Best SS Preamp w/Phono Vintage or new $1k-4k?

destroyerzx1

Active Member
Alright so my current setup is
Speakers: Yamaha FX-1
Amp: Yamaha B-2 Currently being serviced
Turntable: Thorens TD126 MKII
Phono pre: ART DJpreii - Temporary for the time being
Preamp: XiangSheng 728A Spent way to much money tube rolling this thing

I had taken my turntable over to my fathers to play through his setup so that when we went down to look at turntables for him he'd have an idea how it sounded on his setup. he ended up getting a rega p6 w/ania cart which sounds pretty damn good and really good through his citation 21 preamp vs my cheapy one -- Shocker --. I've spent many of hrs looking for preamps w/ great phono mostly vintage common ones pop up such as yamaha C1 and c2x both hard to find and typically pricey without any service history. someone compared the c2x to a Nakamichi CA-7A both had pros/cons like anything so i started looking for that with searches like "this vs" which lead me to other preamps with the same search and the cycle continues. so at this time the most i can spend is $1000 on a pre but with vintage being the nature that it is I may have to have it recapped or serviced which of course will add to the cost so lets say in 6 months to a year I can save my pennies and spend around $4000 possibly more but lets keep it locked at that for now. I know this all opinion based and there is no true answer but what would be for lack of a better word "endgame"
 
Get some quality gear that will hold its value as you use it saving up for the next step. Maybe the Audio Research line, SP-9 III, then step up. Other brands can do this, too. I'll leave the floor open for each person to announce his/her favorite and you will have plenty to look at. Don't leave the phono pre/line level preamp off the option list, some are really good.
 
Yes, There are a number of great preamps that do not have phono pres in them. Audio Research the L series (line level, generally) and folks use nice phono preamps with them such as other Audio Research gear or more economically something like the Musical Surroundings Phenomena II. There are a number of them in the 500-1000 range new and used that would be worth considering to use with a great preamp as you step up. At the $1000 level having a phono input is good.

Without knowing what kind of sound you want, hard to direct you to a specific brand but there are a number of good units and I think you would be happy with a number of different units. Not that I would be able to provide sonic info on some of the top units as those don't get discussed much here on AK.
 
You mean like just phono pre's not preamp with phono ?

That is an alternative. My Fosgate Signature phono preamp runs into a transformer volume control with no preamp gain, just source selection and attenuation. fwiw, one of the TVC inputs is from the tape output of a Luxman C1000, giving me all its inputs, too.
 
FX-1's ---drool worthy..:thumbsup:

I stumbled on them went to check something else out. he had just finished refoaming these and when i heard them was blown away then he told me the price... i couldn't say no, actually i immediately said sold lol. Still love them
 
I believe they have the same tweeter and midrange as the NS-1000's but a larger diameter woofer.I've only actually seen one pair.A new pair at the Bitburg mini - BX. But... alas , at a buck sargents pay grade , in Germany, they were still out of my reach.:( Settled for the NS-1000's in macassar ebony.
 
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I believe they have the same tweeter and midrange as the NS-1000's but a larger diameter woofer.
Must be thinking of something else mine are more like these minus lenses as he didn't have them. Ive always wanted to hear the ns1000's i bought 1 off goodwill but when they shipped it they didn't package it right and it ripped the magnets off of all the drivers:mad::(
 

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The best SS pre's I've heard are made by BAT. There is currently a VK42SE for $2K (and a VK-20 for $1,100) on one of the Mart's (via a dealer) and that is a killer pre (line stage only). Pair that up with a nice SS phono stage like ones mentioned above and you'll have a really nice rig :)
 
I am quite curious about the idea of phono stage into preamp any more recommendations for those under or around $1000 I'll start with that then begin hunting for a pre
 
I am quite curious about the idea of phono stage into preamp any more recommendations for those under or around $1000 I'll start with that then begin hunting for a pre
I highly recommend using a stand alone phono stage. My current phono stage is a Krell KPE reference that I bought off Audiogon about 10 years ago for under 1k$, and had recapped a couple of years ago.

Have you considered using a passive preamp? There are some great threads on AK about passive preamps. There are some very good TVC (transformer volume control) and AVC (autoformer volume control) designs that are not particularly expensive.
 
Your budget range is unreasonably wide. Either you want a $1-1.5k pre, a 2-2.5k pre, or a 3-4k pre. Covering your range would require 5+ recommendations minimum. What are you looking for?
 
Your budget range is unreasonably wide. Either you want a $1-1.5k pre, a 2-2.5k pre, or a 3-4k pre. Covering your range would require 5+ recommendations minimum. What are you looking for?
Seems he is looking for an upgrade path. Something now for 1k and maybe something more later.

There are more than a few that buy nice used gear for fair prices and use them for a time and then sell em for what they cost as they try something else or move up to better. The price range does leave a longer list if gear to consider and maybe he wants that and while looking can decide if the extra wait for a better unit is the way to go.
 
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