Hagerman Labs - Bugle 3 phono
- Thread starter Hawkeye83
- Start date
Got the Bugle 3 installed in my system and so far I think it sounds great! I have a little "noise" coming through (helicopter noise) but if I re-position my interconnects it goes away...no hum whatsoever, even without a grounding cable. Pretty pumped to be spinning vinyl again, it's been 3-4 weeks since I have! The Bugle isn't much to look at but it's hidden in a cabinet anyway...definitely good sound for the money.
Just another update. The sound is very good except when there is a dynamic peak, I get some distortion. Any "best guess" as to what would cause this?
My set-up is in my signature, but it is essentially:
Rega RP1 w/Denon DL-160 cartridge -> Bugle 3 phono preamp (set to the factory settings of 47k loading and 40 dB of gain) -> Sainsmart 6N3 tube preamp ($37 Chinese thing but sounds good for the most part!) -> Emotiva UPA-200 amp.
Sound is very good at lower volume, but you do hear every snap, crackle, and pop from the vinyl...it's very detailed. Then when the dynamic peaks come in, it sounds like a mild distortion, almost like the needle is dirty or there is a mismatch of some sort.
Any thoughts welcome, I'm no expert at load matching or anything like that. Maybe I can get a recording of it to help clarify.
My set-up is in my signature, but it is essentially:
Rega RP1 w/Denon DL-160 cartridge -> Bugle 3 phono preamp (set to the factory settings of 47k loading and 40 dB of gain) -> Sainsmart 6N3 tube preamp ($37 Chinese thing but sounds good for the most part!) -> Emotiva UPA-200 amp.
Sound is very good at lower volume, but you do hear every snap, crackle, and pop from the vinyl...it's very detailed. Then when the dynamic peaks come in, it sounds like a mild distortion, almost like the needle is dirty or there is a mismatch of some sort.
Any thoughts welcome, I'm no expert at load matching or anything like that. Maybe I can get a recording of it to help clarify.
Another update...
In my system I had the Bugle on the bottom shelf next to the Sainsmart preamp. Next shelf up is the Beresford input switcher and an Nvidia Shield Android TV. Top shelf is Rega RP1. This is on the right side of the cabinet. On the left side, I have the KEF Kube, Stax headphones, Emotiva DAC, Blu-Ray player, and Emotiva amp.
So I thought for sure the problem was in my cheap interconnects. I ordered a $42 Blue Jeans cable, well-shielded. But then I kept playing around with positioning. It seemed the closer the Bugle power cable came to the RCA cables, the louder the "helicopter sound" got. I thought the solution was going to be getting a better interconnect and keeping the Bugle power cable away from the interconnects.
For some reason I decided to pull out the Nvidia Shield and unplug it...the noise completely went away!!!
So I moved the Nvidia Shield from the right side of the cabinet to the left side...away from the Bugle...and the noise is gone.
So I canceled the order for the fancy interconnect.
Problem solved!
Now, no distortion on loud passages, and no helicopter sound...everything sounding great! I can finally whole-heartedly recommend a Bugle 3 phono preamp as a nice inexpensive option. It would say it's strong suits are CLARITY and BASS. The midrange is fine, it's airy enough...the sound is maybe slightly bright and slightly "hard" but that may be the cheap tube preamp, cheap interconnects, relatively cheap amplifier...it just sounds a little harder and a little brighter than the phono section of my (former) Juicy Blueberry Extreme (of course not nearly in the same league price-wise either).
I'd love to compare it against some other phono preamps but for now and the foreseeable future it's what I'll be playing vinyl through...and I'm not complaining!
In my system I had the Bugle on the bottom shelf next to the Sainsmart preamp. Next shelf up is the Beresford input switcher and an Nvidia Shield Android TV. Top shelf is Rega RP1. This is on the right side of the cabinet. On the left side, I have the KEF Kube, Stax headphones, Emotiva DAC, Blu-Ray player, and Emotiva amp.
So I thought for sure the problem was in my cheap interconnects. I ordered a $42 Blue Jeans cable, well-shielded. But then I kept playing around with positioning. It seemed the closer the Bugle power cable came to the RCA cables, the louder the "helicopter sound" got. I thought the solution was going to be getting a better interconnect and keeping the Bugle power cable away from the interconnects.
For some reason I decided to pull out the Nvidia Shield and unplug it...the noise completely went away!!!
So I moved the Nvidia Shield from the right side of the cabinet to the left side...away from the Bugle...and the noise is gone.
So I canceled the order for the fancy interconnect.
Problem solved!
Now, no distortion on loud passages, and no helicopter sound...everything sounding great! I can finally whole-heartedly recommend a Bugle 3 phono preamp as a nice inexpensive option. It would say it's strong suits are CLARITY and BASS. The midrange is fine, it's airy enough...the sound is maybe slightly bright and slightly "hard" but that may be the cheap tube preamp, cheap interconnects, relatively cheap amplifier...it just sounds a little harder and a little brighter than the phono section of my (former) Juicy Blueberry Extreme (of course not nearly in the same league price-wise either).
I'd love to compare it against some other phono preamps but for now and the foreseeable future it's what I'll be playing vinyl through...and I'm not complaining!
NWRES
New Member
I also recently received a Bugle3. And I had a similar rhythmic background noise like the helicopter noise you described. I emailed Hagerman with an mp3 recording of the sound and Jim Hagerman replied the next morning telling me that the noise was from WIFI. My modem is near my stereo setup and it was picking up the signal. I created a cheap and ugly shield by unfolding an unused piece of fine steel wool into a sheet and then I wrapped it around the outside of the Bugle3. Problem solved no more noise! I may try a DIY metal case project next.
The Bugle3 sounds excellent. Better than my Rega Fono. The Bugle is more detailed and has better bass response. It can sound bright, but I feel that may be more to do with the cartridge. I am currently using an AT100E VM which is known to be on the bright side. And I have new stylus on the way for another AT cart as well as a Sure M111-HE. I am hoping that the Sure will match well with the Bugle3 and I am looking forward to hearing the new hyper elliptical stylus.
The Bugle3 sounds excellent. Better than my Rega Fono. The Bugle is more detailed and has better bass response. It can sound bright, but I feel that may be more to do with the cartridge. I am currently using an AT100E VM which is known to be on the bright side. And I have new stylus on the way for another AT cart as well as a Sure M111-HE. I am hoping that the Sure will match well with the Bugle3 and I am looking forward to hearing the new hyper elliptical stylus.
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