Question Phono Stage help!

[GwMarshy]

Hi everyone,

I am looking to change my phono stage and thought I had settled on the Rega MM fono mk5 but then different recommendations have come up and I’ve now confused myself. Below is my current set up:
Rega Planar 3
Rega ND3 cartridge
Wiim amp Pro
Ifi zen phono (1st gen one)
Bowers and Wilkins 607 S3
Rel t-zero 3

I think I’ve narrowed my choice down to the Rega MM fono mk5 or the Graham Slee Gram Amp 2 special addition but I’m after opinions which my be best.

I’m also open to other options but don’t want to go any higher than the £250 the gram amp would cost me.

Thank you!

 

[Al ears]

Hi everyone,

I am looking to change my phono stage and thought I had settled on the Rega MM fono mk5 but then different recommendations have come up and I’ve now confused myself. Below is my current set up:
Rega Planar 3
Rega ND3 cartridge
Wiim amp Pro
Ifi zen phono (1st gen one)
Bowers and Wilkins 607 S3
Rel t-zero 3

I think I’ve narrowed my choice down to the Rega MM fono mk5 or the Graham Slee Gram Amp 2 special addition but I’m after opinions which my be best.

I’m also open to other options but don’t want to go any higher than the £250 the gram amp would cost me.

Thank you!

What's wrong with the iFi Zen phono?

 

[GwMarshy]

What's wrong with the iFi Zen phono?

Nothing imparticular, I was just hearing better things about the other 2

 

[abacus]

If it isn't broke, don't fix it.
If you still want to change, try some different ones out at a dealer that are in your price range, then make your decision from that. (Your ears are unique, so nobody can tell you which is best for you)

Bill

 

[Al ears]

Nothing imparticular, I was just hearing better things about the other 2

Waste of money then really.
Spend on upgrading the cartridge itself.
Both amps you mention will be good with moving magnet cartridges but whether or not you'll notice any difference over and above the iFi is debatable.
You will have to audition for yourself.
Phono preamps at this price point are designed to do a job and most do it pretty well however they cannot make a bad cartridge a good one.
Nothing against either personally but it's your money.....

 

[skinnypuppy71]

I've had a few phono stages and the best bang for buck I've come across is the mofi studio phono....I think it's went up in price a bit for a new unit but I'm sure a used one will be in budget, whether it's better than what you have, I can't comment as I've never heard the ifi or Graham slee, but the mofi was at least as good as a project tubebox ds2 I owned....if you really want that phono stage upgrade your going to have told go above £500, say maybe Tom Evans microgroove , trichord Dino mkiii, ( the never connected psu is a nice addition to the trichord, but brings the price to over 1k) dynavector p75 and I'd also highly recommend the njc audio phono stage which I currently use ( only available in the UK)after all that you'll probably want to up the cartridge also.lol.....but before going to those levels of phono stage the amplification should probably be looked at......IF YOU'RE IN this for the foreseeable.

 

[GwMarshy]

I've had a few phono stages and the best bang for buck I've come across is the mofi studio phono....I think it's went up in price a bit for a new unit but I'm sure a used one will be in budget, whether it's better than what you have, I can't comment as I've never heard the ifi or Graham slee, but the mofi was at least as good as a project tubebox ds2 I owned....if you really want that phono stage upgrade your going to have told go above £500, say maybe Tom Evans microgroove , trichord Dino mkiii, ( the never connected psu is a nice addition to the trichord, but brings the price to over 1k) dynavector p75 and I'd also highly recommend the njc audio phono stage which I currently use ( only available in the UK)after all that you'll probably want to up the cartridge also.lol.....but before going to those levels of phono stage the amplification should probably be looked at......IF YOU'RE IN this for the foreseeable.

Thanks for this I have only just but the Wiim amp pro so that’s not something I’ll be looking at just yet!

Thanks for this I’m going to have a look at your suggestions

 

[pinkpanther]

Hi everyone,

I am looking to change my phono stage and thought I had settled on the Rega MM fono mk5 but then different recommendations have come up and I’ve now confused myself. Below is my current set up:
Rega Planar 3
Rega ND3 cartridge
Wiim amp Pro
Ifi zen phono (1st gen one)
Bowers and Wilkins 607 S3
Rel t-zero 3

I think I’ve narrowed my choice down to the Rega MM fono mk5 or the Graham Slee Gram Amp 2 special addition but I’m after opinions which my be best.

I’m also open to other options but don’t want to go any higher than the £250 the gram amp would cost me.

Thank you!

Try a Graham Slee phono stage, I've been using the Reflex M for a few years, really happy with it. They have a loan programme so you can try them at home in your system , it's how I decided on mine. Worth checking out. In fact, I've got some of their interconnects on loan at the mo. Their website / forum has all the details.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

This video is a good watch. Harley Lovegrove of Pearl Acoustics is after a new phono stage and gives a lowdown on a few contenders...his short- termer winner will surprise.

View: https://youtu.be/C-mbkiVBQ9I?si=7Wshu4Naw3IBDD2t

 

[GwMarshy]

Try a Graham Slee phono stage, I've been using the Reflex M for a few years, really happy with it. They have a loan programme so you can try them at home in your system , it's how I decided on mine. Worth checking out. In fact, I've got some of their interconnects on loan at the mo. Their website / forum has all the details.

Thanks for this, I’m giving John a ring tomorrow morning to hopefully get one on loan

 

[Fandango Andy]

Hi everyone,

I am looking to change my phono stage and thought I had settled on the Rega MM fono mk5 but then different recommendations have come up and I’ve now confused myself. Below is my current set up:
Rega Planar 3
Rega ND3 cartridge
Wiim amp Pro
Ifi zen phono (1st gen one)
Bowers and Wilkins 607 S3
Rel t-zero 3

I think I’ve narrowed my choice down to the Rega MM fono mk5 or the Graham Slee Gram Amp 2 special addition but I’m after opinions which my be best.

I’m also open to other options but don’t want to go any higher than the £250 the gram amp would cost me.

Thank you!

You probably aren't going to notice much difference. To call your amp the weak link would be unkind as its a solid piece of equipment, but speakers and turntable on higher level. If you update your amp in future that may be the time to get a new phono amp, or even get an amp with a really good one.

 

[nopiano]

This video is a good watch. Harley Lovegrove of Pearl Acoustics is after a new phono stage and gives a lowdown on a few contenders...his short- termer winner will surprise.

View: https://youtu.be/C-mbkiVBQ9I?si=7Wshu4Naw3IBDD2t

So it’s a Fosi Audio, or a super expensive Rega for him! 😮

 

[GwMarshy]

This video is a good watch. Harley Lovegrove of Pearl Acoustics is after a new phono stage and gives a lowdown on a few contenders...his short- termer winner will surprise.

View: https://youtu.be/C-mbkiVBQ9I?si=7Wshu4Naw3IBDD2t

I watched this last night, very impressive from the Fosi!! I’m tempted to buy one just to hear and compare to the Graham Slee and my current Ifi zen.

Thanks for this!

 

[Integralista]

Hi everyone,

I am looking to change my phono stage and thought I had settled on the Rega MM fono mk5 but then different recommendations have come up and I’ve now confused myself. Below is my current set up:
Rega Planar 3
Rega ND3 cartridge
Wiim amp Pro
Ifi zen phono (1st gen one)
Bowers and Wilkins 607 S3
Rel t-zero 3

I think I’ve narrowed my choice down to the Rega MM fono mk5 or the Graham Slee Gram Amp 2 special addition but I’m after opinions which my be best.

I’m also open to other options but don’t want to go any higher than the £250 the gram amp would cost me.

Thank you!

Hi, from my 30+ years experience with HiFi I think following:

1. iFi Phono is fine unit;
2. Wiim Amp Pro is better as streamer, but not so special as a HiFi amp;
3. Bowers&Wilkins 607s3 are again very good speakers + your Rel subwoofer.

So my advice is short: keep your iFi phono till you upgrade cartridge to e.g. Rega ND05, or ND07 or you uprade turntable to e.g. Planar 6. Than I recommend to take Rega Aria mk2 or mk3. This is a preamp which is a game changer in your system. Even mm part in this preamp is a mile better than Rega Phono MM. And take a look on matching amplifier first. Something like Rega Brio mk6 or Elex mk3 or Cambridge CXA 61 or 81 will work a lot better than Wiim Amp Pro. This is an invest, upgrade which will have higher added value for your system than just phono preamp upgrade.

BR. Juraj

 

[GwMarshy]

Hi, from my 30+ years experience with HiFi I think following:

1. iFi Phono is fine unit;
2. Wiim Amp Pro is better as streamer, but not so special as a HiFi amp;
3. Bowers&Wilkins 607s3 are again very good speakers + your Rel subwoofer.

So my advice is short: keep your iFi phono till you upgrade cartridge to e.g. Rega ND05, or ND07 or you uprade turntable to e.g. Planar 6. Than I recommend to take Rega Aria mk2 or mk3. This is a preamp which is a game changer in your system. Even mm part in this preamp is a mile better than Rega Phono MM. And take a look on matching amplifier first. Something like Rega Brio mk6 or Elex mk3 or Cambridge CXA 61 or 81 will work a lot better than Wiim Amp Pro. This is an invest, upgrade which will have higher added value for your system than just phono preamp upgrade.

BR. Juraj

My p3 was from around 1980 so I have now upgraded to the p3rs and the difference is massive already. Thank you for the advice

 

[Integralista]

My p3 was from around 1980 so I have now upgraded to the p3rs and the difference is massive already. Thank you for the advice

Yes, congratulation to P3RS. It is some 70-80% of P6 sound quality but for just 999 pounds in GB or 66% of P6's price. This is very good. Even Rega made P50 version of P3, I think real "Planar 50" is P3 RS. Like my old Planar 25, which came in 1998 as "cost cut" version of P9. It was also a real bargain, running and sounding still very good. Currently with Goldring Elite MC cartridge and via Rega Aria mk3 from last Sunday😊. I have used for P25 some 9 years Rega Aria mk1, than switched to Electrocompanient ECP 1 mk2 with dedicated power supply. Electrocompanient is very very good but Aria is just better! Happy listening to LPs! BR. Juraj