Best tube phono preamp under 10.000

[PeterA]

I have no huberous to say what I use is the best. Its good. It works for me. It is what I selected from what I heard and what I read or talked with friends about. But come on??????? There is no one Best Phono stage. There isn't. Just like there is no one best amp or speaker. There isn't. There are options.
Every stand alone piece of equipment is going to react to the environment it is set in. There is no standard for environments. Every room, every equipment setup, every power supply is different. There is 0, as in zero parameters that allow one to say anything is best.

For $10,000 there are 20 to 30 very nice phono preamps that someone could love. If I was in a room that did not have RF issues, I would probably have selected a different phono stage that the one I did. I love the phono pre I have, but I have heard better. But there were issues in my space. Noise issues. The new space I am in may not have the same issues as the old. But the phono pre I bought is darn good and I feel no impious to sell it for something else

You said there are so many good $10,000 phono stages and then asked how one could call one of those the best. I responded by suggesting that he could listen to the alternatives and decide for himself which he thinks is best. I don’t find that to be a very controversial answer to your question.

I assume you were asking in the general sense and not focusing on your own particular situation. I did my own phono stage comparison with three competing units in the $10,000 range in my own system. Yes it was only three and not 20 to 30, but it was immediately clear to me which one I thought was best. I simply judged by listening. I’m surprised your reaction was laughter.

 

[Kingrex]

I tried about 7 in my living room in the $4000 range. They were all good. They all had a flavor. I picked the one I liked that worked best. I did not pick the one that sounded best to me. There were actually a couple that I really liked. But they had noise issues.

With my first post, I was trying to say, there are so many choices, and so many variables, there is no best. There are options.

 

[adrianywu]

Sadly, I couldn't get the link to work.

Try searching EBay for this item: 163401826837

 

[No Regrets]

Try searching EBay for this item: 163401826837

Ah, thank you! This link worked in the eBay search bar.

Best wishes,
Don

 

[Anton D]

I would add the ModWright PH 150s.

 

[Anton D]

Ah, thank you! This link worked in the eBay search bar.

Best wishes,
Don

Very exciting!

 

[skids929]

These are all great choices. Bias aside, if you can stretch your budget just a bit, the Trafomatic Class A balanced preamplifier, which uses 6N30P output tubes and features a separate power supply, is worth listening to. Both Colin of Gestalt and Ron have enjoyed extended listening and can attest to the unit's considerable value. The Lara comes in black or white as standard.

Good luck with your search.

I honestly can't believe you are a dealer...Guy laid out his criteria, you ignored, suggested he buy preamp not a phono like he asked from a failing brand you are trying to revitalize for more than what he wanted to spend. Pay attention and quit schilling.

 

[Balle Clorin]

Anyone buying a new RIAA should consider a Parks Audio Waxwing , nothing comes near it when it comes to features and adjustments, and is a vinyl set up tool too. Very good RIAA implementation and good subsonic filters others can envy. And you will have more money to spend on records..

 

[Odd Harry]

Anyone buying a new RIAA should consider a Parks Audio Waxwing , nothing comes near it when it comes to features and adjustments, and is a vinyl set up tool too. Very good RIAA implementation and good subsonic filters others can envy. And you will have more money to spend on records..

Where is the Tubes located on the Parks Audio Waxwing ?

 

[analogsa]

Where is the Tubes located on the Parks Audio Waxwing ?

The tubes are emulted in the dsp. You can choose among many from the app, even directly heated

 

[No Regrets]

Another suggestion for your consideration would be the Wavestream Kinetics Deluxe Reference Level 5.1. When I bought mine a few years back, the price new was $10,000. I'm not sure what it may be priced at now.

It is an all vacuum tube design currently using (2 x 12AX7, 4 x 6DJ8); with extremely low noise ( I believe with the external power supply, noise is below 1uV (one-millionth of a volt ) competing with the best of the solid state phonos; providing 3 front panel selectable inputs providing 62 dB of gain (without the use of SUT’s or FETS) with a useful cartridge range of 0.2mV to 1.2mV. Having both Balanced and RCA inputs and outputs; adjustable loading available on the back panel via custom loading plugs; and an essentially flat RIAA EQ curve within one tenth of a dB (.1dB) from 3 Hz to 40 Khz.
Naturally, with any vacuum tubed high gain phono stage you will want to use selected low noise tubes, but I can say when using my NOS Mullards in this phono stage, it is dead quiet with my ears up against the speakers with my Dunlavy Signature SCIV's 91 dB sensitivity. I love not having to use a step up transformer with this phono stage; not having to worry about the SUT coloring the audio signal or worrying about possible hum issues, and having to use extra interconnects and connections, etc.

The Wavestream Kinetics gives me the pure, high gain, low noise sound that I love. It is incredibly dynamic in both the micro and macro sense, never runs out of steam, has the "meat on the bones" which I crave, brings the human voice to life, showcases the resonance of the body of cellos and acoustic bass, has the finesse for brushes on cymbals and snares, etc.

It truly is an incredible phono stage built by Scott Frankland, a genius when it comes to engineering and designing audio circuits and a true gentleman in every sense of the word who offers incredible customer service and support, which is the icing on the cake! I can't speak highly enough of both him and his products. This phonostage, imho, is an endgame piece!

For those of you who may not remember who Scott Frankland of Wavestream Kinetics is... He is the "F" in the MFA audio brand (Moore, Frankland & Associates) from years past who made incredible sounding vacuum tube amps, preamps and phono stages. You also may remember him from the famous V-8 tube amplifiers he made...

View attachment 152733

View attachment 152734

I will try and attach some photos of my phono stage below. This phono stage is quite large and heavy!
It comes shipped very securely in a very heavy duty wooden crate...

View attachment 152729


The outboard power supply came in a doubled cardboard box.

View attachment 152730

This phonostage is a behemoth. Very wide and extremely deep. You will need a large, sturdy shelf with lots of depth to be able to place this unit.

View attachment 152731

If you are looking for a vacuum tubed phono stage for around the $10K mark, you owe it to yourself to look into this unit. It is amazing!!!

Best wishes to you all,
Don

I love seeing all of the recommendations for the various tubed phono amps in the $10K range. There have been a lot of great suggestions!
I thought it might be interesting if people might share a video of their recommended phono amp playing in their audio system

With that in mind, here is a video that I just made yesterday featuring the Wavestream Kinetics Deluxe Reference Level 5.1 with outboard power supply that I had suggested earlier in this thread.

*** You may enjoy the video more-so if listening through a decent set of headphones vs the cellphone/laptop speakers.***

Best wishes,
Don