Mid range phono stage... what shortlist? (£2k second hand)

[benito]

I’m in between a gold note PH1000 Lite and the Whest Audio 30 or 40. Any advice please?

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Offered is „H-3000 LCR Phono Amplifier“ by Allnic Audio as second-hand device from the category „Phono Amplifier“ on audio-markt.de - the online market place for high-end. The advert with the number 3663907407 ends on 25.04.2024 at 06:56 o'clock.

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[Ricco275]

Allnic Audio H-3000 LCR Phono Amplifier (3663907407) | Second-hand device | Phono Amplifier | Offer on audio-markt.de

Offered is „H-3000 LCR Phono Amplifier“ by Allnic Audio as second-hand device from the category „Phono Amplifier“ on audio-markt.de - the online market place for high-end. The advert with the number 3663907407 ends on 25.04.2024 at 06:56 o'clock.

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Thank you @benito i don’t have enough space for the Allnic lol. I’m more into SS, regardless dimensions.

 

[analyzer]

I’m in between a gold note PH1000 Lite and the Whest Audio 30 or 40. Any advice please?

Just my opinion... My choice will go to Goldnote 1000 for overall flexibility of use.
Selection of impedance and gain through front display is simply another world in comparison of Whest line which has an annoying selection with dip switches in lower chassis.
I had Whest 30rdt and 30SE in the past. They sounded good and correct, they were just a little bit prone sometimes to catch radio noises in my home. I found that were undoubtly overpriced considering the minimal circuit you find inside but all here knows that this is a common problem in high-end audio.
Later I replaced with a modest Goldnote PH-10 (not the expensive 1000) with external PSU; less than a half price of Whest 30 and very similar sound quality and... Last but not least I finally had the option of some EQ Curves; maybe you're not interested in explorying the matter, nevermind... Me I don't wanna go back without EQ options.
Marco

 

[Ricco275]

Just my opinion... My choice will go to Goldnote 1000 for overall flexibility of use.
Selection of impedance and gain through front display is simply another world in comparison of Whest line which has an annoying selection with dip switches in lower chassis.
I had Whest 30rdt and 30SE in the past. They sounded good and correct, they were just a little bit prone sometimes to catch radio noises in my home. I found that were undoubtly overpriced considering the minimal circuit you find inside but all here knows that this is a common problem in high-end audio.
Later I replaced with a modest Goldnote PH-10 (not the expensive 1000) with external PSU; less than a half price of Whest 30 and very similar sound quality and... Last but not least I finally had the option of some EQ Curves; maybe you're not interested in explorying the matter, nevermind... Me I don't wanna go back without EQ options.
Marco

Grazie Marco for your insights. I am interested in the EQ if I can use it as kind of loudness button feature. I can listen mostly to low volume and that would help. I love the aesthetics of gold note, aesthetics is highly important to me, I listen with my eyes too! The only reason I was looking at Whest is that they seem to have wide and deep soundstage which is what I like. Gold Note had mixed review in that sense. Unfortunately I won't be able to audition it before purchasing, that's why the hesitation. What are your impression on the PH10 soundstage?

 

[benito]

Thank you @benito i don’t have enough space for the Allnic lol. I’m more into SS, regardless dimensions.

Go to see Jean-François at AMS

 

[Ricco275]

Go to see Jean-François at AMS

I know him well. He will have the distribution for Whest Audio in France.

 

[analyzer]

Grazie Marco for your insights. I am interested in the EQ if I can use it as kind of loudness button feature. I can listen mostly to low volume and that would help. I love the aesthetics of gold note, aesthetics is highly important to me, I listen with my eyes too! The only reason I was looking at Whest is that they seem to have wide and deep soundstage which is what I like. Gold Note had mixed review in that sense. Unfortunately I won't be able to audition it before purchasing, that's why the hesitation. What are your impression on the PH10 soundstage?

About soundstage I can tell you PH-10 that is not among the best contenders. Presentation of instruments Is proportionally well sized; wide but not so deep. I listen every week with It in my system but It lacks in the sense of ambience and space that the best phono can reveal.
Overall the Goldnote ph-10 is quiet, fast and well extended a bargain considering features and costs. But It lacks in the bass & midbass area in punch and authority. Also Whest 30 was not superb in this context.
Allnic 3000, Boulder 1008 and Whest Ref mono mkIV; all these were undoubtly better than Goldnote and Whest 30 but costs are sooo higher...

 

[DasguteOhr]

Be quick

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[Ricco275]

About soundstage I can tell you PH-10 that is not among the best contenders. Presentation of instruments Is proportionally well sized; wide but not so deep. I listen every week with It in my system but It lacks in the sense of ambience and space that the best phono can reveal.
Overall the Goldnote ph-10 is quiet, fast and well extended a bargain considering features and costs. But It lacks in the bass & midbass area in punch and authority. Also Whest 30 was not superb in this context.
Allnic 3000, Boulder 1008 and Whest Ref mono mkIV; all these were undoubtly better than Goldnote and Whest 30 but costs are sooo higher...

Thanks Marco. I need to find out if the PH1000 lite will deliver the same soundstage width and depth.

 

[Anthony Ho]

I’m in between a gold note PH1000 Lite and the Whest Audio 30 or 40. Any advice please?

I have the Whest 40SE previously before upgraded to Titan Pro series, the 40SE is absolutely brilliant although at a much higher price tag. Great definition and accurate sound, but better to pair with warmer interconnect or power cable IMHO. A bit clumsy to access the dip switches underneath but all i care about is the sound quality it produced.

 

[ssfas]

I wanted a second phono instead of the internal phono in my amp (main phono is RCM Sensor Mk2). I gave James Henriot at Whest a call. What a charming man. Has another life as a recording engineer and is a complete jazz nut. Turns out we've been to quite a few of the same gigs around London. Bought a Two.2 Discrete. He suggested I pop round and pick it up, wish I declined because the chances are I'd end up there all afternoon.

 

[wbass]

I wanted a second phono instead of the internal phono in my amp (main phono is RCM Sensor Mk2). I gave James Henriot at Whest a call. What a charming man. Has another life as a recording engineer and is a complete jazz nut. Turns out we've been to quite a few of the same gigs around London. Bought a Two.2 Discrete. He suggested I pop round and pick it up, wish I declined because the chances are I'd end up there all afternoon.

Sounds like a result. Didn't know Whest was in London.

 

[ssfas]

Sounds like a result. Didn't know Whest was in London.

He’s just off the Chiswick roundabout (for those who know London). I live about 10 miles round the North Circular, from me to Whest is about 15 minutes at 3 am and about an hour at 3 pm. 3 am would be good for me, probably not for him. I’d drive past Vertere on the way, so I could pop into Touraj’s place and get a turntable. I like Touraj and his devices, he’s well respected. Fortunately I just bought a turntable, which was a 350 mile round trip to Classic Turntables, although I was home by lunchtime.

 

[hexx]

I wanted a second phono instead of the internal phono in my amp (main phono is RCM Sensor Mk2). I gave James Henriot at Whest a call. What a charming man. Has another life as a recording engineer and is a complete jazz nut. Turns out we've been to quite a few of the same gigs around London. Bought a Two.2 Discrete. He suggested I pop round and pick it up, wish I declined because the chances are I'd end up there all afternoon.

Yep, extremely nice gentleman to talk to. I’ve bought 30 and was thinking about upgrading it to SE model. Gave him a call (COVID) and he popped over for a chat which we had outside due to pandemic rules. He used to live in the same development where I live now and his office/workshop is just few mins away. In the end and after really good chat about a lot things (music, concerts, photography…) I ended up upgrading all the way to model 40. It was quite a noticeable step up from model 30.

 

[Ricco275]

Yep, extremely nice gentleman to talk to. I’ve bought 30 and was thinking about upgrading it to SE model. Gave him a call (COVID) and he popped over for a chat which we had outside due to pandemic rules. He used to live in the same development where I live now and his office/workshop is just few mins away. In the end and after really good chat about a lot things (music, concerts, photography…) I ended up upgrading all the way to model 40. It was quite a noticeable step up from model 30.

I wonder if James will introduce a new mid tier phono stage. Quite a gap today between the 60 and the model before that. The Moon LP610 was on my list and thinking to opt for Whest I would need to make the leap for the 60se.

 

[hexx]

I wonder if James will introduce a new mid tier phono stage. Quite a gap today between the 60 and the model before that. The Moon LP610 was on my list and thinking to opt for Whest I would need to make the leap for the 60se.

Might be worth checking if there’s any ex-demo unit or B-Stock. They have them from time to time in their website

 

[hexx]

One, important in my opinion, thing that isn’t discussed properly is the fact that Whest phono pre-amps just do whatever is on the record.

If the record is cool and dynamic (think electronica) the pre-amp will play it fully. If you play something warm (Getz/Gilberto) it will be so sweet that you’d feel you’re listening to a tube-based pre-amp.

And the same applies to cartridges; I’ve tried Nagaoka MP-200, MP-500, Denon 103 and VdH FROG (yet to try Brinkmann EMT-Ti) - they all come out with their character.

And I think this is the best attribute of Whest phono pre-amps - it disappears and lets the music flow through it, regardless of an intent of the sound engineer