Phono pre-amplifier (phonostage) upgrades

Lee Newman said:
BluOS has very much changed the way I listen to music. Having access to quality streaming over the hifi has changed my enjoyment of new music Fridays (which was already a pretty big deal for me) and completely changed how I buy vinyl, even before a more stringent budget made it necessary.
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Same exact thing for me when it comes to having a nice quality DAC that’s easy to stream on. It definitely changed my vinyl buying habits. I am a bit pickier about what new music I buy on vinyl now. And the digital side of my setup sounds real good now so I can be a bit more focused on what records I’m buying.
 
The Bob's Devices SKY 30 Step Up Transformer is in.
It sounds noticably improved, especially with the HFs. Everything is smoother on the tops while the soundstage opened up more. Seems really similar to going up in a new cartridge class. Of course these are always subjective thoughts, but I'm really happy with it at first glance. It appears to be worth the hype.


Took the chance to pop the top on the Ares to check the tubes were in the correct spots while I adjusted the switches for the MM setting.
12AX7s on the input and 12AU7s on the the followers.
The followers can be swapped for more gain.
Right now it seems 24dB from the SUT is plenty for me.


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HiFi Guy said:
Shouldn’t a SUT be similar to the generator in a phono cartridge? You can get the same output from powerful magnets and fewer windings or less powerful magnets and more windings. But each would sound different.
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I’d expect that the turns ratio would be the same in any step-up that has the same gain. Not clear why they would or should sound different.
 
Had some low level hum to chase down.
Moved the SUT box around in the cabinet with no luck.
Moved ground from the TT<Phono to TT<SUT.
Still had the hum.

Flipped the box switch on the SUT from ground to lift.
Boom, silent noise floor. Grounding can be so precarious.
I think this allows the ground to pass through the SUT to the phono amp.
Whatever, it works.

I also kept the new cable from BJC (LC-1) at 2.5' from the SUT to phono amp. This seems to be a critical piece. Supposedly distortion starts entering with longer cables.

Anyway, I'm impressed. Great noise floor and the detail, especially in vocals are insanely good. Crazy good sound coming from the same vinyl now.
 
Jbraswell said:
Had some low level hum to chase down.
Moved the SUT box around in the cabinet with no luck.
Moved ground from the TT<Phono to TT<SUT.
Still had the hum.

Flipped the box switch on the SUT from ground to lift.
Boom, silent noise floor. Grounding can be so precarious.
I think this allows the ground to pass through the SUT to the phono amp.
Whatever, it works.

I also kept the new cable from BJC (LC-1) at 2.5' from the SUT to phono amp. This seems to be a critical piece. Supposedly distortion starts entering with longer cables.

Anyway, I'm impressed. Great noise floor and the detail, especially in vocals are insanely good. Crazy good sound coming from the same vinyl now.
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A ground lift switch is a great feature to have on a SUT - not many have them.

No worries about distortion using RCA cables with a MC cart. Capacitance is more of the issue with MM carts. Noise pickup could be an issue with some cables, but LC-1 is both low capacitance and well-shielded.
 
Angsty said:
A ground lift switch is a great feature to have on a SUT - not many have them.

No worries about distortion using RCA cables with a MC cart. Capacitance is more of the issue with MM carts. Noise pickup could be an issue with some cables, but LC-1 is both low capacitance and well-shielded.
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I like the BJCs. Only nit pick is I wish the connections were more snug on the RCA. They seem to move easily.
 
Has anyone here tried the Graham Slee Accession before? I'm tempted to try their loaner program. The upgraded external enigma power supply is supposed to kick it up another level, but unfortunately it doesn't look like that power supply is an option with the loaners in the states. Still would love to hear if anyone has any experience with it. It's such a different kind of design than I've seen in most phono preamps, so it's caught my attention.

Plus the dollar is strong against the pound at the moment so buying direct is a decent deal.
 
Hemotep said:
Has anyone here tried the Graham Slee Accession before? I'm tempted to try their loaner program. The upgraded external enigma power supply is supposed to kick it up another level, but unfortunately it doesn't look like that power supply is an option with the loaners in the states. Still would love to hear if anyone has any experience with it. It's such a different kind of design than I've seen in most phono preamps, so it's caught my attention.

Plus the dollar is strong against the pound at the moment so buying direct is a decent deal.
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It’s startling how most phono stages in the $1000 range are boring boxes. (I know yada yada sound yada yada.)
 
On this topic, I'm reading some other Hifi forums to see what people have written on them and I'm so grateful that ours isn't filled with nearly as many of the know-it-all condescending pricks that just seem to grow like mushrooms on shit in every other forum that I hate myself for wading into.
 
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Hemotep said:
On this topic, I'm reading some other Hifi forums to see what people have writing on them and I'm so grateful that ours isn't filled with nearly as many of the know-it-all condescending pricks that just seem to grow like mushrooms on shit in every other forum that I hate myself for wading into.
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I agree, it’s the biggest reason why I’m here. We have a real community.
 
AnthonyI said:
This is a little dated, but still accurate based on my experience with all of these. The number column is the order I got each one.

I can say with certainty these were the upgrade paths:

Main System: Pluto > Vincent Pho-8 > iPhono 2 > KC Vibe > Insight > Manley Chinook
Second System: Studio Phono > LX-LPS > Jolida JD9 >Insight

The Insight ended up being the "end game for system 2 when we picked up the Chinook, and around mid June 2022 we consolidated down to 1 system keeping the the Manley Chinook.

View attachment 194521

The 1-10 is my "how much better then" scale, of course this was based on my system and preferences. It's always a daunting, yet fun, road ;)
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For a visual person, this is very awesome! And also makes me want to be better than a "5." Hahaha
 
AnthonyI said:
This is a little dated, but still accurate based on my experience with all of these. The number column is the order I got each one.

I can say with certainty these were the upgrade paths:

Main System: Pluto > Vincent Pho-8 > iPhono 2 > KC Vibe > Insight > Manley Chinook
Second System: Studio Phono > LX-LPS > Jolida JD9 >Insight

The Insight ended up being the "end game for system 2 when we picked up the Chinook, and around mid June 2022 we consolidated down to 1 system keeping the the Manley Chinook.

View attachment 194521

The 1-10 is my "how much better then" scale, of course this was based on my system and preferences. It's always a daunting, yet fun, road ;)
Click to expand...
I own the Jolida JD9 as well. About 3 years in. I like it, and for what I've read and heard from others, looks like it can be a great performer. It's the first one for me that is dead silent on my system. Everything else I tried, from Pro-Ject, Cambridge, Vincent... etc. added some sort of noise/hum, and got replaced.

I'm relatively new at the higher end (or mid-fi) game, especially with tube stuff.
Lately I have been experimenting with gain settings. Always knew the JD9 has massive gains, compared to other phono stages, and I thought it was a good thing, but found out that taming the gain often results in better sound. I now have RCA 5751 in place of the 12AX7, I was using the low-out jacks with my old Denon and a DL103.
I recently got the Mofi Ultradeck with Mastertracker. Using the hi-out jacks with the gain switches all off.
I would be curious to get other member's setup for the JD9, to compare notes.


Cheers
 
Replaced the Genalex ECC82 which are 12AU7 followers in the ARES.
Installed 12AX7/ECC83 Telefunken Germany bottom ribbed.

Crazy how the preamp dial dropped 30% for the same gain.
 
OMC said:
Where did you source the Telefunkens? Or, will you have to kill me if you tell me?
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Finally completed the opamps replacement in the Jolida JD9.
A few months back I replaced the original ones in the output stage with 2 Burson V5i-S. Great result.
Recently, I found a good deal on the same opamps from Burson directly, and I bought 4 more to put in the input stages. On Burson's website there are reports of happy users running V5i-S in all positions. So I tried.
In my case (maybe because I' using a low MC cart requirinf more gain), it introduced a loud hiss. They sounded good, but still too much background noise for my taste.
Further searches on other forums brought to my attention the LT1115 as very silent opamps, used in the JD9. They are much cheaper than the Bursons, so I gave it a shot.
Installed last night in the input stage positions, leaving the Bursons in the output stage. They are fantastic! Background noise or hiss are non audible, unless you turn up the volume to 70-80%. Anyone with a JD9 should try this combo, easiest upgrade for people like me who like tweaking but stop at soldiering stuff, that's where I draw the line.
I have been toying with the idea of a new phono stage, now I love my JD9. Still a low budget preamp, but I think it could compete against a lot of people's favorites costing a few $$$ more.
 
renpar61 said:
Finally completed the opamps replacement in the Jolida JD9.
A few months back I replaced the original ones in the output stage with 2 Burson V5i-S. Great result.
Recently, I found a good deal on the same opamps from Burson directly, and I bought 4 more to put in the input stages. On Burson's website there are reports of happy users running V5i-S in all positions. So I tried.
In my case (maybe because I' using a low MC cart requirinf more gain), it introduced a loud hiss. They sounded good, but still too much background noise for my taste.
Further searches on other forums brought to my attention the LT1115 as very silent opamps, used in the JD9. They are much cheaper than the Bursons, so I gave it a shot.
Installed last night in the input stage positions, leaving the Bursons in the output stage. They are fantastic! Background noise or hiss are non audible, unless you turn up the volume to 70-80%. Anyone with a JD9 should try this combo, easiest upgrade for people like me who like tweaking but stop at soldiering stuff, that's where I draw the line.
I have been toying with the idea of a new phono stage, now I love my JD9. Still a low budget preamp, but I think it could compete against a lot of people's favorites costing a few $$$ more.
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I still have the JD-9 I got from @AnthonyI . Might have to give that op amp upgrade a try at some point if I wanna switch stuff up!
 
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