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Sheer Audio M-88 phono stage (Martantz 7 circuit)

mjw21a

mjw21a

Super Member
Hey guys, I've been curious about one of these for a while and I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with them, or failing that the Marantz 7 circuit in general. Apparently an upgraded version of their previous M-77.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Sheer-Au...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

Apparently they use single triod tubes rather than dual triode (like 12AX7) for greater separation. I'm wondering whether this would be a nicer phono stage than my Douk Tube Phonobox (EAR 834P clone). Has anyone heard both a Marantz 7 circuit and an EAR 834P circuit (excluding little bear designs)

Certainly a nice looking unit.
 
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Ok, I couldn't find further information so my curiosity has won out. Ordered one a few minutes ago. I'll report my findings.
 
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My George Wright phono preamp has been in queue for repair for months and I've been happily enjoying my backup, yet still...I've been looking hard at that unit also. I have found only a comment or two about it but the comments are intriguing.
 
They may have used the single triodes to try and bring the noise floor down? I did this with a tube amp I built. I used two 6J5's per channel instead of the 6SN7 dual triode version of the tube. It sounded very clean and clear. I've wondered about the 7 clone boards myself. I would try to use a closely matched set of tubes.
I'll be curious as to what you think of it.
 
I have yet to get a bad product from Douk. I have several passive and hybrid pre's, headphone amps and line stages. All sound nice. My favorite is a single ended headphone amp with rca out jacks so it can be used as a line stage with volume control. What will you be using for a power supply for the board you ordered?
 
revox-b77 said:
Let us know, and photos too please.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'll be comparing it with my Douk Tube Phonobox (I have two of them) which is a quality EAR 834P copy. It will be interesting to see if this circuit can better it or is simply different. Either way, variety is the spice of life. I'm presently rejigging my second sound system, replacing the Oldchen SEP amp with a Khozmo passive pre and Red Wine Audio Signature 70.2 monoblocks. Adding this phono stage means the only original components will be my Dayton USA PS220-8 based speakers.

Of course, if this setup isn't an improvement on the old then the new components will be the ones I'll sell. It's currently a pretty magical sounding system. I'm curious about what more power can bring, and I expect improved bass with the monoblocks. I've always wanted to hear a Marantz 7 circuit, and now I'll be able to compare directly with the EAR 834P circuit :)

The monoblocks are 3x the wattage of my little SEP amp. I expect the extra power to make a difference if nothing else.

dean man jim said:
My George Wright phono preamp has been in queue for repair for months and I've been happily enjoying my backup, yet still...I've been looking hard at that unit also. I have found only a comment or two about it but the comments are intriguing.
Click to expand...

I'll take some photos and do a write up when it comes in. It will be compared directly with the excellent Douk Tube Phonobox (EAR 834P)

Mister Pig said:
I have been intruiged by the Douk phono stage, considered buying one as a second table phono stage.

Then i came across this one, and it really picques my interest. A little spendy, but the build looks first rate.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Valab-LCR-1...177969?hash=item41ca13edf1:g:UzsAAOSwuspY9QFz

So far I have been able to resist, but who knows for how long.

Regards
Mister Pig
Click to expand...

If you do give in (and I hope you do), please do one of your excellent write ups on it. You have me curious about it also. Perhaps I'll save for it as a fourth phono stage. Looks small enough to easily hide from my wife. Maybe on top of the monoblocks not plugged in :)
 
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Ok, recieved my new MM-88 today. I'll take some photo's tonight and see if I can get around to setting it up.
 
OK, out of the box this sounds very respectable. Nice wide soundstage, incredible amounts of gain. An incredibly natural presentation.... Writing this with just one side of Roxettes Joyride LP. Not even remotely burned in yet.

I can't wait for the NOS 6AV6 tunbes I have on order to arrive. Should prove interesting.
 
jgordon said:
Which pre are you changing from? What difference do you note?
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I was running a Douk Tube Phonobox (EAR 834P copy) with a complement of 1x NOS Mullard short grey plate 1AX2, 1x NOS Telefunken smooth grey plate 12AX7 and 1x TJ Full Music 12AX7. It has the benefit of quite a bit of burn in and some fairly comprehensive tube rolling.

I do have some NOS 6AV6 tubes coming for the MM-88 which may make a difference. Unfortunately there's not much available with 6AV6 so my tube rolling will be very limited.
 
Changed the tubes in the Sheer Audio MM-88 (I've identified the originals as Sylvania clear tops, not NEC as I originally thought) with Haltron branded 6AV6 tubes. Wow, just wow. This sounds absolutely fantastic. Super wide soundstage and amazing timing.

An amazing combination in this system. I'm preferring it to the EAR 834P for sure.

IMG_20170809_225009.jpg
 
Thanks very much for the follow up! Because this unit does not ship with an AC cable, can you share information about the power cable you are using?
 
I just used a standard old computer cable (kettle lead).

This phono is not coming out of my system. It sounds fantastic. It's fuller sounding than my Douk Tube Phonobox (EAR 834P) with an overall increase in the soundstage width. The Douk / EAR 834P is almost solid state sounding in comparison. Probably due to it having a solid state rectifier rather than tube.

It is noisier than the EAR 834P circuit in terms of tube rush and hum. The noise is quite than the needle in the groove between tracks so not really a big deal.

It's incredible how much a tube swap changed the characteristics of this amp. The 6AV6 tubes it came with (Sylvania clear tops I think) really did not sound good giving a real focus on the midrange at the expense of everything else. The NIB Haltron tubes I installed are incredible. Seeing as Haltron were a rebrander of tubes I have no idea who actually made them.

Further to this, it's a really beautiful looking phono stage. I do wish the RCA's were on the back rather than the top though. It would have been far neater though that's just aesthetics.
 
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Thanks very much. It's excellent to know that it is outperforming your 834 clone, and agree with you that it is a great looking unit as well.
 
Yes, I'm very satisfied with my purchase. Once I've a greater variety of 6AV6 tubes I'll try some different combinations. If things can improve from here I'll be very impressed
 
I recently acquired a 240 to 220VAC step down transformer from Tortech. This has cleaned up any last remaining hum in the phono stage. The seller sent me a 220v version rather than the 240v I originally requested!

The phono now has more clean gain than my Douk Tube Phonobox which I find downright impressive. It's now ready for some tube rolling I think. There's absolutely no way I'll go back to the Douk Tube Phonobox (EAR 834P) in my main system after this. It's a worthy step forward.
 
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