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Recommendation on Phono Pre-amp

M

mphCO

Member
I've recently dusted off my old Technics SL-Q350 and enjoed listening to it for a bit. But now I've also acquired a McIntosh MHT200 which I'm using instead of my Yamaha RX-V1400. The Yamaha had phono inputs, but the Mac doesn't; so I need to get an external phono pre-amp.

I did a little search but didn't find anything real recent. I'm not sure if I have a MM or MC cartridge but seems it might be a good idea to get a preamp that supports both. Or, which is better. It's a P mount currently with a Stanton Studio PP. Not looking to break the bank but want it to be decent. So maybe $250 +/- $50. In some basic looking I saw a Cambridge Audio Duo ($299), but also ran across a Fosi Audio Box X2 Tube preamp for $79, only for MM. But at that price could buy another for MC if needed (?).

Appreciate any suggestions or advice.
 
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2 hot ones recently released and covered well in this forum. Search for SOTA Pixie and Schiit Skoll.
 
I think nobody needs a $79 tube phono preamp - ever. I foolishly bought a little bear t7 to try.. Worst sounding phono preamp I’d heard; pure junk.

IF your upper spending limit is $300- then the Sota Pyxi seems the obvious choice for a new unit.. The Schiit Skoll costs $100 more than the Pyxi, sounds very good, has plenty of adjustability for gain and cartridge loading - and is remotely controlled. It’s also 25% over your budget, @mphCO … BTW - since you have a P-mount cartridge, I suspect that your cartridge is a MM or MI, not MC.

You may want to check out the current version of the Schiit Mani. It’s well within budget and supposedly sounds very good.
With $300 to spend though, Sota Pyxi deserves a close look… If you can swing another $100 - seriously consider Schiit’s Skoll.
I currently have a Skoll but actually prefer the sound of my DIY, 834 clone - tube phono pre.. Cost of a pre-built one of those goes for around the budgeted $300. Very nice sounding, straight out of the box and easily modified to sound even better.

TUBES, BABY!! - Anyway, a couple here to consider…. :)
 
Thanks for the suggestions. The ones recommended hadn't yet come up in my search so I'll do some research on those. Just in seaching for these names, I'm also finding more threads on preamps, so very helpful.

And for steering me clear of the Fosi if it's not so great. Looks kind of cool though. Building one (DIY 834) looks interesting as well, but maybe for the future. Have too many projects already and would just want to be able to use it.

Definitley seems most (if not all?) P types are MM, certainly in the price range I'm working in.

Little did I know it's possible to spend thousands of dollars on just a phono preamp. Shouldn't really be surprised though. But some great options in that $130-$400 range. Doesn't seem that a remote is very useful for most is it? Mostly a set it and forget it type of setup I would think, at least for me. I don't see myself changing cartridges etc much. Unless there is something I'm missing, which I'm sure there is.
 
mphCO said:
Thanks for the suggestions. The ones recommended hadn't yet come up in my search so I'll do some research on those. Just in seaching for these names, I'm also finding more threads on preamps, so very helpful.

And for steering me clear of the Fosi if it's not so great. Looks kind of cool though. Building one (DIY 834) looks interesting as well, but maybe for the future. Have too many projects already and would just want to be able to use it.

Definitley seems most (if not all?) P types are MM, certainly in the price range I'm working in.

Little did I know it's possible to spend thousands of dollars on just a phono preamp. Shouldn't really be surprised though. But some great options in that $130-$400 range. Doesn't seem that a remote is very useful for most is it? Mostly a set it and forget it type of setup I would think, at least for me. I don't see myself changing cartridges etc much. Unless there is something I'm missing, which I'm sure there is.
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In 2 words the advantage of the Remote is "Convenient Optimization".
 
For $200, the iFi Zen Phono is really quite decent. MM/MC capable, very quiet, with a rumble filter, and 4 gain settings. The performance in both MM and LOMC mode is really quite good. If the Zen has a downside, it must be that, while it's a very competent unit, it just wasn't very exciting to listen to. You get the music, no problem, with detail out the wazoo, and it's very accurate, but it's too quiet. Unnaturally quiet. It's so 'not there' that it seems to take some of the life out of the music. It's more like listening to a CD, the music is great, but the ambiance that draws you into vinyl seems to be missing, or at least greatly reduced. At least, that was my take, and then only after I upgraded almost every other component in my system. Before that, I found the Zen perfectly satisfactory. YMMV
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions/advice. I did a bunch of reading and it was between the SOTA Pixie, Cambridge Alva Duo or Solo, and the Schiit Mani 2. I decided on the Mani 2 after reading the reviews and other opinions. Seems like it will do all I need without spending too much. Looking forward to getting it and hooking it up.
 
mphCO said:
Thanks for all of the suggestions/advice. I did a bunch of reading and it was between the SOTA Pixie, Cambridge Alva Duo or Solo, and the Schiit Mani 2. I decided on the Mani 2 after reading the reviews and other opinions. Seems like it will do all I need without spending too much. Looking forward to getting it and hooking it up.
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A solid, safe choice. Enough gain and load settings, well built and inexpensive, too.
I had a couple of the older Mani pre’s. They weren’t bad - but as I started listening to other phono pre’s, those got replaced with better sounding phono stages.. The current Mani II is supposed to be a big improvement over the original one.. :)
 
MisterDK said:
The current Mani II is supposed to be a big improvement over the original one.. :)
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That tracks from what I found from many different sources. At $149 plus tax and shipping (all in for $178) seems a good deal and I successfully resisted buying more/better than I need at this point. Can always upgrade later if I get more into it and feel the itch. Not sure if I'll ever get there as that would probably be an investment in a better TT, speakers, amps, etc.
 
@mphCO - I think you’re going to like the Mani II quite alot and you may even want to keep it around after upgrading other parts of your system. The original Mani’s I had sounded decent enough for their low price; they sold for $125 then, or even less if you bought “B” stock ($99-).

BTW - there was a revision of the first model, with the later ones a little improved over the earliest version. A picture, if you’re interested - one is version 1.1, the other is 1.2. I had both of them - and then I discovered Musical Surroundings “Phonomena” phono preamps which had loads of gain and load settings. Phonomenas, and I had both the original of that as well as the II, sounded much smoother than the first Mani.. Anyway, I sold the Mani’s and Phonomenas off after hearing my 834 clone; it was yet another step up in sound quality, over any previous phono pre I had.. I liked it so much in fact, I decided to build my own modified custom 834 clone which uses many premium parts. Before that one I built was completed though, Schiit had announced Skoll, which made me think of all the gain and load options I missed after selling the Phonomenas… Lots of fun and part of the hobby, I suppose..

A pic of the original Mani PCBs showing first and revised versions:


IMG_2697.png

I did also enjoy a couple other phono pre’s as well, but I think I’ve rambled enough already.. ;)
 
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doctor fuse said:
I’m a big fan of the EAR 834 tube phono preamp clones on eBay. If you are even a little handy the kits are dirt cheap, otherwise the built preamps are not much coin either. Great sounding units.
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I think that sounds like a fun project for the future. Will have to dust off those soldering skills I haven't used since college days.
 
This one is quite good too: Emotiva XPS-1
emotiva.com

XPS-1 High-Performance Phono Preamplifier

The XPS-1 is a high-performance phono preamplifier, which features support for both moving coil and moving magnet phono cartridges. The XPS-1 delivers excellent performance, with very low noise and distortion, and exceptionally accurate RIAA equalization.
emotiva.com emotiva.com
 
mphCO said:
I think that sounds like a fun project for the future. Will have to dust off those soldering skills I haven't used since college days.
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I think it’s actually cheaper, buying the pre-built 834 clones… By the time you‘ve gathered up a good transformer, a choke, upgraded diodes, caps and resistors, a chassis box, phono jacks, switch and some nice tubes… It costs more to build your own. BUT - when finished, you’ll have an even better sounding, custom tube phono pre that you’ve done for yourself..! If you have time, can solder and have some fabrication skills, then I highly recommend doing your own… OR - just buy the dual chassis pre-built, change out a few parts, remove the rumble filter circuit (for better bass) and do some tube rolling.. Cheaper than doing your own from the kit - but the kit build really is more fun… ;)

EDIT - a couple pictures of the one I just put together…


IMG_6368.jpeg
IMG_6365.jpeg
 
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