What phono pre would you like to see tested next?

[Bob from Florida]

This is my first post but I'm a long time lurker

I bought an IFI Zen Phono from AudioAdvice a couple weeks ago. It was in stock and arrived the next day, but now appears back-ordered.
On the same day I ordered a 4.4mm to XLR cable from eBay which uses Sommer cable. I chose this because the IFI cable is back-ordered everywhere and seems very over-priced ($100) and several reviews of the few other options on Amazon indicated those cables were poorly constructed and noisy when handled. The only other option was Hart cables which I found had a very long lead time.

We will see - I understand IFI has some packaging constraints but IMO this esoteric 4.4mm output is the biggest drawback of this device and the lack of availability of reasonably priced cables on the market a significant issue. Of course, there's the counter argument that a balanced output at this price point is already a bonus.

Nevertheless I am expecting the cable to arrive in a week or two. I would be happy to ship the unit + cable in for testing after that point. I selected the IFI based on their claims ("Super-silent noise floor -151dBV", "Precise RIAA with Balanced output, performance comparable to +$1k phono stages", etc.)
- would like to see them supported (or not) by measurements.

Frankly IFI hawking fancy "helix design" $100 cables for a $189 pre that is marketed as a performance for $/value engineering exercise seems like an inherent contradiction so I am curious the outcome.

The balanced cable pricing from iFi gave me some pause, however, the construction seemed solid from iFi's description. When I compared it to the generic offerings available, those offerings looked substantially different - as in you get what you pay for. I eventually found the iFi cable in stock at Audio46 and you can get 10% off by signing up for their emails, so $10 off. The cable itself is amazingly supple and well made. The price is about double or so the "knock off" brands and was worth it in my case. My other option was to get a 4.4 mm plug and make my own. A bit of laziness on my part steered me to getting it from Audio46.

 

[rwforsyth]

I have the TCC TC-750, US$44. https://www.phonopreamps.com/tc750pp.html

It came with a wall wart, asserted to be a regulated power supply that output 0.5A at 12V. Then I read about their offer of a supply that outputs 1.5A at 12V and bought it, US$12. It certainly made a difference in what I heard. In comparison the 0.5A sounds thin and bright. Anyway, I'm happy to feed a Rega Planar 2 into it.

I

I have the TCC TC-750, US$44. https://www.phonopreamps.com/tc750pp.html

It came with a wall wart, asserted to be a regulated power supply that output 0.5A at 12V. Then I read about their offer of a supply that outputs 1.5A at 12V and bought it, US$12. It certainly made a difference in what I heard. In comparison the 0.5A sounds thin and bright. Anyway, I'm happy to feed a Rega Planar 2 into it.

I have a Behringer pp400, which also sounded thin with the supplied wall wart with 12 volts and just 300 milliamps. I substituted a 12 volt power supply with 5 amp output, which had a similar effect. Sound now is fuller. I cant explain the improvement but I'm no electronics expert.

 

[NTTY]

I'd love to see this one reviewed. The Drawmer MC 1.1 is a bit expensive (500$ in my country) but if it works well, I'd go for it:

More information here:

Drawmer MC1.1 - Monitor PreAmplifier

www.drawmer.com

 

[jp4573]

I am curious about this cheap one.

http://www.szfxaudio.com/ProductDetail/4596632.html

U1= TL071C
U2= JRC 2068
U3= TL071C
U4= JRC 2068

 

[KRhodes]

I'm don't care what is discussed in this thread, just want to inform you that I already bought a phono and sent it in for testing. Not looking for more at this point.

 

[Cwopete5]

I have the TCC TC-750, US$44. https://www.phonopreamps.com/tc750pp.html

It came with a wall wart, asserted to be a regulated power supply that output 0.5A at 12V. Then I read about their offer of a supply that outputs 1.5A at 12V and bought it, US$12. It certainly made a difference in what I heard. In comparison the 0.5A sounds thin and bright. Anyway, I'm happy to feed a Rega Planar 2 into it.

Another vote for the TCC TC-750. I just pulled my Emotiva XPS-1 from my system due to unacceptable noise/hiss. Installed the TC-750 and it's dead quiet all the way up to full volume (Vincent SV-500). I also have the upgraded power supply and it sounds terrific. The unit has the RIAA curve response printed on the top of the cover. Be interesting to see if real world test results match.

 

[Chazz6]

Another vote for the TCC TC-750. I just pulled my Emotiva XPS-1 from my system due to unacceptable noise/hiss. Installed the TC-750 and it's dead quiet all the way up to full volume (Vincent SV-500). I also have the upgraded power supply and it sounds terrific. The unit has the RIAA curve response printed on the top of the cover. Be interesting to see if real world test results match.

Parallel experience all the way: I tried an Emotiva general-purpose preamp and found it too bright.

 

[froze]

I would like to see how the Fosi Audio Box X2 Phono Preamp would test against the JDS Labs Atom Phono Preamp. Both seem to have very good specs but they both take different directions to get there.

 

[Bacek]

No one voted for Ifi iPhono 2/3. Would be good to be able to compare it with Zen to know if it's worth to spend additional $ for it.

 

[Watire]

I am curious about this cheap one.

http://www.szfxaudio.com/ProductDetail/4596632.html

I own a BOX01 clone distributed by Audiophonics under the T2 name. It is available besides the FX-AUDIO BOX01, at the same price.
I am quite happy with it, as a pop-up preamp when I shuffle gears around it fits the bill. It has beaten my expectation compared to the Cambridge Audio Alva Duo I keep on a fixed archiving setup.
I have no audiophile pretense about my vinyl playing. I intended to make several critical listening sessions and never got to it. Every record is another adventure. Vinyl rendition brings a lot of variables and from my perspective I cannot tell which preamp is closer to the truth. Most of my records predate the CD era.

My impression of the T2 is that it is quite similar to the Duo in my headphones. You can successfully ABX it with some concentration, but at my age It somehow proves the point of good enough-ness. I see that a lot of ASR readers are young and headphones/IEM focused. I can imagine that the distortion characteristics of each will be more perceptible to them. Through an ADC the T2 clearly purports a higher noise floor at idle, but I’m not sure it matters once the needle is dropped. (Not with my late "60 latin records).

In a classic living room the T2 is more than fine through speakers. Paired with a Class D amplifier, you will find more fault in the medium and the turntable combo than in the rest of the chain.

Some real life measurements with old records, Left channel ...

The T2 seems to find ease with the WM95 but it does worse than the Duo overall. (@ 1Khz - 0 dBFS track).

This Duo has a recognizable kind of resonance.

Here's the spectrum of a track played through both preamp.

What is obvious from the audio captures is the difference between the Duo and the T2 regarding the subsonic frequencies. Even on a silent groove.

The Cambridge Audio is looking better on the 2-20Hz range than the T2 . Is it all about the tonearm resonance or some active filtering ?

For reference; a measurement of the Frequency Response of the VM95C in my setup (20hz to 15khz at a very quieter level).

So the BOX 01 seems fine. Not SOTA, but 38€ well spent.
One will find as much differences between two similar cartridges, two styli models than between these external preamps.
I probably will come back to it once I have a wider range of signals to test.

 

[taleoffice]

Does anyone had a chance to try Fosi Audio Box 5? Fosi Audio Box 5

 

[joqueval]

Does anyone had a chance to try Fosi Audio Box 5? Fosi Audio Box 5

This month I had the BOX X5 in my hands and it sounds very good.
I used ART preamps or the Ecler Sclat 200 VS mixing console phono module and it surpasses these preamps in definition.
I see it very much in line with the V3, very good performance for the price.
I wish I could offer you some signal measurements.
Regards

 

[GuidoK]

Does anyone had a chance to try Fosi Audio Box 5? Fosi Audio Box 5

I just saw this review on YT:

Not the usual crap influencer type moronic review but he actually takes some measurements and takes a look over the PCB.
Looks pretty good for that price.
Too bad that there is no input capacitance selector, that the input capacitance isn't specced from factory and that he doesn't measure the input capacitance (even if it's just on the input jacks), being that the input capacitance often is the most decisive parameter in the phonopre on the frequency characteristic dB wise in the audio band.

 

[renaudrenaud]

Yes, please @Fosi Audio could you send a sample to @amirm? If measurements are good then pretty sure you will sell a lot of this nice little box!

 

[Joe Smith]

Yes, hoping they will send both this and the new P4 preamp to Amir soon!

 

[GuidoK]

I would already be happy if @Fosi Audio could specify that input capacitance they used

For me that's one of the most important specs in a phono preamp.

Or does anyone else here know that input capacitance on the Fosi audio box X5?

 

[Amperage]

+1 on the Fosi Audio Box X5!

And I agree, only features missing on it are an input capacitance selector, and maybe balanced out. @Fosi Audio , maybe an X6, or ZP on par with the ZA/ZD3 structure and physical design?

 

[renaudrenaud]

Well it is done now, we can order!