps.” (Vol.46 No.1 WWW)
Mola Mola Lupe: $10,600
This versatile solid state preamp has three pairs of inputs using single-ended RCA jacks and one with balanced XLRs, each with its own grounding post. There are single-ended and balanced outputs, which may be selected individually or together, and two entirely separate phono sections for MC and MM cartridges. Four front-panel buttons allow users to set each input, adjusting gain, input impedance, polarity, subsonic filter, stereo/mono, and equalization. For the last, the Lupe offers 72 permutations of its three basic EQ variables: bass turnover, rolloff, and low shelf. A downloadable app, Mola Mola Control, available for both iOS and Android, talks directly to the Lupe over Bluetooth, and provides access to all the preamp’s many adjustments. MT was concerned that all these bells and whistles might distract people from the Lupe’s main plus point: its extraordinary performance and its ability to breathe fresh life into pretty much every record he played through it. “This is not a warm, fuzzy-sounding phono stage,” he wrote, “but it is exceptional in its ability to take all the information a cartridge throws at it and sort it into a sound that’s coherent and detailed, and it never sounds bright or hard.” (Vol.47 No.3 WWW) Pass Labs XP-27: $13,282.50 in silver, $14,032.50 in black
The versatile, two-chassis XP-27 offers two single-ended inputs, both of which can be used with moving magnet or moving coil cartridges. Rotary controls on the front panel allow gain, input impedance, and input capacitance to be optimized (though the capacitance range is optimized for MM cartridges). There are balanced and single-ended outputs; the gain from the former was close to the nominal values; that from the latter was, as expected, 6dB lower. There is also a Mute button on the front panel, as well as a switchable rumble filter. JCA used three low-output moving coils to audition the XP-27: an Ortofon Windfeld Ti (0.3mV nominal output); an Ortofon Verismo (0.2mV); and a Lyra Etna Λ Lambda (0.56mV). With all three cartridges, with the XP-27's highest gain setting and the volume on his preamp set 20dB higher than his usual listening level, JCA heard no noise even with his ears against the speakers. “This is a quiet phono preamp,” he wrote, which was confirmed on the test bench. “It is mostly literal, but there may be a hint of added warmth,” JCA commented, adding that bass was deep and solid but not exaggerated. Overall, “the Pass Laboratories XP-27 is a high-achieving component both technically and musically.” As well as the very low noise, JA noted the superbly accurate RIAA correction, subjectively innocuous harmonic distortion, and an output stage that handles low impedances with aplomb. The only aspect of the XP-27’s measured performance that raised his eyebrows was the limited overload margin at the top of the audioband at the lowest gain setting. (Vol.47 No.9 WWW) Sutherland Dos Locos: $9800/pair
The latest and most ambitious in Sutherland’s phono preamps, the Dos Locos is a transimpedance design. The cartridge is connected across a short circuit, with the resultant input signal current converted to an output voltage. Because the load is effectively zero ohms, there are no loading options. Twin RCA inputs allow two phono cartridges to be connected simultaneously, but only one can be played at a time. Sutherland says that the Dos Locos is compatible with cartridges having a source impedance below 20 ohms, which rules out Benz Micro’s range and the Denon DL-103. Inside the chassis is a three-position jumper to adjust the output gain in approximate 6dB steps. MT used the middle gain position with a Lyra Atlas λ Lambda (4.2 ohms) and a Dynavector DRT XV-1s (6 ohms). He concluded that “paired with the right cartridge, the Dos Locos is an extraordinary performer. Its tone has the purity of fresh snow, and it manages to sound highly resolved yet, at the same time, unstressed and relaxed.” Listening to a track from Big Thief’s 2023 LP Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You with My Sonic Lab and SPU cartridges, AH found that the Dos Locos rendered Lenker’s singing and Buck Meek’s electric guitar with so much life force that he sat up on the couch and stared at the space between the speakers. “What I heard was a huge dynamic envelope and unexpectedly vivid tone colors,” he wrote, concluding that the Dos Locos is an astoundingly musical piece of gear, capable of providing hours of fun, engagement, and insight. “Better yet, it offers the dedicated mono listener a great-sounding, no-hassle solution that also cuts the price in half.” (Vol.47 No.9, Vol.48 No.1 WWW)
Westminster Lab Monologue: $13,900 with one card; additional cards cost $5200
The review sample of this Hong Kong–manufactured phono preamp was fitted with a credit card–sized module optimized for use with DS Audio’s optical cartridges. (Other modules are available, but only one can be fitted at a time.) A pair of internal DIP switches on the optical board tailor the low-frequency rolloff. MT left this filter bypassed and auditioned the Monologue with a DS Audio W3 (see Phono Cartridges). Playing a familiar LP of Vivaldi Lute Concertos, he noted that “the overall tonal signature is neutral; it was the Monologue’s ability to flesh out the body and delicate richness of the lute that most captured my attention. This harmonic resolution is what allows you to hear subtle details: the difference between one maker’s instrument and another’s, or the difference in touch and the resulting tone between two musicians.” The Monologue’s optical card was doing a superb job of drawing out the strengths of DS Audio’s very special cartridges, he decided. (Vol.48 No.9 WWW) A: Austin Audio Works Black Swan: $1649
Designed by veteran engineer Barry ThorntonSAE, Parasound, Adcom, and Hegeman (and Jethro Tull!)the Black Swan has front-panel switches for gain, and resistive and capacitive loading, with different ranges of both offered for moving magnet and moving coil cartridges. There are two MM and one MC inputs and balanced and single-ended outputs. Using an Audio Note IQ3 moving magnet cartridge loaded at 50k ohms and 68pF, MT was impressed by how the Black Swan made it possible to hear through the recording to the music. With a Lyra Delos moving coil loaded at 150 ohms, he heard an improved level of transparency and overall detail but the same clear, relaxed sound. “The Black Swan makes it very easy to listen to records for hour after hour without becoming fatigued,” MT wrote; he concluded that “the Black Swan can be optimized for just about any setup while delivering a musical performance that is easy and rewarding to listen to.” (Vol.47 No.8 WWW) Belleson Brilliance: $8500
This versatile phono preamp offers balanced and single-ended inputs and outputs. Unusually, it has no controls other than a power button and a recessed button on the rear panel to select between balanced and unbalanced modes. Instead, its built-in Wi-Fi transceiver allows its input, MM or MC mode, loading options, and gain to be selected with an Android tablet included in the price. (The tablet can communicate directly with the preamp, or the preamp can also be connected to the user’s Wi-Fi network and be controlled by a Web browser.) Gain options are 30, 36, 44, or 50dB for MM cartridges; 50, 56, 64, or 70dB for MCs. Resistive loading options are 20, 65, 110, 260, 350, 400, and 47k ohms. Input capacitance can be adjusted from 0pF to 750pF in 50pF steps. TF found that his Hana SL MK II low-output MC cartridge sounded best loaded with 260 ohms. He also tried MM cartridges from Shure, Ortofon, and LP Gear, as well as a high-output MC from Denon. The Brilliance is quiet: TF noted that there was no hiss using MM cartridges with 44dB gain and volume set at a comfortable, high listening level. With the Hana MC cartridge at 64dB gain, he heard a faint hiss at the listening seat, not enough to interfere with music listening and way below the surface noise of LPs. Even when he cranked the system volume to the max, he heard no hum with either input. “Impressive!” He felt that the Brilliance was fundamentally neutral: “Because it imposes so little of its own character on music, it allowed the character of each cartridge to shine through.” He summed up his auditioning by writing that the Belleson Brilliance is a “modern, wireless-connected device that gives just about any cartridge a chance to sound great. Its mission seems in service of the cartridge: enable its best sound and then give it life through clean gain and accurate RIAA de-emphasis.” On JA’s test bench, the Brilliance did offer impressive RIAA equalization, with superb channel matching and excellent channel separation. Noise and distortion were both very low in level. (Vol.48 No.9 WWW)
Channel D Seta Model L: $5899 ★
Designed to take full advantage of the Pure Vinyl app's digital RIAA correction, the beautifully built Seta Model L includes balanced and single-ended inputs, balanced unequalized outputs, variable gain, and a built-in, rechargeable battery power supply. Recordings made using the Seta Model L’s optional RIAA-equalized outputs were “models of clarity, definition, tonal accuracy, detail resolution, and spatial coherence,” wrote MF. “There is no doubt that the Seta Model L has been superbly engineered,” praised JA. Compared to the Liberty B2B-1, the Seta Model L lacked some midbass energy but did a better job of preserving recorded ambience, said JA, who also admired the Channel D’s superb measured performance. He subsequently purchased the review sample. An optional internal RIAA compensation module adds $1199. (Vol.33 No.8, Vol.36 No.12, Vol.43 No.11 WWW) Consolidated Audio “Monster Can” step-up transformer: 3110 with copper wire; 3950 with silver
Berlin-based Consolidated Audio offers choices of core material (nanocrystalline or mu metal, which the manufacturer calls Hi-Nickel); primary inductance (high, medium, low, or extra-low, the choice of which depends on your cartridge’s internal impedance); turns ratio (1:10, 1:15, and 1:20 are standard, though others are available); and wire (copper or silver). As well as single-ended inputs and outputs, a third pair of RCA jacks allows for resistive loading options. (Optional balanced XLR jacks add 1300 to the price.) The review samples both had low primary inductance, a 1:20 turns ratio (which presents the cartridges with a load of 118 ohms), and used Cardas copper wire (a 200 premium over regular copper); one sample had a nanocrystalline core, the other Hi-Nickel. Using an Ortofon SPU Royal N cartridge, AH found that the Hi-Nickel Monster Can lacked the nanocrystalline-core unit’s beguiling liquidity and its intricately illuminated textures, but something about it kept him listening and engrossed. It placed slightly less emphasis on the high frequencies, he noted. Overall, AH was impressed by the sensational way the Monster Can handled scale and was struck by its liquidity; “maybe effortlessness is a more precise description,” he wrote, and concluded that the Monster Can “generalizes less than any SUT I’ve heard, retrieving scads of information that it presents, unlike certain digital components, in a natural and unfatiguing way, never truncating the notes’ decay.” (Vol.48 No.3 WWW) DS Audio DS-W3: $10,000
See Phono Cartridges. (Vol.47 No.4 WWW) EM/IA 103 SUT: $1500
This copper-wired, nickel-cored step-up transformer is designed specifically for use with Denon’s DL-103 MC and has a hard-wired cable leadout. The review sample was supplied with a denuded DL-103 anchored with epoxy to a brass plate with threaded holes and a 3D-printed apron ($300), and a black wood headshell ($100). Compared to pricy moving coils, the chief limits HR noticed with the denuded Denon were subtler than he expected: “less microdetail, more generalized spatial mapping. The DL-103 was never challenged on tone or tunefulness. It can sing and dance with the best.” With the Denon-EM/IA combo feeding a Schiit Stjarna, HR experienced high-clarity, F2-Dragster–type sonics: “The traction was there. The revs were up. And the 103’s spherical diamond was drifting through some really tight corners.” He concluded that the denuded 103 with the EM/IA SUT “conveys maximum human sentiment with the least mechanical distraction.” (Vol.48 No.9 WWW)
EM/IA Phono step-up transformer, with copper transformer wire: $3375
with silver wire: $6000
Dave Slagle, whose radically rebuilt Quad ESL loudspeakers have astounded more than a few listeners, winds his own step-up transformers and sells them under the brand name EM/IA—a collaborative design and manufacturing effort with Jeffrey Jackson, who specializes in tube amplification and horn loudspeakers. The EM/IA Phono transformer, which is housed in a steel box with solid walnut top and bottom plates, is unpotted and has a fairly large core with 80% nickel content. In addition to one pair each of RCA input and output jacks—multiple primary coils aren’t available—the EM/IA Phono has a third pair of jacks, wired in parallel with the primary and intended for use with resistive plugs (supplied), for cartridges that might need such things. The EM/IA is available with copper or silver windings; AD spent some quality time with a copper-wire version wound with a 15:1 ratio and his EMT TSD 15 and Denon DL-103 cartridges. He described the EM/IA as offering “an immense sense of drive” with his EMT as well as “texture and tone in spades. In buckets. In tanker holds.” All in all, AD found the EM/IA to sound “clean, clear, rich, detailed, and, above all, musically exciting—all for approximately half the price of the deservedly well-regarded Hommage T2,” the latter transformer being his longtime reference. HR found that the EM/IA sounded delicious and played “butter-smooth” with his Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum. Although AH was not a fan of silver conductors, he found that the silver-wired EM/IA sounded nothing like the silver wire he remembered. It provided “an addictively smooth, highly resolving facsimile of my music. While it wasn’t quite as punchy as the Auditorium 23, it produced a little more detail and a lot more space as well as deeper, more precise bass.” (Vol.40 No.8, Vol.44 No.11, Vol.45 No.11 WWW) EMM Labs DS-EQ1: $12,500
The DS-EQ1 was designed by Ed Meitner for use with DS Audio’s optical phono cartridges. Comparing it with DS Audio’s own DS-W3 equalizersee Phono CartridgesMT heard an uncanny sense of layering and depth. The DS-W3’s tonal balance was slightly richer and darker, with a tad more punch behind drums. The differences between the EMM and DS Audio equalizers are more in their different flavors than in overall performance, MT wrote; it was the EMM’s ability to deliver sonic images with palpable depth and height that he found the most striking. (Vol.47 No.5 WWW) EMT 128: $11,995
The front panel of this slim, well-finished preamp features four toggle switches, one each for Off/On, Mono/Stereo, DIN 78/RIAA EQ, and Mute/Sound. The rear panel features one pair each of single-ended (RCA) inputs and balanced (XLR) outputs, and the circuit uses NOS 5784WB tubes. Lundahl transformers are used for both inputs and outputs. Using EMT’s high-output JSD Novel Titan MC cartridge and the low-output Miyajima Labs Madake Snakewood MC cartridge, MF wrote that the 128 “produced that magic ether that only the best tube-based phono preamps produce, and it resolved and unraveled small details in the upper frequencies of many familiar recordings. Ether, yes, but without lower-midband timbral bloat or thickness, without midrange excess but with mesmerizing transparency and delicacy.” On the test bench, the EMT 128 offered superbly flat RIAA correction from 30Hz to 10kHz, primarily second-harmonic distortion, very good channel separation, and low noise. However, the overload margins were on the low side, which means it will work best set to its lower gain and with low-output MC cartridges like Ortofon’s Verismo rather than the high-output Novel Titan; low overhead margins lower rating from A+ to A. (Vol.45 No.5 WWW)
Lejonklou Entity: $2795
This utilitarian-looking, solid state MC-only design from Sweden uses transistors, wire, soldereven the washers used in the component’s caseworkthat have all been obsessively selected by designer Fredrik Lejonklou after hundreds of comparative listening tests. Out of the box, the Entity sounded bleached, felt AH, but after about 50 hours of use, the preamp “began to sing with its authentic voice,” sounding neutral, extended, transparent, fast, and resolving. AH found that the Entity was at its best with unbalanced Linn Silver interconnects ($452/1.2m pair), when it sounded more refined, dimensional, controlled, and tonally richer. In the test lab, the Lejonklou’s RIAA correction featured a very slight plateau in the midrange, coupled with excellent channel separation, low noise, and very low distortion. Overload margins were very good in the bass and midrange but less so at the top of the audioband, meaning that the Entity will be best used with low-output moving coil cartridges. (Vol.45 No.7 WWW) Manley Labs Oasis: $3999
The Oasis replaces Manley’s well-regarded Chinook. The gain and RIAA circuitry, based on FETs and 6922 dual triodes, remain largely unchanged but there is now a switch-mode power supply designed by Bruno Putzeys. DIP switches set the phono stage’s capacitive loading (8 settings from 0 to 350pF), resistive loading (32 settings from 26 ohms to 47k ohms), and gain (4 settings from 45 to 65dB). AH found that the Oasis sounded more even-handed, polished, and sonically neutral than the Chinook, though sometimes he missed the Chinook’s more “colored” approach, which struck him as slightly more embodied and emotive. Overall, he concluded “the Manley Oasis pulls off the rather difficult trick of combining terrific performance and a beautifully judged tonal balance with compulsive listenability and class-leading versatility, all at person-with-a-job price. Enthusiastically recommended.” (Vol.48 No.1 WWW) Mobile Fidelity Electronics MasterPhono: $5999
The solid state MasterPhono’s front panel is dominated by a pair of VU meters, flanked by two knobs. One knob selects Gain: 40dB, 50dB, 60dB, or 70dB. The second knob chooses one of 10 MC cartridge loads: 15, 30, 50, 75, 100, 500, 1k, 10k, 47k ohm, or “OPT,” which allows the use of custom load values made via resistor-equipped RCA plug-ins. There is also a high-pass/subsonic filter button, a mono button, a knob for dimming the meter display, and a remote control. Hold the Meter button down for a few seconds, and MasterPhono offers two test modes that allow the meters to be calibrated and the cartridge’s azimuth setting to be optimized for maximum channel separation. There are three pairs of inputs: regular single-ended RCA; balanced XLR; and a current-drive input that gives users a choice of either single-ended or balanced connection. Like the tubed PrimaLuna EVO 100, HR found that it took three full days for the MasterPhono to lose the gray flatness it showed out of the box. It then never sounded “transistory” (hard, shallow, gray), instead walking a narrow line between hard and soft, dry and wet, warm and coolleaning maybe 10% towards wet and warm on the most atmospheric recordings. “It did not attenuate reverberation or diminish atmosphere,” wrote HR, who never consciously wished for tube treats he wasn’t getting. Using a Dynavector XX-2 moving coil, HR found the current-drive input eliminated a faint haze that he had noticed in the top octaves in voltage mode. “What was preserved, and perhaps even enhanced,” he decided, “was the XX-2’s dynamics.” (Vol.47 No.1 WWW)
Moonriver 505: $5995
This Swedish preamplifier includes connections for up to four tonearms and gain and adjustable loading appropriate for moving coil and moving magnet cartridges. Each of the four inputs can be adjusted independently, and the settings are recalled automatically each time that input is selected. Input 1 has both single-ended and balanced connectors, while 24 are single-ended only. There are three pairs of outputs, one balanced and two single ended. A switch that allows you to select the Decca curve instead of standard RIAA. The moving magnet input offers six gain settings, three resistive loads, and five capacitive loading options from 100pF to 680pF, which make the Moonriver a good match for difficult-to-match cartridges, including Grado and SoundSmith moving iron cartridges. With the Benz Micro LP-S cartridge MT heard an excellent dynamic envelope, a neutral tonal balance, and a transparent midrange. The Moonriver 505 “looks elegant, is built to last, and most importantly, sounds wonderful,” he concluded. (Vol.47 No.11 WWW) Nobala step-up transformer: $8495
This violet anodized-aluminum SUT from Japanese company Murasakino is intended for use with MC cartridges with impedances of 5 ohms or lower. AH found that to be the case and noted that the Nobala reproduced more of his music than any other SUT, and possibly any phono device, he’d heard. “It simply let through more of everything: detail, texture, dynamics, even groove noise,” he wrote, though he commented that it didn’t sound quite as colorful as the Auditorium 23 or the EMIA. (Vol.45 No.11 WWW) Parasound JC3+: $2849 $$$ ★
The Halo JC 3+ is a true dual-mono design with a large R-core transformer power supply. Construction quality is first rate, top-shelf parts are used throughout, and the stout, heavy case is beautifully finished. Its fully direct-coupled RIAA equalization circuit is based on the circuit used in Curl's famed Vendetta Research SCP-2, while the output stage is a true dual-differential, balanced design. In addition, the JC 3 has a built-in AC line conditioner, and its power supplies are modeled after those found in the extremely quiet Halo JC 2 line stage. The JC 3 sounded remarkably similar to BJR's reference, the Vendetta SCP-2, but lacked some high-frequency purity and ambience recovery. JA noted superb measured performance. Of the Halo JC 3+, which adds variable cartridge loading for the MC input, HR wrote: "The John Curl-designed Halo JC 3+ is the best commercially available phono preamplifier I've used—period." (Vol.34 Nos.3 & 10, Vol.35 No.2, Vol.39 No.6 WWW)
PrimaLuna EVO 100 Phonostage: $4195
The EVO 100 features dual-mono 5AR4 tube rectification; dual-mono choke-input EL34-regulated power supplies; two 12AX7 twin triodes per channel for the RIAA stage; and one 6922 twin triode per channel for its moving coil input stage, which sits in its own shielded, cushioned box. The gain choices are 40dB for MM, 52, 56, and 60dB for MC, and there are five MC loading choices50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 ohms. PrimaLuna distributor Kevin Deal warns that the EVO needs three days powered on to sound its best, following which HR commented that the PrimaLuna “completely eliminated the EMT JSD 6’s tendency to sound tight and analytical, giving me instead a cartridgephono stage combination that was both lush and heart-pounding fun.” HR subsequently compared the EVO 100 with the MoFi MasterPhono, noting that with the PrimaLuna, he preferred the Denon DL-103 with a very heavy, 50 ohm load rather than the much higher impedances he liked with the MasterPhono. When AH auditioned the EVO 100, he found that it was the quietest one he’d heard, “ever.” Following 100 hours of warm-up, AH wrote that the music “pulsed and shimmered on a huge soundstage and had a liquid, luminous character I associate with great tube circuits.” He then replaced one pair of the 12AX7s with early-1960s RCAs and the stock 6922s with Amperex Bugle Boys. “While this substitution made the EVO 100 slightly noisier,” he wrote, “it also got rid of the glassiness and, tonally speaking, thickened the sauce.” In late 2024 the EVO 100 was subject to a parts upgrade and circuit tweakfree of charge to owners, other than shipping, if the customer bought their EVO 100 at a dealer. The first and biggest thing HR noticed about the upgrade was deeper, cleaner, more natural bass. He subsequently found that the new EVO sounded perkier and prettier and maybe danced better than before. “The more I used it, the more it seemed the upgraded EVO 100 had become slightly less visiblemore invisible, if that is possible,” he decided. (Vol.46 No.12, Vol.47 Nos.1 & 11 WWW) Pro-Ject Phono Box RS2: $1999 in Black or Silver $$$
The full-featured, fully balanced, dual-mono RS2 has unbalanced (RCA) and balanced (XLR) inputs and outputs. Gain ranges from 40dB to 70dB in eight steps, four each for MM and MC. Resistive loading for MC cartridges is continuously variable from 10 to 1000 ohms, plus 47k ohms and variable capacitive loading for MM cartridges. There’s also a switchable rumble filter, RIAA and Decca/ffrr equalization, and a balance control. JMu auditioned the RS2 both with its standard switch-mode supply and with the optional Power Box RS Uni 4-Way linear power supply ($799). Her first impressions with the standard supply and a Clearaudio Talisman V2 MC were that the RS2 seemed neutral to slightly cool, detailed, and lively: “It sounded clean, almost pristine, on the lighter side in terms of body and heft.” With her MoFi UltraTracker MM, the sound was more midrange-focused, with good detail and musicality. Experimenting with resistive loading in MC mode, JMu found that with the optimal loading “the degree of detail seemed to increase, as did realism and clarity. The musicians’ placement seemed to grow more spacious and specific.” JMu felt that with the RS Uni supply, backgrounds became more silent and sustains and decays seemed to linger longer. Writing from his test lab, JA was impressed by the superbly accurate RIAA deemphasis, the extremely low distortion and noise, and the high overload margins. Peculiarly, he found that the RS2’s superb measured performance with the linear Power Box became even better when he substituted the standard switch-mode supply. Tom Fine echoed JMu’s recommendation and commented on how useful he found the RS2’s output-balance control and the options for adjusting capacitive and resistive loading. He concluded that while this preamp is the opposite of set-it-and-forget-it, “if you have a few cartridges in rotation and you want to spend some time dialing in a favorite sound profile, it’s a great option.” He bought one. (Vol.44 No.9, Vol.45 No.3 WWW) Sunvalley Audio SV-EQ1616D: $995 (kit), $1645 (assembled in Japan) without tubes
Sunvalley’s SV-EQ1616D phono equalizer is available as a kit or fully assembled. It uses 12AX7 and 12AU7 tubes for MM gain with a FET-based input stage for MC cartridges. There is a choice of two filters for 78rpm enthusiasts, tailored to match either European or American standard preemphasis, as well as selectable EQ for pre-1956 microgroove pressings from Columbia (NAB) or Philips, Capital, etc. (AES). It also offers a high-frequency boost-or-cut adjustment, and the two pairs of outputs can be switched from stereo to mono. HR found that with his Hana, Koetsu, and My Sonic Lab moving coil cartridges, used with auxiliary step-up devices, the SV-EQ1616D “generated the most vivid and nuanced analog sound” he’d heard in his bunker. Trying the Koetsu into the Sunvalley’s MC input, HR was impressed by the preamplifier’s “ability to boogie [and] recover substantial 3D spaces” without shaming this venerable, much more expensive cartridge. (Vol.43 No.11 WWW)
Sutherland Engineering SUTZ: $3800
The SUTZ looks exactly the same, inside and out, as Sutherland’s Little Loco. Inside, it sports the same three jumper-activated gain settings (to be upgraded in production to five) but it lacks RIAA correction, instead using a transimpedance circuit with solid state devices to convert an MC’s output current to a sufficiently high voltage to feed a conventional phono preamp’s MM input. HR decided that the Sutherland’s current-drive input was passing on more information from Dynavector’s XX-2 MKII MC, with less noise and IM distortion, than other phono preamps. Using the SUTZ to feed a Tavish Adagio phono equalizer, he concluded that Ron Sutherland’s headamp “let me add my own choice of tube glories to the quiet steadiness of virtual short loading.” (Vol.46 No.3 WWW) SW1X LPU III Balanced: $9795
A MM preamp with an input pair of EF86 pentodes that drives an active RIAA equalization network. The output stage consists of a pair of triode-connected, choke-loaded 6S45P triodes. The balanced output is achieved with a transformer. (There are also single-ended outputs.) MF commented on the LPU III’s “airy and convincing spatial staging” that was matched by its delivery of well-saturated, natural instrumental timbres with rhythm’n’pacing and “punch” to spare. He concluded that while the SW1X LPU III is easy to recommend for classical and acoustic jazz, “rockers in need of full electric bass extension and transient grip should look elsewhere.” (Vol.45 No.8 WWW) Tron Electric Convergence Signature: $4500
AH auditioned the moving coil version of this bare-bones preamp, which has single-ended inputs and outputs, a ground-lift switch, and 68dB of gain. Inside, a pair of potted step-up transformers precede three Russian tubesa pair of 12AX7s and a 12AU7. “This British phono stage sounds clear, fast, and articulate,” he wrote, “never losing track of the music’s heartbeat.” “Fortunately,” he added “this burnished, rich sound doesn’t include bloated bass, slow transients, or the other sonically gooey artifacts associated with some vintage-style tube circuits.” Compared with the Manley Steelhead RC, the Tron produced richer, more colorful images and simply sounded more beautiful. But it omitted some of the ambient information and long decays that the considerably more expensive Manley extracted from AH’s records. (Vol.47 No.1 WWW)
B:
Kitsuné LCR-1 MK5: $1498–$2398, depending on options
The made-in-Korea, two-chassis, solid state KTE LCR-1 MK5 is unusual in that it uses inductors in its equalization networks. Four DIP switches allow users to set gain at any of 13 levels between 40dB and 72dB and resistive loading at any of 12 values from 14 ohms to 47k ohms. In his system, HR found that with various MC cartridges the KTE LCR-1 sounded its most polished and exciting when driven by high-quality step-up transformers. “On its own, with its 63.5dB gain, it did not sound as smooth, refined, or ‘correct’” as the twice-as-expensive Parasound Halo JC 3+ phono stage, he wrote, though he decided that “the LCR-1’s tone, solidity, and vigor” was preferable to the Musical Surroundings Nova III’s “more laid-back, slightly gray refinement.” “The Kitsuné KTE LCR-1 has become my daily-driver solid state phono equalizer,” concluded HR. He subsequently compared the Kitsuné with Music Hall’s Analogue A3 phono preamp, writing that the performers sounded farther from their microphones with the A3 and that its presentation “was less dramatically dynamic and less physical sounding” than that of the LCR-1. (Vol.44 No.7, Vol.45 No.10 WWW) Lounge Audio LCR Mk.III: $495 ★ $$$
Lounge Audio Copla: $525 ★ $$$
Lounge Audio Silver Wire Copla: $695
The solid state LCR Mk.III is named for the type of circuit chosen for its RIAA equalization stage: a zero-feedback inductor-capacitor-resistor (L-C-R) circuit. That stage is constructed with discrete components—remarkable for a US-made product selling for only $340—and combined with class-A biased op-amps for a total gain of 40dB. Power is supplied by an 18V wall wart. HR has logged literally hundreds of hours with his LCR Mk.III review sample, both on its own for use with MM cartridges, and, for MC cartridges, in tandem with Lounge Audio’s Copla, a JFET-powered step-up device that does the same job as a phono transformer, only electronically. In both setups, the Lounge rewarded HR with “full-bodied, accurately toned” sound, and enough emotional impact that a favorite Doc Watson song had him weeping. Referring to the $26,000, Class A–rated Ypsilon VPS-100, HR wrote: “Could the Ypsilon make me cry 86.7 times easier? I doubt it.” HR returned to the Copla in March 2023, using Dynavector’s XX-2 MC and feeding the Copla to either SunValley or Tavish Adagio phono equalizers. “The Copla made recordings sound charged and vivid in the extreme but also lucid and relaxed,” he wrote, concluding that it “behaved like someone forgot a zero on its price tag.” Writing about the more expensive Silver Wire Copla, which looks exactly like the regular Copla, except on the bottom of the chassis, where Lounge Audio founder Robert Morin has tagged and signed it, HR said that the Silver Wire Copla intensifies energy delivery and texturizes harmonics to a degree that makes the extra $130 seem trivial. “Coupled to a Denon DL-103, this is the highest-value phonography I know of,” he enthused. (Vol.41 No.2, Vol.46 Nos.3 & 9 WWW) Paradoxpulse Phono 70 Signature: $3995
This hand-built, solid state phono preamplifier is designed exclusively for very low-output moving coil cartridges and offers 70dB of gain. Inputs and outputs are both single-ended, and an additional pair of RCA jacks is used for custom resistive loading. (The unloaded input impedance is a high 100k ohms.) RIAA equalization is passive. The Pi-filtered outboard 18VDC power supply uses wet silver-tantalum capacitors and expensive Audio Note silver-tantalum resistors, the same resistors used in the preamplifier circuitry. MF did most of his auditioning with Ortofon’s Verismo cartridge. Playing Sarah Vaughan’s Live at the Berlin Philharmonie 1969, he found that the Phono 70 Signature produced a “glistening, remarkably transparent, living rendering of Vaughan’s voice and hung it effortlessly and convincingly in 3D space between the speakers.” “If you crave warmth in a phono preamp, the Phono 70 Signature isn’t for you,” he concluded. “But if you want a neutral player that’s quiet, super-well-organized, and can plumb the depths and scale the peaks without adding colorations, the Phono 70 Signature is well worth considering.” On the test bench, the Paradox offered a low level of predominantly second-harmonic distortion, low noise, and high channel separation. However, overload margins were too low to work well with MC cartridges with a nominal output any higher than that of the Verismo’s 200µV. The relatively high output impedance will require careful matching with line preamplifiers if the lows are not to sound lightweight. (Vol.45 Nos.3 & 5 WWW)
Schiit Audio Stjarna: $1699
This slim-line MM/MC phono stage uses four Russian-made 6N1P tubes. These tubes are roughly akin to 6DJ8/6922s, the chief difference being that the 6N1P draws twice the heater current as a 6DJ8. There are two pairs of phono inputs and a single pair of unbalanced outputs. Buttons on the front panel select the Stjarna’s resistive load—10, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, and 47k ohms—and a second button adjusts the capacitive load in eight steps between 50pF and 400pF. Gain can be set to 40dB or 47dB for MM cartridges or 55dB or 60dB for MC cartridges. There is also a switchable subsonic filter. All the settings can be changed with Schiit’s Forkbeard app, which HR installed on his iPad. With a Dynavector XX2A cartridge and a Dynavector DV SUP-200 SUT feeding the Stjarna’s input set to MM, HR noticed how well-sorted it was (as well-sorted as a phono stage could be) and how gleaming, tube beautiful it was—“more so than anything even remotely near its price.” With the Dynavector cartridge connected directly into the Stjarna’s MC input, set to 55dB gain and shunted with 100 ohms, the Schiit did a better job communicating the depth and complexity of an Astor Piazzolla album. HR also tried a variety of MC and MM cartridges and found that the Stjarna stayed clear, unshakable, and exceedingly neutral. “That’s a word I typically scowl at,” he wrote, “but it was the Stjarna’s best trait: its lack of affect, its ability to disappear and put the vital core of the music coming from the cartridge stage forward.” HR subsequently tried the Stjarna's MC input with the inexpensive Denon DL-103, setting the Schiit preamp to its maximum MC loading of 350 ohms. “Life was good,” he decided. “Schiit has spawned another proletarian wonder.” (Vol.48 Nos.8 & 9 WWW) Sculpture A Mini Nano transformer: $990
Toroidal step-up transformer with a nanocrystal core and 99.99% copper coils. Available with 1:10 (20dB), 1:20 (26dB), and other gains. HR auditioned the Mini Nano with Sculpture A’s A.3l cartridge, with its bronze and wood bodysee “Phono Cartridges”and felt the combination “excavated myriad details and dense textures but ran a bit dark and wet.” However, with the aluminum-bodied Zu/DL-103 Mk.II, “the sun came out and scintillating transients returned.” With the Mini Nano and Zu/DL-103, image size, brightness, and raw presence increased, as did the intensity of reverb on Miles Davis recordings, he concluded. (Vol.44 Nos.5 & 11 WWW) C: Hagerman Audio Labs Piccolo Zero: $269 $$$
This inexpensive transimpedance head amp is equivalent to a step-up transformer for moving coil cartridges and is intended to be used in front of a moving magnet phono preamp. HR used the Piccolo Zero with Dynavector’s XX-2 moving coil, which has an internal impedance specified at 6 ohms. Once he had optimized the head amp’s gain, he noted that the Zero’s most defining trait “was the quick, raw, dynamic force it put behind everything it amplified, especially piano.” HR commented that the Zero preserved current drive’s core beauty, “which resides in how it quiets the space around instruments, which in turn makes images appear more fleshed out and 3D.” “A ridiculously good value,” he concluded. (Vol.47 No.6 WWW)
Deletions
Tavish Audio Design Adagio, discontinued. EAR Classic Phono, Erhard Audio Lundahl SUT kits, Gold Note PH-1000, Luminous Audio Technology Arion MK.II, Sonnet Audio Morpheus MKII, Sutherland Little Loco MK.II, not auditioned in a long time.
Built with a sleek aluminum-alloy case with no screws visible on any of its surfaces, the Swiss-made CH Precision P1 is no less sophisticated inside. This solid state phono preamplifier offers multiple inputs, two of which address current-amplification circuits—an approach that, according to MF, produces “the best signal/noise ratios” and does not require cartridge loading to achieve flat response. For use with its voltage-amplification inputs, the P1 offers a menu-driven “wizard” that analyzes the entire record-playing system and calculates and applies the optimal load. Beyond that, as MF points out, the user can manually test the P1’s entire loading range of 20 ohms to 100k ohms, selectable in 500 steps: “load fetishists, knock yourselves out!” Used with its optional X1 outboard power supply ($17,000), the P1 provided Mikey with tonal neutrality and an ultralow noisefloor: “Some products have me up all night, pulling out record after record; some don’t. The P1 did, and gave me an exciting and fully pleasurable sonic ride every time.” In the June 2017 Stereophile, MF refocused his attention on the X1 power supply, observing that, “with the X1 off, the P1’s image solidity and pile-driver–like rhythmic certainty … were somewhat diminished”—and noted that he’d purchased the CH Precision combo for his own enjoyment. In August 2018, MF wrote about his experiences with a double P1/X1 combo—something that seems to have been done by more than one hobbyist of immodest means. Thus connected, these four high-tech boxes know what has happened and behave accordingly—but while “the four-box version was even more dynamic” and possessed of “a more relaxed and supple midrange,” Mikey could not countenance a $96,000 phono preamp. In his July 2023 report, MT discussed his auditioning of the two-box P1/X1 combo, especially using its current-mode input. While noting that the P1 is supremely quiet with both current- and voltage-mode inputs, he wrote that the P1’s characteristic quality “was its uncanny ability to unravel densely packed music and present it with utter clarity.” It offers “resolution and transparency that belies its apparent complexity,” he concluded, though he warned that “it doesn’t offer a rose-tinted view of your record collection.” (Vol.40 Nos.4 & 6, Vol.41 No.8, Vol.46 No.7 WWW) Channel D Lino C 3.3: $3799, basic model; $7082 as reviewed
This battery-powered, direct-coupled, wide-bandwidth, balanced, transimpedance phono preamplifier keeps the basic circuitry of the Lino 2.0 that was reviewed in Vol.42 No.6 but adds a high/low cartridge impedance damping switch that allows the use of cartridges with internal impedances up to 40 ohms even in current mode, as well as an impedance reduction by a factor of 3 of the RIAA network’s passive section. The “fully loaded” review sample was fitted with ultrahigh-precision RIAA certification, front-panel LED indicators, and a remote control. It also had the optional balanced or unbalanced moving magnet input and an optional voltage-based moving coil input, both with variable gain. As with the 2.0, if your tonearm cable isn't terminated with XLRs, you'll need RCA-to-XLR adaptersand pin 1 must not be internally connected to either pin 2 or 3. MF loved the sound of the Lino C 3.3, writing that it offered “ultratransparency; jet-black backgrounds; deep, tightly gripped, powerful bass; airy, fully extended highs free of etch, grain, or hardness.” He found the soundstage expansive with solid, 3D imaging and the sound was fast, responsive, effortless. “Macro- and microdynamics were impressive, producing forceful macro slam and subtle micro shifts when on the record,” he noted. JA was equally impressed with the 3.3’s measured performance, finding that it featured astonishingly accurate RIAA correction, extremely low noise, high overload margins, and vanishingly low distortion. “Channel D’s Lino C 3.3 is the best-measuring phono preamplifier I have encountered,” he concluded, adding “Wow!” (Vol.45 Nos.6 & 7 WWW) Manley Steelhead RC Special Edition Mk II: $10,899
The RC Special Edition Mk II is the result of a collaboration between Manley and Los Angelesarea audio retailer, tube dealer, and importer Upscale Audio. It differs from the original Steelhead, reviewed by PB and MF in 2001 and 2003, by offering different loading settings for the autoformer that also serves as the MC step-up, and two cryogenically treated 6922 tubes. The review sample substituted Tungsram PCC88s. (The other tubes are four American-made military-spec 7044 dual triodes.) It still has two inputs for MC cartridges, one input for MM cartridges, a volume control, a remote control, a tape loop, an outboard power supply, and buttons for muting, lowering the volume by 20dB, activating a line-level input, summing the channels for mono playback, and entering standby mode. Listening at length to a John Prine LP, AH wrote: “The Manley rendered the band in holographic high relief; Mike Leech’s electric bass sounded more thunderous and better defined than I’d heard it. Every wisp of reverb around Bobby Emmons’s organ became obvious. The tone colors of the band bloomed like wildflowers in an Appalachian meadow. But what captivated me most was how relentlessly the Manley zeroed in on the flow and emotional meaning of Prine’s songs.” He decided that the Manley phono stage “sounded more detailed, refined, and coherent than most of the step-up transformers I’ve heard, and more colorful, textured, and vivid than most of the solid state preamps.” (Vol.46 No.1 WWW)
This versatile solid state preamp has three pairs of inputs using single-ended RCA jacks and one with balanced XLRs, each with its own grounding post. There are single-ended and balanced outputs, which may be selected individually or together, and two entirely separate phono sections for MC and MM cartridges. Four front-panel buttons allow users to set each input, adjusting gain, input impedance, polarity, subsonic filter, stereo/mono, and equalization. For the last, the Lupe offers 72 permutations of its three basic EQ variables: bass turnover, rolloff, and low shelf. A downloadable app, Mola Mola Control, available for both iOS and Android, talks directly to the Lupe over Bluetooth, and provides access to all the preamp’s many adjustments. MT was concerned that all these bells and whistles might distract people from the Lupe’s main plus point: its extraordinary performance and its ability to breathe fresh life into pretty much every record he played through it. “This is not a warm, fuzzy-sounding phono stage,” he wrote, “but it is exceptional in its ability to take all the information a cartridge throws at it and sort it into a sound that’s coherent and detailed, and it never sounds bright or hard.” (Vol.47 No.3 WWW) Pass Labs XP-27: $13,282.50 in silver, $14,032.50 in black
The versatile, two-chassis XP-27 offers two single-ended inputs, both of which can be used with moving magnet or moving coil cartridges. Rotary controls on the front panel allow gain, input impedance, and input capacitance to be optimized (though the capacitance range is optimized for MM cartridges). There are balanced and single-ended outputs; the gain from the former was close to the nominal values; that from the latter was, as expected, 6dB lower. There is also a Mute button on the front panel, as well as a switchable rumble filter. JCA used three low-output moving coils to audition the XP-27: an Ortofon Windfeld Ti (0.3mV nominal output); an Ortofon Verismo (0.2mV); and a Lyra Etna Λ Lambda (0.56mV). With all three cartridges, with the XP-27's highest gain setting and the volume on his preamp set 20dB higher than his usual listening level, JCA heard no noise even with his ears against the speakers. “This is a quiet phono preamp,” he wrote, which was confirmed on the test bench. “It is mostly literal, but there may be a hint of added warmth,” JCA commented, adding that bass was deep and solid but not exaggerated. Overall, “the Pass Laboratories XP-27 is a high-achieving component both technically and musically.” As well as the very low noise, JA noted the superbly accurate RIAA correction, subjectively innocuous harmonic distortion, and an output stage that handles low impedances with aplomb. The only aspect of the XP-27’s measured performance that raised his eyebrows was the limited overload margin at the top of the audioband at the lowest gain setting. (Vol.47 No.9 WWW) Sutherland Dos Locos: $9800/pair
The latest and most ambitious in Sutherland’s phono preamps, the Dos Locos is a transimpedance design. The cartridge is connected across a short circuit, with the resultant input signal current converted to an output voltage. Because the load is effectively zero ohms, there are no loading options. Twin RCA inputs allow two phono cartridges to be connected simultaneously, but only one can be played at a time. Sutherland says that the Dos Locos is compatible with cartridges having a source impedance below 20 ohms, which rules out Benz Micro’s range and the Denon DL-103. Inside the chassis is a three-position jumper to adjust the output gain in approximate 6dB steps. MT used the middle gain position with a Lyra Atlas λ Lambda (4.2 ohms) and a Dynavector DRT XV-1s (6 ohms). He concluded that “paired with the right cartridge, the Dos Locos is an extraordinary performer. Its tone has the purity of fresh snow, and it manages to sound highly resolved yet, at the same time, unstressed and relaxed.” Listening to a track from Big Thief’s 2023 LP Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You with My Sonic Lab and SPU cartridges, AH found that the Dos Locos rendered Lenker’s singing and Buck Meek’s electric guitar with so much life force that he sat up on the couch and stared at the space between the speakers. “What I heard was a huge dynamic envelope and unexpectedly vivid tone colors,” he wrote, concluding that the Dos Locos is an astoundingly musical piece of gear, capable of providing hours of fun, engagement, and insight. “Better yet, it offers the dedicated mono listener a great-sounding, no-hassle solution that also cuts the price in half.” (Vol.47 No.9, Vol.48 No.1 WWW)
The review sample of this Hong Kong–manufactured phono preamp was fitted with a credit card–sized module optimized for use with DS Audio’s optical cartridges. (Other modules are available, but only one can be fitted at a time.) A pair of internal DIP switches on the optical board tailor the low-frequency rolloff. MT left this filter bypassed and auditioned the Monologue with a DS Audio W3 (see Phono Cartridges). Playing a familiar LP of Vivaldi Lute Concertos, he noted that “the overall tonal signature is neutral; it was the Monologue’s ability to flesh out the body and delicate richness of the lute that most captured my attention. This harmonic resolution is what allows you to hear subtle details: the difference between one maker’s instrument and another’s, or the difference in touch and the resulting tone between two musicians.” The Monologue’s optical card was doing a superb job of drawing out the strengths of DS Audio’s very special cartridges, he decided. (Vol.48 No.9 WWW) A: Austin Audio Works Black Swan: $1649
Designed by veteran engineer Barry ThorntonSAE, Parasound, Adcom, and Hegeman (and Jethro Tull!)the Black Swan has front-panel switches for gain, and resistive and capacitive loading, with different ranges of both offered for moving magnet and moving coil cartridges. There are two MM and one MC inputs and balanced and single-ended outputs. Using an Audio Note IQ3 moving magnet cartridge loaded at 50k ohms and 68pF, MT was impressed by how the Black Swan made it possible to hear through the recording to the music. With a Lyra Delos moving coil loaded at 150 ohms, he heard an improved level of transparency and overall detail but the same clear, relaxed sound. “The Black Swan makes it very easy to listen to records for hour after hour without becoming fatigued,” MT wrote; he concluded that “the Black Swan can be optimized for just about any setup while delivering a musical performance that is easy and rewarding to listen to.” (Vol.47 No.8 WWW) Belleson Brilliance: $8500
This versatile phono preamp offers balanced and single-ended inputs and outputs. Unusually, it has no controls other than a power button and a recessed button on the rear panel to select between balanced and unbalanced modes. Instead, its built-in Wi-Fi transceiver allows its input, MM or MC mode, loading options, and gain to be selected with an Android tablet included in the price. (The tablet can communicate directly with the preamp, or the preamp can also be connected to the user’s Wi-Fi network and be controlled by a Web browser.) Gain options are 30, 36, 44, or 50dB for MM cartridges; 50, 56, 64, or 70dB for MCs. Resistive loading options are 20, 65, 110, 260, 350, 400, and 47k ohms. Input capacitance can be adjusted from 0pF to 750pF in 50pF steps. TF found that his Hana SL MK II low-output MC cartridge sounded best loaded with 260 ohms. He also tried MM cartridges from Shure, Ortofon, and LP Gear, as well as a high-output MC from Denon. The Brilliance is quiet: TF noted that there was no hiss using MM cartridges with 44dB gain and volume set at a comfortable, high listening level. With the Hana MC cartridge at 64dB gain, he heard a faint hiss at the listening seat, not enough to interfere with music listening and way below the surface noise of LPs. Even when he cranked the system volume to the max, he heard no hum with either input. “Impressive!” He felt that the Brilliance was fundamentally neutral: “Because it imposes so little of its own character on music, it allowed the character of each cartridge to shine through.” He summed up his auditioning by writing that the Belleson Brilliance is a “modern, wireless-connected device that gives just about any cartridge a chance to sound great. Its mission seems in service of the cartridge: enable its best sound and then give it life through clean gain and accurate RIAA de-emphasis.” On JA’s test bench, the Brilliance did offer impressive RIAA equalization, with superb channel matching and excellent channel separation. Noise and distortion were both very low in level. (Vol.48 No.9 WWW)
Designed to take full advantage of the Pure Vinyl app's digital RIAA correction, the beautifully built Seta Model L includes balanced and single-ended inputs, balanced unequalized outputs, variable gain, and a built-in, rechargeable battery power supply. Recordings made using the Seta Model L’s optional RIAA-equalized outputs were “models of clarity, definition, tonal accuracy, detail resolution, and spatial coherence,” wrote MF. “There is no doubt that the Seta Model L has been superbly engineered,” praised JA. Compared to the Liberty B2B-1, the Seta Model L lacked some midbass energy but did a better job of preserving recorded ambience, said JA, who also admired the Channel D’s superb measured performance. He subsequently purchased the review sample. An optional internal RIAA compensation module adds $1199. (Vol.33 No.8, Vol.36 No.12, Vol.43 No.11 WWW) Consolidated Audio “Monster Can” step-up transformer: 3110 with copper wire; 3950 with silver
Berlin-based Consolidated Audio offers choices of core material (nanocrystalline or mu metal, which the manufacturer calls Hi-Nickel); primary inductance (high, medium, low, or extra-low, the choice of which depends on your cartridge’s internal impedance); turns ratio (1:10, 1:15, and 1:20 are standard, though others are available); and wire (copper or silver). As well as single-ended inputs and outputs, a third pair of RCA jacks allows for resistive loading options. (Optional balanced XLR jacks add 1300 to the price.) The review samples both had low primary inductance, a 1:20 turns ratio (which presents the cartridges with a load of 118 ohms), and used Cardas copper wire (a 200 premium over regular copper); one sample had a nanocrystalline core, the other Hi-Nickel. Using an Ortofon SPU Royal N cartridge, AH found that the Hi-Nickel Monster Can lacked the nanocrystalline-core unit’s beguiling liquidity and its intricately illuminated textures, but something about it kept him listening and engrossed. It placed slightly less emphasis on the high frequencies, he noted. Overall, AH was impressed by the sensational way the Monster Can handled scale and was struck by its liquidity; “maybe effortlessness is a more precise description,” he wrote, and concluded that the Monster Can “generalizes less than any SUT I’ve heard, retrieving scads of information that it presents, unlike certain digital components, in a natural and unfatiguing way, never truncating the notes’ decay.” (Vol.48 No.3 WWW) DS Audio DS-W3: $10,000
See Phono Cartridges. (Vol.47 No.4 WWW) EM/IA 103 SUT: $1500
This copper-wired, nickel-cored step-up transformer is designed specifically for use with Denon’s DL-103 MC and has a hard-wired cable leadout. The review sample was supplied with a denuded DL-103 anchored with epoxy to a brass plate with threaded holes and a 3D-printed apron ($300), and a black wood headshell ($100). Compared to pricy moving coils, the chief limits HR noticed with the denuded Denon were subtler than he expected: “less microdetail, more generalized spatial mapping. The DL-103 was never challenged on tone or tunefulness. It can sing and dance with the best.” With the Denon-EM/IA combo feeding a Schiit Stjarna, HR experienced high-clarity, F2-Dragster–type sonics: “The traction was there. The revs were up. And the 103’s spherical diamond was drifting through some really tight corners.” He concluded that the denuded 103 with the EM/IA SUT “conveys maximum human sentiment with the least mechanical distraction.” (Vol.48 No.9 WWW)
with silver wire: $6000
Dave Slagle, whose radically rebuilt Quad ESL loudspeakers have astounded more than a few listeners, winds his own step-up transformers and sells them under the brand name EM/IA—a collaborative design and manufacturing effort with Jeffrey Jackson, who specializes in tube amplification and horn loudspeakers. The EM/IA Phono transformer, which is housed in a steel box with solid walnut top and bottom plates, is unpotted and has a fairly large core with 80% nickel content. In addition to one pair each of RCA input and output jacks—multiple primary coils aren’t available—the EM/IA Phono has a third pair of jacks, wired in parallel with the primary and intended for use with resistive plugs (supplied), for cartridges that might need such things. The EM/IA is available with copper or silver windings; AD spent some quality time with a copper-wire version wound with a 15:1 ratio and his EMT TSD 15 and Denon DL-103 cartridges. He described the EM/IA as offering “an immense sense of drive” with his EMT as well as “texture and tone in spades. In buckets. In tanker holds.” All in all, AD found the EM/IA to sound “clean, clear, rich, detailed, and, above all, musically exciting—all for approximately half the price of the deservedly well-regarded Hommage T2,” the latter transformer being his longtime reference. HR found that the EM/IA sounded delicious and played “butter-smooth” with his Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum. Although AH was not a fan of silver conductors, he found that the silver-wired EM/IA sounded nothing like the silver wire he remembered. It provided “an addictively smooth, highly resolving facsimile of my music. While it wasn’t quite as punchy as the Auditorium 23, it produced a little more detail and a lot more space as well as deeper, more precise bass.” (Vol.40 No.8, Vol.44 No.11, Vol.45 No.11 WWW) EMM Labs DS-EQ1: $12,500
The DS-EQ1 was designed by Ed Meitner for use with DS Audio’s optical phono cartridges. Comparing it with DS Audio’s own DS-W3 equalizersee Phono CartridgesMT heard an uncanny sense of layering and depth. The DS-W3’s tonal balance was slightly richer and darker, with a tad more punch behind drums. The differences between the EMM and DS Audio equalizers are more in their different flavors than in overall performance, MT wrote; it was the EMM’s ability to deliver sonic images with palpable depth and height that he found the most striking. (Vol.47 No.5 WWW) EMT 128: $11,995
The front panel of this slim, well-finished preamp features four toggle switches, one each for Off/On, Mono/Stereo, DIN 78/RIAA EQ, and Mute/Sound. The rear panel features one pair each of single-ended (RCA) inputs and balanced (XLR) outputs, and the circuit uses NOS 5784WB tubes. Lundahl transformers are used for both inputs and outputs. Using EMT’s high-output JSD Novel Titan MC cartridge and the low-output Miyajima Labs Madake Snakewood MC cartridge, MF wrote that the 128 “produced that magic ether that only the best tube-based phono preamps produce, and it resolved and unraveled small details in the upper frequencies of many familiar recordings. Ether, yes, but without lower-midband timbral bloat or thickness, without midrange excess but with mesmerizing transparency and delicacy.” On the test bench, the EMT 128 offered superbly flat RIAA correction from 30Hz to 10kHz, primarily second-harmonic distortion, very good channel separation, and low noise. However, the overload margins were on the low side, which means it will work best set to its lower gain and with low-output MC cartridges like Ortofon’s Verismo rather than the high-output Novel Titan; low overhead margins lower rating from A+ to A. (Vol.45 No.5 WWW)
This utilitarian-looking, solid state MC-only design from Sweden uses transistors, wire, soldereven the washers used in the component’s caseworkthat have all been obsessively selected by designer Fredrik Lejonklou after hundreds of comparative listening tests. Out of the box, the Entity sounded bleached, felt AH, but after about 50 hours of use, the preamp “began to sing with its authentic voice,” sounding neutral, extended, transparent, fast, and resolving. AH found that the Entity was at its best with unbalanced Linn Silver interconnects ($452/1.2m pair), when it sounded more refined, dimensional, controlled, and tonally richer. In the test lab, the Lejonklou’s RIAA correction featured a very slight plateau in the midrange, coupled with excellent channel separation, low noise, and very low distortion. Overload margins were very good in the bass and midrange but less so at the top of the audioband, meaning that the Entity will be best used with low-output moving coil cartridges. (Vol.45 No.7 WWW) Manley Labs Oasis: $3999
The Oasis replaces Manley’s well-regarded Chinook. The gain and RIAA circuitry, based on FETs and 6922 dual triodes, remain largely unchanged but there is now a switch-mode power supply designed by Bruno Putzeys. DIP switches set the phono stage’s capacitive loading (8 settings from 0 to 350pF), resistive loading (32 settings from 26 ohms to 47k ohms), and gain (4 settings from 45 to 65dB). AH found that the Oasis sounded more even-handed, polished, and sonically neutral than the Chinook, though sometimes he missed the Chinook’s more “colored” approach, which struck him as slightly more embodied and emotive. Overall, he concluded “the Manley Oasis pulls off the rather difficult trick of combining terrific performance and a beautifully judged tonal balance with compulsive listenability and class-leading versatility, all at person-with-a-job price. Enthusiastically recommended.” (Vol.48 No.1 WWW) Mobile Fidelity Electronics MasterPhono: $5999
The solid state MasterPhono’s front panel is dominated by a pair of VU meters, flanked by two knobs. One knob selects Gain: 40dB, 50dB, 60dB, or 70dB. The second knob chooses one of 10 MC cartridge loads: 15, 30, 50, 75, 100, 500, 1k, 10k, 47k ohm, or “OPT,” which allows the use of custom load values made via resistor-equipped RCA plug-ins. There is also a high-pass/subsonic filter button, a mono button, a knob for dimming the meter display, and a remote control. Hold the Meter button down for a few seconds, and MasterPhono offers two test modes that allow the meters to be calibrated and the cartridge’s azimuth setting to be optimized for maximum channel separation. There are three pairs of inputs: regular single-ended RCA; balanced XLR; and a current-drive input that gives users a choice of either single-ended or balanced connection. Like the tubed PrimaLuna EVO 100, HR found that it took three full days for the MasterPhono to lose the gray flatness it showed out of the box. It then never sounded “transistory” (hard, shallow, gray), instead walking a narrow line between hard and soft, dry and wet, warm and coolleaning maybe 10% towards wet and warm on the most atmospheric recordings. “It did not attenuate reverberation or diminish atmosphere,” wrote HR, who never consciously wished for tube treats he wasn’t getting. Using a Dynavector XX-2 moving coil, HR found the current-drive input eliminated a faint haze that he had noticed in the top octaves in voltage mode. “What was preserved, and perhaps even enhanced,” he decided, “was the XX-2’s dynamics.” (Vol.47 No.1 WWW)
This Swedish preamplifier includes connections for up to four tonearms and gain and adjustable loading appropriate for moving coil and moving magnet cartridges. Each of the four inputs can be adjusted independently, and the settings are recalled automatically each time that input is selected. Input 1 has both single-ended and balanced connectors, while 24 are single-ended only. There are three pairs of outputs, one balanced and two single ended. A switch that allows you to select the Decca curve instead of standard RIAA. The moving magnet input offers six gain settings, three resistive loads, and five capacitive loading options from 100pF to 680pF, which make the Moonriver a good match for difficult-to-match cartridges, including Grado and SoundSmith moving iron cartridges. With the Benz Micro LP-S cartridge MT heard an excellent dynamic envelope, a neutral tonal balance, and a transparent midrange. The Moonriver 505 “looks elegant, is built to last, and most importantly, sounds wonderful,” he concluded. (Vol.47 No.11 WWW) Nobala step-up transformer: $8495
This violet anodized-aluminum SUT from Japanese company Murasakino is intended for use with MC cartridges with impedances of 5 ohms or lower. AH found that to be the case and noted that the Nobala reproduced more of his music than any other SUT, and possibly any phono device, he’d heard. “It simply let through more of everything: detail, texture, dynamics, even groove noise,” he wrote, though he commented that it didn’t sound quite as colorful as the Auditorium 23 or the EMIA. (Vol.45 No.11 WWW) Parasound JC3+: $2849 $$$ ★
The Halo JC 3+ is a true dual-mono design with a large R-core transformer power supply. Construction quality is first rate, top-shelf parts are used throughout, and the stout, heavy case is beautifully finished. Its fully direct-coupled RIAA equalization circuit is based on the circuit used in Curl's famed Vendetta Research SCP-2, while the output stage is a true dual-differential, balanced design. In addition, the JC 3 has a built-in AC line conditioner, and its power supplies are modeled after those found in the extremely quiet Halo JC 2 line stage. The JC 3 sounded remarkably similar to BJR's reference, the Vendetta SCP-2, but lacked some high-frequency purity and ambience recovery. JA noted superb measured performance. Of the Halo JC 3+, which adds variable cartridge loading for the MC input, HR wrote: "The John Curl-designed Halo JC 3+ is the best commercially available phono preamplifier I've used—period." (Vol.34 Nos.3 & 10, Vol.35 No.2, Vol.39 No.6 WWW)
The EVO 100 features dual-mono 5AR4 tube rectification; dual-mono choke-input EL34-regulated power supplies; two 12AX7 twin triodes per channel for the RIAA stage; and one 6922 twin triode per channel for its moving coil input stage, which sits in its own shielded, cushioned box. The gain choices are 40dB for MM, 52, 56, and 60dB for MC, and there are five MC loading choices50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 ohms. PrimaLuna distributor Kevin Deal warns that the EVO needs three days powered on to sound its best, following which HR commented that the PrimaLuna “completely eliminated the EMT JSD 6’s tendency to sound tight and analytical, giving me instead a cartridgephono stage combination that was both lush and heart-pounding fun.” HR subsequently compared the EVO 100 with the MoFi MasterPhono, noting that with the PrimaLuna, he preferred the Denon DL-103 with a very heavy, 50 ohm load rather than the much higher impedances he liked with the MasterPhono. When AH auditioned the EVO 100, he found that it was the quietest one he’d heard, “ever.” Following 100 hours of warm-up, AH wrote that the music “pulsed and shimmered on a huge soundstage and had a liquid, luminous character I associate with great tube circuits.” He then replaced one pair of the 12AX7s with early-1960s RCAs and the stock 6922s with Amperex Bugle Boys. “While this substitution made the EVO 100 slightly noisier,” he wrote, “it also got rid of the glassiness and, tonally speaking, thickened the sauce.” In late 2024 the EVO 100 was subject to a parts upgrade and circuit tweakfree of charge to owners, other than shipping, if the customer bought their EVO 100 at a dealer. The first and biggest thing HR noticed about the upgrade was deeper, cleaner, more natural bass. He subsequently found that the new EVO sounded perkier and prettier and maybe danced better than before. “The more I used it, the more it seemed the upgraded EVO 100 had become slightly less visiblemore invisible, if that is possible,” he decided. (Vol.46 No.12, Vol.47 Nos.1 & 11 WWW) Pro-Ject Phono Box RS2: $1999 in Black or Silver $$$
The full-featured, fully balanced, dual-mono RS2 has unbalanced (RCA) and balanced (XLR) inputs and outputs. Gain ranges from 40dB to 70dB in eight steps, four each for MM and MC. Resistive loading for MC cartridges is continuously variable from 10 to 1000 ohms, plus 47k ohms and variable capacitive loading for MM cartridges. There’s also a switchable rumble filter, RIAA and Decca/ffrr equalization, and a balance control. JMu auditioned the RS2 both with its standard switch-mode supply and with the optional Power Box RS Uni 4-Way linear power supply ($799). Her first impressions with the standard supply and a Clearaudio Talisman V2 MC were that the RS2 seemed neutral to slightly cool, detailed, and lively: “It sounded clean, almost pristine, on the lighter side in terms of body and heft.” With her MoFi UltraTracker MM, the sound was more midrange-focused, with good detail and musicality. Experimenting with resistive loading in MC mode, JMu found that with the optimal loading “the degree of detail seemed to increase, as did realism and clarity. The musicians’ placement seemed to grow more spacious and specific.” JMu felt that with the RS Uni supply, backgrounds became more silent and sustains and decays seemed to linger longer. Writing from his test lab, JA was impressed by the superbly accurate RIAA deemphasis, the extremely low distortion and noise, and the high overload margins. Peculiarly, he found that the RS2’s superb measured performance with the linear Power Box became even better when he substituted the standard switch-mode supply. Tom Fine echoed JMu’s recommendation and commented on how useful he found the RS2’s output-balance control and the options for adjusting capacitive and resistive loading. He concluded that while this preamp is the opposite of set-it-and-forget-it, “if you have a few cartridges in rotation and you want to spend some time dialing in a favorite sound profile, it’s a great option.” He bought one. (Vol.44 No.9, Vol.45 No.3 WWW) Sunvalley Audio SV-EQ1616D: $995 (kit), $1645 (assembled in Japan) without tubes
Sunvalley’s SV-EQ1616D phono equalizer is available as a kit or fully assembled. It uses 12AX7 and 12AU7 tubes for MM gain with a FET-based input stage for MC cartridges. There is a choice of two filters for 78rpm enthusiasts, tailored to match either European or American standard preemphasis, as well as selectable EQ for pre-1956 microgroove pressings from Columbia (NAB) or Philips, Capital, etc. (AES). It also offers a high-frequency boost-or-cut adjustment, and the two pairs of outputs can be switched from stereo to mono. HR found that with his Hana, Koetsu, and My Sonic Lab moving coil cartridges, used with auxiliary step-up devices, the SV-EQ1616D “generated the most vivid and nuanced analog sound” he’d heard in his bunker. Trying the Koetsu into the Sunvalley’s MC input, HR was impressed by the preamplifier’s “ability to boogie [and] recover substantial 3D spaces” without shaming this venerable, much more expensive cartridge. (Vol.43 No.11 WWW)
The SUTZ looks exactly the same, inside and out, as Sutherland’s Little Loco. Inside, it sports the same three jumper-activated gain settings (to be upgraded in production to five) but it lacks RIAA correction, instead using a transimpedance circuit with solid state devices to convert an MC’s output current to a sufficiently high voltage to feed a conventional phono preamp’s MM input. HR decided that the Sutherland’s current-drive input was passing on more information from Dynavector’s XX-2 MKII MC, with less noise and IM distortion, than other phono preamps. Using the SUTZ to feed a Tavish Adagio phono equalizer, he concluded that Ron Sutherland’s headamp “let me add my own choice of tube glories to the quiet steadiness of virtual short loading.” (Vol.46 No.3 WWW) SW1X LPU III Balanced: $9795
A MM preamp with an input pair of EF86 pentodes that drives an active RIAA equalization network. The output stage consists of a pair of triode-connected, choke-loaded 6S45P triodes. The balanced output is achieved with a transformer. (There are also single-ended outputs.) MF commented on the LPU III’s “airy and convincing spatial staging” that was matched by its delivery of well-saturated, natural instrumental timbres with rhythm’n’pacing and “punch” to spare. He concluded that while the SW1X LPU III is easy to recommend for classical and acoustic jazz, “rockers in need of full electric bass extension and transient grip should look elsewhere.” (Vol.45 No.8 WWW) Tron Electric Convergence Signature: $4500
AH auditioned the moving coil version of this bare-bones preamp, which has single-ended inputs and outputs, a ground-lift switch, and 68dB of gain. Inside, a pair of potted step-up transformers precede three Russian tubesa pair of 12AX7s and a 12AU7. “This British phono stage sounds clear, fast, and articulate,” he wrote, “never losing track of the music’s heartbeat.” “Fortunately,” he added “this burnished, rich sound doesn’t include bloated bass, slow transients, or the other sonically gooey artifacts associated with some vintage-style tube circuits.” Compared with the Manley Steelhead RC, the Tron produced richer, more colorful images and simply sounded more beautiful. But it omitted some of the ambient information and long decays that the considerably more expensive Manley extracted from AH’s records. (Vol.47 No.1 WWW)
The made-in-Korea, two-chassis, solid state KTE LCR-1 MK5 is unusual in that it uses inductors in its equalization networks. Four DIP switches allow users to set gain at any of 13 levels between 40dB and 72dB and resistive loading at any of 12 values from 14 ohms to 47k ohms. In his system, HR found that with various MC cartridges the KTE LCR-1 sounded its most polished and exciting when driven by high-quality step-up transformers. “On its own, with its 63.5dB gain, it did not sound as smooth, refined, or ‘correct’” as the twice-as-expensive Parasound Halo JC 3+ phono stage, he wrote, though he decided that “the LCR-1’s tone, solidity, and vigor” was preferable to the Musical Surroundings Nova III’s “more laid-back, slightly gray refinement.” “The Kitsuné KTE LCR-1 has become my daily-driver solid state phono equalizer,” concluded HR. He subsequently compared the Kitsuné with Music Hall’s Analogue A3 phono preamp, writing that the performers sounded farther from their microphones with the A3 and that its presentation “was less dramatically dynamic and less physical sounding” than that of the LCR-1. (Vol.44 No.7, Vol.45 No.10 WWW) Lounge Audio LCR Mk.III: $495 ★ $$$
Lounge Audio Copla: $525 ★ $$$
Lounge Audio Silver Wire Copla: $695
The solid state LCR Mk.III is named for the type of circuit chosen for its RIAA equalization stage: a zero-feedback inductor-capacitor-resistor (L-C-R) circuit. That stage is constructed with discrete components—remarkable for a US-made product selling for only $340—and combined with class-A biased op-amps for a total gain of 40dB. Power is supplied by an 18V wall wart. HR has logged literally hundreds of hours with his LCR Mk.III review sample, both on its own for use with MM cartridges, and, for MC cartridges, in tandem with Lounge Audio’s Copla, a JFET-powered step-up device that does the same job as a phono transformer, only electronically. In both setups, the Lounge rewarded HR with “full-bodied, accurately toned” sound, and enough emotional impact that a favorite Doc Watson song had him weeping. Referring to the $26,000, Class A–rated Ypsilon VPS-100, HR wrote: “Could the Ypsilon make me cry 86.7 times easier? I doubt it.” HR returned to the Copla in March 2023, using Dynavector’s XX-2 MC and feeding the Copla to either SunValley or Tavish Adagio phono equalizers. “The Copla made recordings sound charged and vivid in the extreme but also lucid and relaxed,” he wrote, concluding that it “behaved like someone forgot a zero on its price tag.” Writing about the more expensive Silver Wire Copla, which looks exactly like the regular Copla, except on the bottom of the chassis, where Lounge Audio founder Robert Morin has tagged and signed it, HR said that the Silver Wire Copla intensifies energy delivery and texturizes harmonics to a degree that makes the extra $130 seem trivial. “Coupled to a Denon DL-103, this is the highest-value phonography I know of,” he enthused. (Vol.41 No.2, Vol.46 Nos.3 & 9 WWW) Paradoxpulse Phono 70 Signature: $3995
This hand-built, solid state phono preamplifier is designed exclusively for very low-output moving coil cartridges and offers 70dB of gain. Inputs and outputs are both single-ended, and an additional pair of RCA jacks is used for custom resistive loading. (The unloaded input impedance is a high 100k ohms.) RIAA equalization is passive. The Pi-filtered outboard 18VDC power supply uses wet silver-tantalum capacitors and expensive Audio Note silver-tantalum resistors, the same resistors used in the preamplifier circuitry. MF did most of his auditioning with Ortofon’s Verismo cartridge. Playing Sarah Vaughan’s Live at the Berlin Philharmonie 1969, he found that the Phono 70 Signature produced a “glistening, remarkably transparent, living rendering of Vaughan’s voice and hung it effortlessly and convincingly in 3D space between the speakers.” “If you crave warmth in a phono preamp, the Phono 70 Signature isn’t for you,” he concluded. “But if you want a neutral player that’s quiet, super-well-organized, and can plumb the depths and scale the peaks without adding colorations, the Phono 70 Signature is well worth considering.” On the test bench, the Paradox offered a low level of predominantly second-harmonic distortion, low noise, and high channel separation. However, overload margins were too low to work well with MC cartridges with a nominal output any higher than that of the Verismo’s 200µV. The relatively high output impedance will require careful matching with line preamplifiers if the lows are not to sound lightweight. (Vol.45 Nos.3 & 5 WWW)
This slim-line MM/MC phono stage uses four Russian-made 6N1P tubes. These tubes are roughly akin to 6DJ8/6922s, the chief difference being that the 6N1P draws twice the heater current as a 6DJ8. There are two pairs of phono inputs and a single pair of unbalanced outputs. Buttons on the front panel select the Stjarna’s resistive load—10, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, and 47k ohms—and a second button adjusts the capacitive load in eight steps between 50pF and 400pF. Gain can be set to 40dB or 47dB for MM cartridges or 55dB or 60dB for MC cartridges. There is also a switchable subsonic filter. All the settings can be changed with Schiit’s Forkbeard app, which HR installed on his iPad. With a Dynavector XX2A cartridge and a Dynavector DV SUP-200 SUT feeding the Stjarna’s input set to MM, HR noticed how well-sorted it was (as well-sorted as a phono stage could be) and how gleaming, tube beautiful it was—“more so than anything even remotely near its price.” With the Dynavector cartridge connected directly into the Stjarna’s MC input, set to 55dB gain and shunted with 100 ohms, the Schiit did a better job communicating the depth and complexity of an Astor Piazzolla album. HR also tried a variety of MC and MM cartridges and found that the Stjarna stayed clear, unshakable, and exceedingly neutral. “That’s a word I typically scowl at,” he wrote, “but it was the Stjarna’s best trait: its lack of affect, its ability to disappear and put the vital core of the music coming from the cartridge stage forward.” HR subsequently tried the Stjarna's MC input with the inexpensive Denon DL-103, setting the Schiit preamp to its maximum MC loading of 350 ohms. “Life was good,” he decided. “Schiit has spawned another proletarian wonder.” (Vol.48 Nos.8 & 9 WWW) Sculpture A Mini Nano transformer: $990
Toroidal step-up transformer with a nanocrystal core and 99.99% copper coils. Available with 1:10 (20dB), 1:20 (26dB), and other gains. HR auditioned the Mini Nano with Sculpture A’s A.3l cartridge, with its bronze and wood bodysee “Phono Cartridges”and felt the combination “excavated myriad details and dense textures but ran a bit dark and wet.” However, with the aluminum-bodied Zu/DL-103 Mk.II, “the sun came out and scintillating transients returned.” With the Mini Nano and Zu/DL-103, image size, brightness, and raw presence increased, as did the intensity of reverb on Miles Davis recordings, he concluded. (Vol.44 Nos.5 & 11 WWW) C: Hagerman Audio Labs Piccolo Zero: $269 $$$
This inexpensive transimpedance head amp is equivalent to a step-up transformer for moving coil cartridges and is intended to be used in front of a moving magnet phono preamp. HR used the Piccolo Zero with Dynavector’s XX-2 moving coil, which has an internal impedance specified at 6 ohms. Once he had optimized the head amp’s gain, he noted that the Zero’s most defining trait “was the quick, raw, dynamic force it put behind everything it amplified, especially piano.” HR commented that the Zero preserved current drive’s core beauty, “which resides in how it quiets the space around instruments, which in turn makes images appear more fleshed out and 3D.” “A ridiculously good value,” he concluded. (Vol.47 No.6 WWW)
Tavish Audio Design Adagio, discontinued. EAR Classic Phono, Erhard Audio Lundahl SUT kits, Gold Note PH-1000, Luminous Audio Technology Arion MK.II, Sonnet Audio Morpheus MKII, Sutherland Little Loco MK.II, not auditioned in a long time.
