Hagerman Bugle3 Phono Stage Review

[DualTriode]

I don't just chuckle, I laugh. What MM front end has Amir tested that comes remotely close? Nothing. It's funny actually.

Chasing SINAD numbers with our test gear (you have a QA and an AP don't you?) and overload/specs like that, isn't an example of careful design and considered choices? I say it is- what say you?

But it really doesn't matter. The volume control and stage will be attenuating both the signal AND the noise. So you have an essentially perfect front RIAA stage and the following stages are not limited.

Not that it matters in this case, the 1kHz THD is -118dB (0.00015/0.00013%) and the THD+N is ~-83dB (0.0071%). The specified S/N (A-WTD) was 90dB for phono MM. I tested 90.31dBA (L) and 90.03dBA(R).

By all means, pull out your best MM phono stage and let's see what it can do. Looking forward to it.

Hello,

I do this stuff for entertainment. There is some precision in the numbers. I do like to use real numbers with a dBV scale rather than some variable dBr scale where 0dBr for one DUT is not the is not the same 0dBr for the next brand X DUT.

I am sorting the Pearl3 in a cookie tin on my bench. the gain is not where I want it yet.

So Far:

The P3 has 4 each 2SK209's at the input stage.

Input is 5mv
Gain is 50.39dB
output volts is 1.653Vrms
THD+N is 0.004%
SINAD is 87dB

The above measurements were taken with APx555 analyzer. My expectation is that the limiting factor will be the Turntable MM cartridge. and surface noise

I am still adjusting the gain.

See the P3 FFT with 2SK209 Jfets below.



Yes, I am in agreement that the signal and noise will be attenuated at the line stage or power amplifier. Most of the current crop of electronics has voltage regulators that limit the maximum output voltage.

I have the Benchmark pre-amp sitting on my shelf. The maximum output voltage is 10Vrms. The volume control is interesting in that it is not just a variable voltage divider. It adjust the gain by switching / changing the resistors in the feedback loop.

Thanks DT

 

[cgallery]

Absolutely. You can be quite confident your phono stage preamplifier is not going to clip even in the presence of extreme transient inputs.

My best sounding MM phono stage in a Denon preamplifier has a measured (by me) overload at 1kHz of 340mV for a 19V RMS output with a clean, symmetric clip (phono stage regulated rails are +/-32V) . It also has a RIAA deviation of +/-0.2dB over a 20Hz-100kHz bandwidth. The preamp (line) is a 2Hz-300kHz (+0/-3dB) or 10-100kHz (+0/-0.3dB).

Wide bandwidth, high supply rail, FET front end DC coupled phono stages from the Japanese in the 1980s were very good.

What model Denon does 19v on the phono?

 

[cgallery]

Absolutely. You can be quite confident your phono stage preamplifier is not going to clip even in the presence of extreme transient inputs.

My best sounding MM phono stage in a Denon preamplifier has a measured (by me) overload at 1kHz of 340mV for a 19V RMS output with a clean, symmetric clip (phono stage regulated rails are +/-32V) . It also has a RIAA deviation of +/-0.2dB over a 20Hz-100kHz bandwidth. The preamp (line) is a 2Hz-300kHz (+0/-3dB) or 10-100kHz (+0/-0.3dB).

Wide bandwidth, high supply rail, FET front end DC coupled phono stages from the Japanese in the 1980s were very good.

I've asked several times over months, what Denon model has a phono section that can do 19v?

Is this some sort of closely-guarded secret or something?

 

[Deutschesfach]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Hagerman Bugle3 MM/MC phono preamplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $199.
View attachment 273004
I had previously tested Bugle2 which had fairly high noise, resulting in lack of recommendation from me. Company designer said that was too low of a performance and sent me this sample which other than having dip switches for gain, is the same as Bugle2.

Hagerman Bugle3 Measurements
In the interest of time, I focused my measurements on the 40 dB/MM mode. Here is our dashboard:
View attachment 273006

This is substantially better than the older sample as you can see in our ranking table:
View attachment 273007
The old one only garnered a SINAD of 61 dB. Phono stages are usually noise limited in this test and this is no exception. We can see that by extracting the distortion alone:
View attachment 273009

Most important in a phono stage is RIAA equalization which Bugle3 passes for the most part:
View attachment 273010

The high pass is probably a good thing, getting rid of some rumble. The high frequency peaking is minor at 1.4 dB at 20 kHz.

I would have wanted to see higher tolerance of input spikes as to lower the chances of clicks and pops clipping:
View attachment 273011

Usually this is highly frequency dependent but is not in this case:
View attachment 273012

We don't lose our margin until we get to 20 kHz whereas other units usually show a frequency specific step down. In that regard, performance is good at higher frequencies. Just not at 1 kHz as much.

Conclusions
Good to see much improved performance in this product (kit). Performance is now pretty competent and lands around average in all the phono stages I have tested. If you take joy in building your own phono stage, the Hagerman Bugle3 makes a good option.

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How would you rank this vs the IFi Zen Phono 3? Looks more balanced than the Zen 3 but is it really?