On hunt for new a phonostage

[TooCool4]

Thanks agin allvinyl, I know I am a bit fussy but the other thing with the Lino C is dip switches. I am used to the controls upfront.
One of these days I will find what I want, the Rega is the front runner for now.

 

[allvinyl]

Thanks agin allvinyl, I know I am a bit fussy but the other thing with the Lino C is dip switches. I am used to the controls upfront.
One of these days I will find what I want, the Rega is the front runner for now.

For the 3.3 dip switches are only needed to set gain, damping, and for flat or internal-applied RIAA signal output. All else is now done via toggle switches on the front of the bottom panel

 

[TooCool4]

Checkout the Rega Aura, Esoteric E-03 / E-02, you can’t get cleaner or simpler than that for a phonostage with controls for the cartridge. No dip switches in sight.

 

[Solypsa]

Simpler for user yes. Cleaner is a designers choice ( depending on definitions )

 

[dan31]

Given you need controls on the front, the Esoteric would be my choice. Depending on your cartridge the loading choices available might make all the difference in which unit you choose.

Uaually once gain and load are dialed in you wouldn’t need the front control. I get that you want what you want. Both my phonostages have loading on the back side, old school.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

When I owned the Rega Aura, the quick access dials on the front for me were not a pretty sight and not necessary as once you have set the cartridge parameters for capacitance and gain you can forget about them unless you are going to change the cartridge very frequently (certainly not the design goal for Rega as the Aura was designed to be matched to the Rega RB2000 and RB3000 tonearms and Rega Apheta and Aphelion cartridges with their RP10, P10 and Naiad TT's ).

Also the fixed quantity of capacitance and gain settings are limiting if you want to fine tune your cartridge that is not a Rega cartridge.

I would say that only the 'Mono' and 'Mute' and possibly the 'Gain' press buttons would be useful to have on the front.

Just my 2 pennies worth from owning the Rega Aura !

 

[TooCool4]

Uaually once gain and load are dialed in you wouldn’t need the front control. I get that you want what you want. Both my phonostages have loading on the back side, old school.

Yes I only need it while setting up then I don’t touch it again, but while setting up I can change it on the fly and hear the effect immediately. None of these turning it off adjusting dip switches on the back, then having to remember what it sounded like while listening to the new setting.

Don’t forget I currently own the Rega Ios which has the same controls upfront.

 

[TooCool4]

Bonesy Jonsey I like and think the controls upfront look good, yes I don’t use it all the time but still useful to be able to hear the change immediately while setting up.
Since I have tried it in my system, it works very well with my setup so no problem there with compatibility.

 

[rossb]

When I owned the Rega Aura, the quick access dials on the front for me were not a pretty sight and not necessary as once you have set the cartridge parameters for capacitance and gain you can forget about them unless you are going to change the cartridge very frequently (certainly not the design goal for Rega as the Aura was designed to be matched to the Rega RB2000 and RB3000 tonearms and Rega Apheta and Aphelion cartridges with their RP10, P10 and Naiad TT's ).

Also the fixed quantity of capacitance and gain settings are limiting if you want to fine tune your cartridge that is not a Rega cartridge.

I would say that only the 'Mono' and 'Mute' and possibly the 'Gain' press buttons would be useful to have on the front.

Just my 2 pennies worth from owning the Rega Aura !

The idea that the Aura was designed solely for the Rega cartridges and tonearms is complete nonsense. How do you even design a phono stage to match a tonearm? The Aura was designed to match a wide variety of cartridges and vinyl setups, and it does so extremely well.

Okay, you owned an Aura, and had to spend about 10 times as much to replace it. I'm sure the CH Precision phono stage is very good. At that price, I would certainly hope so, and I'm not suprised you have to justify your purchase by criticising the phono stage it replaced.

I'm not suggesting that the Rega Aura is the best phono stage on the planet - far from it. I'm sure that there are many that are better. But at or around its price - which is still very high by most normal standards - I personally have not heard anything better, and have heard some much more expensive phono stages that are far less musical, entertaining and engaging.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

The idea that the Aura was designed solely for the Rega cartridges and tonearms is complete nonsense. How do you even design a phono stage to match a tonearm? The Aura was designed to match a wide variety of cartridges and vinyl setups, and it does so extremely well.

Okay, you owned an Aura, and had to spend about 10 times as much to replace it. I'm sure the CH Precision phono stage is very good. At that price, I would certainly hope so, and I'm not suprised you have to justify your purchase by criticising the phono stage it replaced.

I'm not suggesting that the Rega Aura is the best phono stage on the planet - far from it. I'm sure that there are many that are better. But at or around its price - which is still very high by most normal standards - I personally have not heard anything better, and have heard some much more expensive phono stages that are far less musical, entertaining and engaging.

The tonearm was mentioned in my post because the Aura was specifically designed and manufactured for the Rega Apheta and Aphelion Cartridges which were mainly designed and manufactured for the RB2000 and RB3000 tonearms. Not that the Aura was specifically designed for the Rega tonearms...lol ...that would be nonsense.

I didn't have to spend extra funds to replace the Aura (and no it wasn't 10x the amount.....lol )

And no, the CH P1 isn't very good it is brilliant to my ears in my system and also one of the most flexible phono stages !

The Rega Aura was just good (for it's price) in my system. Once I got rid of the P10 the Aura also had to go....so it did !

 

[allvinyl]

I appreciate all the contributions to this discussion, as I'm still primarily analog sourced while I continue to ponder a streaming configuration.

As an early adopter of the Lino C, it was and continues to be a great match for my low impedance Etna. I've upgraded twice to my now 2.2 version. I'll upgrade again at some point to the 3.3 version and receive 80% credit towards that upgrade. Pretty good in this insanely expensive hobby. I plan to expand my cartridge choices and the 3.3 with the additional voltage-mode will provide that flexibility.

Additionally, I'm also taking advantage of the ability to record vinyl through Pure Vinyl outputting flat files for playback from a NAS while choosing from an infinite number of equalization curves. Through this process I'll slowly pare down my vinyl collection while still having all the music. Selling off the recorded LPs will fund my future systems' purchases without putting dents in my retirement dollars.

All in all I love the flexibility this phono section affords. Its great sonics is just icing on this analog cake.

P.S. (I personally don't mind the few dip switches.)

 

[Jim Hagerman]

One of the things I require from a phonostage is that it must have the controls / loading on an easy to adjust dial on the front panel

Totally agree. I've updated my designs to have front panel controls. Years ago I made the Trumpet Reference (no longer available), which had a wired remote that let you actually sit in the listening chair while toggling through loading and EQ settings. I even added a 1/2 second mute during switching such that there were no annoying pops. That was the ultimate!

 

[Massimo66]

One of the most versatile is L'aesthetix rhea, but I would go for the signature version, from the remote control I managed the three inputs, the gain and the load independently. With medium output mc cartridges it was perfect, at the time that I had a legendary Ortofon mc 3000 mkII among my trolleys, with the latter I used transformers, since its output was 0.12, but with the clearaudios or with the Dynavectors they were not necessary. nice appliance but very delicate, before buying it check if there is a suitable assistance center in your country.

 

[mtemur]

Through this process I'll slowly pare down my vinyl collection while still having all the music. Selling off the recorded LPs will fund my future systems' purchases without putting dents in my retirement dollars.

It will be the biggest mistake in this hobby if you do that. If you think that a rip sounds as good as the record it’s sourced from you’re wrong.

P.S. Just incase anybody question the absence of IMHO I deliberately didn’t put it cause I’m pretty sure about the sentence above.

 

[allvinyl]

mtemur - you may have mistakenly assumed that I believe the rips would equal the sonic quality of playing the lp. I emphatically don't and never wrote I do. What I value is still having the music, reducing the number of LPs I have to move to a different locale, and using funds generated by the LP sales to generate $$ I can use for equipment upgrades without impacting saved retirement $$.

 

[kodomo]

The Lino C is the best phono preamp regardless of price for me but it works better with lower internal resistance cartridges. The 3.3 has high impedance cartridge switch too but the whole idea of transimpedance preamp works better inherently with lower impedance cartridges. I have not put it head to head but I had experienced CH P1 current input and for me getting the Lino C was a no brainer. It is at least as good sounding as that at maybe 1/10th of the price. P1 has a lot more extras but if we talk about sound only and current input, Lino C woudl stand its ground. It is also the quitest phono stage I have had. A Rega (I had ios reference once) has nothing on it.

 

[TooCool4]

kokomo i have been reading up on the Lino C 3.3 version, looks interesting. Apparently it will work with cartridges with up to 40ohm internal resistance.

I see they do a 30 day money back guarantee, if they have a UK distributor it would be worth getting one in for a try.

With regards to Rega Ios Ref, the Rega Aura is apparently a good step above the Ios Ref.

 

[Frenchrooster]

The idea that the Aura was designed solely for the Rega cartridges and tonearms is complete nonsense. How do you even design a phono stage to match a tonearm? The Aura was designed to match a wide variety of cartridges and vinyl setups, and it does so extremely well.

Okay, you owned an Aura, and had to spend about 10 times as much to replace it. I'm sure the CH Precision phono stage is very good. At that price, I would certainly hope so, and I'm not suprised you have to justify your purchase by criticising the phono stage it replaced.

I'm not suggesting that the Rega Aura is the best phono stage on the planet - far from it. I'm sure that there are many that are better. But at or around its price - which is still very high by most normal standards - I personally have not heard anything better, and have heard some much more expensive phono stages that are far less musical, entertaining and engaging.

The Aura seems to be your favourite. But other prefer Superline / Supercap . these things are also system, ears dependant. And above all, it depends on the cartridge you have. If for example I had a top Dynavector cart with my Ear 912, I would say that my phono is a crap, with hum, noise, and low dynamics.
what’s yours?

 

[TooCool4]

With everyone talking so much about the Lino C, I have been reading up on it. I am liking what I read.

I called Channel D to see if they have a UK distributor so I can borrow one to try out at home, unfortunately not.

After spending some time on the phone with Channel D, asking all sorts of questions about every aspect of the phonostage. When I finished I asked for the name of whom I was talking to, so when I email them I know whom to reference. I was surprised to find out I had been talking to Rob the designer himself all the time. I have to say the guy is very nice and helpful and answered all my questions.

I think I am about to do something, I never do which is to buy something blind without having listening to it in my system first. They have a 30-day money back guarantee, but since I am far away I cannot take advantage of this. If I pay the money, it’s a one-way trip so I better like it. Just making up my mind now whether to go for it or not.

I am looking at getting the one with the Current mode and the Voltage mode, that way if my cartridge does not work well with the Current mode at least I can use the Voltage mode. That is a $995 extra, but better safe than sorry.

 

[matakana]

With everyone talking so much about the Lino C, I have been reading up on it. I am liking what I read.

I called Channel D to see if they have a UK distributor so I can borrow one to try out at home, unfortunately not.

After spending some time on the phone with Channel D, asking all sorts of questions about every aspect of the phonostage. When I finished I asked for the name of whom I was talking to, so when I email them I know whom to reference. I was surprised to find out I had been talking to Rob the designer himself all the time. I have to say the guy is very nice and helpful and answered all my questions.

I think I am about to do something, I never do which is to buy something blind without having listening to it in my system first. They have a 30-day money back guarantee, but since I am far away I cannot take advantage of this. If I pay the money, it’s a one-way trip so I better like it. Just making up my mind now whether to go for it or not.

I am looking at getting the one with the Current mode and the Voltage mode, that way if my cartridge does not work well with the Current mode at least I can use the Voltage mode. That is a $995 extra, but better safe than sorry.

Good luck if you do, you will always wonder if you dont! Remember import duty and the VAT-duty though.