Sherwood S8000 iv Receiver - Tube Newb Questions

[mfsibbald]

Hi all I have an opportunity to possibly get one of these receivers.

I have only used SS gear, the usual vintage stuff Yammies, Sansui, Marantz etc. My question is, is the phono stage on this receiver good?

I am very much a vinyl guy and the radio where I live is generally not worth listening to, not much variety, to say the least. I want to try tube gear but literally know nothing about it. The person selling/trading has said all restoration has been complete and that's what I want for my first adventure into tube gear is a "drop in" ready unit. However if the phono stage is not as good as my NAD 1240/2200 or Yamaha CR2040 I would be less interested.

I have read several threads on the Sherwood 8000 line, however most threads discuss repair, restoration and upgrades. Not much info on the quality of sound (beyond rich and warm) and phono use, any commentary on these attributes would be appreciated.

Right now I have 8 or 9 turntables, Idlers, belts DD etc. Some needing work some already restored so to say I am "into vinyl" maybe an understatement.

 

[Kegger]

May not be a lot of help but,

I have 3 of these and never used the TT,
When I was perusing them the Phono stage was one of the things that kept coming up in conversation as being very good and very versatile.

Hopefully that is some help and others will chime in,

 

[NoTransistors]

A friend of mine uses a Sherwood tube amp to play records. The amp has been in his family for about 50 years. It uses a different output tube [7591] than the receiver you asked about. I think that it sounds [and looks] fantastic.

 

[gadget73]

I have an S-7000, which is the AM/FM brother to the S-8000. Frankly I don't much care for the phono stage. Sounds like a wet blanket over the records if you ask me. I do need to go back through that thing though and check it for some off-value parts. I seem to remember cracking a small cap on the selector switch and I think I subbed it with a "close" value rather than the proper one. That might be the problem.

Anyway, I run mine with a Garrard MRM (yeah, one of those click filter things) as the phono stage. Don't laugh, its a damn decent phono stage. The click suppressor thing sucks but it sounds nice when that is turned off.

 

[Epic]

I'm in the process to buy a S-8000-III because I like so much my S-7000. It has been fully restored and the phono section is essentially what I use in it. It sounds excellent, better than my Fisher 500b or any other tube gear I own! Buy your Sherwood with confidence, you will love it!

 

[mfsibbald]

ok. Awesome feedback. I will take a TT with me to the audition and see for myself. The follows ups from all of you has given me encouragement to pursue this.

Thanks and if the deal goes through I will post follow up comments.