Phono Preamp Upgrade?

[BartJY]

Which has the better sound, the phono section on the NAD C162 preamp or the Bellari VP-130 phono preamp?

Or another way of putting it, will going with the The Bellari VP-130 be an upgrade? Or should I just stick with the phono section that comes with the NAD C162 Preamp?

Thanks

 

[JohnVF]

Which has the better sound, the phon0 section on the NAD C162 preamp or the Bellari VP-130 phono preamp?

Or another way of putting it, will going with the The Bellari VP-130 be an upgrade? Or should I just stick with the phono section that comes with the NAD C162 Preamp?

Thanks

I'm not familiar with that preamp but if it is similar to the external NAD PP2 phono preamp, I think it would be a matter of which one aligns with your taste more, rather than a slam-dunk upgrade, unless the VP-130 is drastically better than my VP-129. I like them both (my VP-129 went down with a hum problem, though) and they're both good, but I would be hard pressed to call one better than the other. This is all assuming the NAD preamps are similar...I could be very wrong thinking they are.

 

[Bob_in_OKC]

I'd also be hesitant to call this in favor of the Bellari. However, I had an Adcom GFP-565, which is more or less in the same league as the NAD C162, and I thought my VP129 was somewhat better than the phono stage in the GFP-565. I thought the Pro-Ject Tube Box was leaps and bounds better.

 

[eteller]

I had a NAD 114 pre, sounded very accurate but i like my Yaqin tube phone pre better. Warmer and more 3D. Have not heard a Bellari, but have heard of a few issues with them.