Phono Preamp Reviews

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Phono Preamp Reviews
EAR 324 phono preamplifier
Art Dudley  |  Jul 18, 2004  |  First Published: Jul 01, 2004  | 
When we last heard from Englishman Tim de Paravicini, whose EAR 890 amp I reviewed in Stereophile's April 2004 issue, the veteran audio designer suggested that he could make a transistor amplifier equal in performance to any of his successful tube designs. Whatever else it may be, the new EAR 324 is my first chance to test that claim: a stereo phono preamplifier without a single tube in sight. It isn't TdP's first all-solid-state product: That would be the line-plus-phono EAR 312 preamplifier, introduced to no small fanfare a little over three years ago. For all intents and purposes, the 324 is a standalone version of the phono section of that $18,000 flagship: The designs are virtually identical—excepting, of course, their casework and power supplies.
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Solid State Preamp ReviewsPhono Preamp Reviews
Jeff Rowland Design Group Coherence preamplifier & Cadence phono stage
Shannon Dickson  |  Jun 06, 2004  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1999  | 
The Jeff Rowland Design Group has long been renowned for the exquisite quality of its chassis. The company was one of the first to promote fully balanced topologies in preamplifiers and amplifiers in the high-end market, one of the first to offer a sonically acceptable remote control, and one of the few to offer a battery power option for their amplifier line.
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Budget Component ReviewsPhono Preamp Reviews
Graham Audio Era Gold Mk.V phono stage
Robert J. Reina, Michael Fremer  |  Jan 30, 2004  |  First Published: Jan 30, 2005  | 
I don't know Gram Slee from Gram Parsons, or which House he was in at Harry Potter's Hogwarts School, but let me tell you: If you'd just been listening to a bunch of budget phono preamps, as I had, then came upon the GSP Audio Era Gold Mk.V, you'd think someone had switched out not just the phono preamp but your entire system. You might think you were listening to a different pressing or a different cartridge. How can this be?
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Phono Preamp Reviews
Aesthetix Rhea phono preamplifier
Paul Bolin  |  Sep 21, 2003  | 
Trickle-down technology is a grand thing. It's comparatively easy to build an exceptional audio component when there are no constraints on technology, cost, user-friendliness, or lack thereof, but top designers are now packing more and more of the excellence of damn-the-torpedoes components into more affordable and accessible packages. Which brings us to the Aesthetix Rhea, a tubed phono preamplifier of exceptionally distinguished lineage.
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Solid State Power Amp ReviewsSolid State Preamp ReviewsPhono Preamp Reviews
Final Laboratory Music-4 phono preamplifier, Music-5 line preamplifier, & Music-6 power amplifier
Art Dudley  |  Jan 26, 2003  | 
Modern hi-fi is little more than a way of getting electricity to pretend that it's music. Of course, good source components remain all-important, and even if loudspeakers are imperfect, most of us can find one or two that suit our tastes, if not our rooms and the rest of our gear.
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Solid State Preamp ReviewsAudacious AudioPhono Preamp Reviews
Boulder 2008 phono preamplifier & 2010 preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 14, 2002  | 
It's not every Consumer Electronics Show that someone introduces a $29,000 solid-state phono preamplifier—and I miss it. The 2002 CES was one. My show report in the April issue made it seem as if I'd found out about it there, but the fact is, someone clued me in after I'd returned home. I needed to come clean on that.
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Phono Preamp Reviews
Manley Labs Steelhead phono preamplifier
Paul Bolin, Michael Fremer  |  Dec 05, 2001  | 
The Manley Steelhead tube MM/MC phono preamplifier was first demonstrated at the 2001 Consumer Electronics Show. Nine months later, my long-promised review sample of Eveanna Manley's new baby was delivered. While Ms. Manley may have given birth to the audacious product, it was conceived by the company's chief hi-fi designer, Mitch Margolis.
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Tube Preamp ReviewsPhono Preamp Reviews
Herron Audio VTSP-1 preamplifier & VTPH-1MC phono preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 19, 2000  | 
This is an era in which products and websites are "launched," but in the past two years Herron Audio has sort of oozed its way into the public ear. With little visible promotion or splashy advertising, Herron is now spoken of within an ever-widening audiophile circle.
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Phono Preamp Reviews
Conrad-Johnson Premier 15 phono preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 03, 1999  | 
At a hi-fi show in Germany a few years ago, an audio club had set up a room filled with a dozen well-known turntable/tonearm combos. I recall seeing the Clearaudio/Souther, Immedia RPM-2 and arm, VPI TNT Mk.IV/JMW Memorial, Basis 2500/Graham 2.0, Oracle/Graham, Linn LP12/Ittok, SME Model 20/SME V, and some others I can't remember, including a few not exported from Germany.
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Phono Preamp Reviews
Linn Linto phono preamplifier
Wes Phillips  |  Jun 12, 1998  | 
Audiophiles with budget restrictions (most of us, I imagine) could be forgiven for feeling we're afterthoughts to most manufacturers. Even though we probably keep many companies in business by buying their "entry-" or mid-level products, we're always hearing about products designed "without compromise." Waiter, could you bring the reality check, please?
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Phono Preamp Reviews
AcousTech Electronics PH-1 phono preamplifier
Wes Phillips  |  Jun 05, 1998  | 
Audiophiles with budget restrictions (most of us, I imagine) could be forgiven for feeling we're afterthoughts to most manufacturers. Even though we probably keep most companies in business by buying their "entry-" or mid-level products, we're always hearing about products designed "without compromise." Waiter, could you bring the reality check, please?
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Phono Preamp Reviews
Balanced Audio Technology VK-P10 phono preamplifier
Jonathan Scull  |  Jun 29, 1997  | 
Some of the most innovative thinking on hybrid circuit design these days seems to come from Russian designers. As a group, they are technically very well educated, pragmatic, and unfettered by American high-end didacticism.
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J. Gordon HoltPhono Preamp ReviewsHistorical
Vendetta Research SCP-2 phono preamplifier
J. Gordon Holt  |  Jun 11, 1995  |  First Published: Jun 11, 1988  | 
Few people in the audio business would deny that John Curl is an audio design genius—arguably the greatest one of our generation. He designed and built the electronics for Mobile Fidelity's SuperMaster and David Wilson's (of Wilson Audio) UltraMaster tape recorders, two of the three best analog recorders in the world. (The other is Keith Johnson's home-brew unit.) He designed the JC-1 head amp and JC-2 preamplifier sold under the Mark Levinson name some years ago. He designed head amps for SOTA, Michaelson & Austin (TVA), and has done consulting work for more high-end companies than you can shake a stick at.
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