Phono pre-amp discussion

Discussion in 'Vinyl Nutjob World: Turntable and Related Gear' started by JoshMorr, Jan 11, 2016.

  1. recstar24

    recstar24 Friend

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    Any one have experience or thoughts on the tavish design phonos?

    https://tavishdesign.com/

    Have my eyes on a classic, seems to be well engineered and very reasonable cost. Always sold out so thinking of getting on the waiting list.
     
  2. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    Any suggestions for a phono pre for my setup? Just bought a table from @Vansen, U turn custom with the ortofon 2m blue (I'm assuming it doesn't have the built in preamp). I'm considering the Jotunheim phono card, a mani, or the u turn pluto (this is about my price range) I really don't want to send my Jot to Schiit, so that's only an option if they will sell me just the card.
     
  3. Derf

    Derf Acquaintance

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    Mani has been pretty good in my limited experience with phonos. I do get some radio interference though, but not everyone has that issue. Certainly better than the cheapo integrated Onkyo amp I'm using. I do have a replacement coming in though, so we'll see how that improves.
     
  4. Biodegraded

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    You could start with a TC-750. Good enough to use unmodded, improved if you mod it as per Marv's instructions when you have the itch.
     
  5. recstar24

    recstar24 Friend

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    I've been really happy with my Hagerman bugle 2. It was $189 at the time but the bugle 3 is a little more expensive but with changeable gain and loading options for MC. Very clean clear sound and small footprint works well in my rig.
     
  6. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    I like mine too, and had @Dr. Higgs 's unit still been available at the price he was selling it for, I would have recommended.

    Shame Hagerman isn't doing these any more, but understandable - why do 3 different ones when one with switches for not too many more $ covers all bases.
     
  7. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    He's still selling his stock of Bugle 2 PCBs. On diyaudio I saw a build that had a mod where he could swap resistors to adjust the gain and loading. Something I might do.
     
  8. nonamodnar

    nonamodnar Friend

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    Or you can get this screaming deal of the Nighthawk and be done forever.
    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/fs-2-channel-phono-sale.5956/
     
  9. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    I was very tempted to get the nighthawk with the Orbit but it's simply not in the budget right now. The orbit was more than I wanted to spend on a table but it was a sweet deal so I couldn't pass it up. I'm going to try out the Pluto for now and maybe try something else after I build up a collection of vinyl.
     
  10. recstar24

    recstar24 Friend

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    I hope you enjoy your uturn, I had a lot of fun with mine and enjoyed the sound immensely. The uturn people have ridiculous customer service, they'll do everything to take care of you. Mine had the platter with ortofon om5e and built in Pluto and I really liked the sound (eventually upgraded to my current technics 1200 GR with ortofon 2m blue and Hagerman)
     
  11. Pyruvate

    Pyruvate Friend

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    You made a great choice with the Orbit. The custom + 2M Blue is a steal for the price you got it at. Tack on a decent phono and you have a serious vinyl rig. @ohmaigulay and I both pretty much maxed our orbits with a decent cart + phono and we can promise you that our analog rigs have beaten out our current digital rig. Both of us recommend the Nighthawk; perhaps the biggest upgrade we had which fully convinced us that an analog rig is worth pursuing. You’ll soon discover that yes, vinyl is a huge sinkhole, but so so worth the trouble.

    I do recommend getting a cue lever though, it makes dropping the needle way easier. I know it’s an added expense, but I figured that I’d rather be on the safe side rather than ruining a pricey stylus.

    Repeating what was said before, their customer service is top notch. Even if you bought your table used, the guys at uturn will take care of you. Do not hesitate contacting them for anything.

    Happy listening!
     
  12. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    Thanks alot man, I'm happy to join the SBAF vinyl family. Ive always had a thing for vinyl, before I moved to Indy, my buddy in detroit and I used to spin classic rock vinyls and drink cheap beer till the early hours every weekend. The Fry's by me apparently has the cue levers in stock, so I'll probably head there Sunday to pick one up. Big props to @Vansen for the great deal. Once I get the table set up I'll post over in the Set-Ups thread.
     
  13. Gallic Dweller

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    What a thread - phono stages. In 2009 when it looked like the international Ponzi scheme was going to collapse worldwide I saw a Kevin Edwards designed, Talk Electrinics MC3 was for sale in the UK for half price @ £600 - fully discrete design using some components that were no longer available. Multiple loading options, separate PSU, mono switching - I bought it and still use it today.

    The thing about any good piece of equipment is that when some actual upgrading takes place - you can hear it. The DV 336 screams out to be modded, it seems to gel with the MC3 as that does with my Kenwood KD 990 and the very under-rated AT 33EV - why did I have to wait so many decades to really begin to hear Joni Mitchell/Jackson Browne/Pete Green/Jaco Pastorious.

    Sometimes the MC3 comes up for sale, not often - here's a piece of s/s gear that just seems to allow valve/hybrid gear (I run a hybrid amp) to really sing.

    There are some great valve phono stages but they can take a lot of fettling and then there's the dreaded hum. One thing I really dislike about a lot of valve gear - there's too many valves - it becomes a melange. A phono stage should be kept as simple as possible, many s/s ones are far too complicated.

    My advice is make sure your front end is good, sorry to tell you but cheapo t/ts and cheapo cartrdges don't cut the mustard and wasting fortunes on expensive bling is plain stupid - there are lots of mega expensive MCs that are really a complete rip-off. There are some really good phono stages and some MMs that will put a smile on your face for a reasonable price - just don't get caught up in the hype and don't be afraid to buy s/hand.
     
  14. PTS

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    I once owned the Nighthawk and honestly don't get the hype. Sure, it's a half decent phono pre for the money, but painfully average when compared to some phono pres you can get in the 1k range second hand. I had a shoot out between the Nighthawk and Avid Pulsus, and the Nighthawk's shortcomings were glaringly obvious. My advice is to save up a little longer and get something you'll not need to upgrade in a very long time (if ever).
     
  15. Dr. Higgs

    Dr. Higgs Boson - Member

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    Didn't want to be the first guy to say it considering the hype, but I didn't think it even held up against my old Hagerman Bugle 2 (which was/is about half the price...) in any respects when I had a chance to compare on my old TT15S1 setup recently.
     
  16. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    I kinda wondered about that. Most places I read about phono preamps say that passive RIAA is considered the best, yet the Nighthawk has active RIAA equalization. Doesn't mean it's always true, but it does make me wonder what the Nighthawk was doing differently.
     
  17. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    I will chime in as a former Nighthawk owner. The only reason I sold it was because I moved away from speakers back to headphones full time. @Pyruvate stated it perfectly in his review, that the Nighthawk excels in 2-channel setups. On a headphone setup it has a more closed-in stage, which some folks may prefer (I don't). I briefly used my Lyr 3 phono and I wish the Mani was half (literally) as good as that phono stage. I'm happy going back to my partially upgraded TC-750 (LPS, no caps, yet).
    I can understand the negativity towards the Nighthawk at full retail price. However, it seems the used prices are coming down to more reasonable levels.
     
  18. powermatic

    powermatic Friend

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    New pre/phono pre from Parks Audio. Their former product was a tube-based phono stage with a good rep, this one is (I'm guessing) op amp, but my god the versatility is off the charts, especially for the price! It's too bad it only has one set of inputs because the adjustable gain goes low enough for a digital player, but I guess for $400.00 you can't have it all. Might be a good buy for the loaner program?:rolleyes:

    http://parksaudiollc.com/
     
  19. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    So this does RIAA in the digital domain?
     
  20. powermatic

    powermatic Friend

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    Yeah, I think so. I'm trying to be open minded.
     

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