Valve Phono Amplifiers

Jason36

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Can anyone recommend any Valve Phono Amplifers to go with the equipment listed in my signature?

I have seen a lot of Yaqin ones on a famous auction site from Honk Kong etc...does anybody have experience of these and the quality of the Valves used...i.e. would they need upgrading to British Valves?

Not bothered about switching from MM / MC as I plan on sticking with MM cartridges in the long term.
 

DIB

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Jason

Last year, through a contact at work, I had a home trial of a new Croft Acoustics RIAA phono stage, that I could have had for £300.00 instead of the normal price of £500.00. It was a lovely piece of kit, very minimalist in looks and design, but offered a wonderful sound through my Uniti. I just didn't have the money at the time otherwise I would have taken the plunge. Not sure if £500 is too much, but it's one option to start with.

Here's a link: http://www.croftacoustics.co.uk/RIAA.html

.
 

shropshire lad

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Icon Audio have had some good reviews with their valve phono amps and if I hadn't just bought a Tricord Dino mk2 I would be looking seriously at their PS 1 ,

Nick
 

Jason36

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Cheers guys thanks for the two recommendations there, I will look into both of those and try and get a demo on them....both seem to be the sort of thing I am looking for :)
 

DIB

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Jason36 said:
Cheers guys thanks for the two recommendations there, I will look into both of those and try and get a demo on them....both seem to be the sort of thing I am looking for :)

Hi Jason

You're NW based aren't you? There's a Croft dealer in Westhoughton, that's who I borrowed one off for a while last year.

Top bloke he is.

.
 

Jason36

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Hi DIB,

Yep I'm based just outside of Preston, not sure where that place you mentioned is, but I will have a look and mybe take a trip over. Thanks for that DIB.

Also a friend mentioned to me last night that if I want to change the Goldring Phono Stage I should also have a look at the MF V-LPS (although not Valve) he has said its very good value for money and well worth a listen.
 

DIB

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Jason36 said:
Hi DIB,

Yep I'm based just outside of Preston, not sure where that place you mentioned is, but I will have a look and mybe take a trip over. Thanks for that DIB.

It's just next to Bolton, Jct 6 M61.

When I say a dealer, he works from home so no showroom as such, and deals in mainly vintage hi-fi. However, he is a authorised dealer in Croft equipment.

Cheers
 

Joe10155

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Hi Jason36,

I got my Icon Audio PS1 (MM & MC) phono stage a couple of months or so ago to replace my old Cambridge Auadio 640P. It was certainly an improvement, the main benifit I found was a lot more "texture" was being brought out from the music.

I bought it direct from Icon Audio as they did a 30 day guarantee of satisfaction on it; so I could have returned it if I was not happy with it. But returning it would come at a significant cost, postage, insurance & a restocking fee. As I ordered it just after Christmas there was a backlog of orders so it took several weeks to arrive.

I have kept it as it is really quite good and it looks very nice too.

The PS1 can be bought as MM only which can be upgraded to an MM/MC later. They also now do a PS2 which is MM only and not upgradable, but is cheaper.

Regards
 

DIB

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Joe10155 said:
Hi Jason36,

I got my Icon Audio PS1 (MM & MC) phono stage a couple of months or so ago to replace my old Cambridge Auadio 640P. It was certainly an improvement, the main benifit I found was a lot more "texture" was being brought out from the music.

I bought it direct from Icon Audio as they did a 30 day guarantee of satisfaction on it; so I could have returned it if I was not happy with it. But returning it would come at a significant cost, postage, insurance & a restocking fee. As I ordered it just after Christmas there was a backlog of orders so it took several weeks to arrive.

I have kept it as it is really quite good and it looks very nice too.

The PS1 can be bought as MM only which can be upgraded to an MM/MC later. They also now do a PS2 which is MM only and not upgradable, but is cheaper.

Regards

And there just happens to be one for sale on another colourful, marine creature based site too!

.
 

DIB

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Jason

Have you considered an EAR 834P Valve phono amp? There's one on sale on Ebay at the moment and the seller is just a few miles from you. A similar one went a couple of days ago for just over £400, I'm not sure whether that's in your budget area.

I've never heard one, totally out of my league, but the guy I mentioned earlier in the thread who deals in vintage hi-fi and Croft Acoustics used to swear by them. He used to use the company I work for to ship them out and he would sell all sorts of EAR gear around the globe, they were so much sought after.

Just a thought.

.
 

Jason36

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Hiya DIB,

Never heard of them before to be quite honest, but at the moment I have decided to put the Valve option on hold due to other commitments. It would seem as though for a decent Valve Stage I will be looking at paying at least £300 or £400, if not more :-(

I was watching an MF X-LPS the other day, but forgot it finished last night and missed out (shame because it was only at £50.00 with 4 hours to go) I just got caught up in something else :-( Undecided what to do at the moment....I was listening to LP's for most of the afternoon yesterday and to be honest I have seen a HUGE improvement in sound from upgrading to the Goldring 1042 Cartridge. IF I decide to change the Goldring Phono Amp then it will more than likely be for a Solid State at the moment...probably something like the X-LPS or V-LPS.
 

DIB

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Jason36 said:
Hiya DIB,

Never heard of them before to be quite honest, but at the moment I have decided to put the Valve option on hold due to other commitments. It would seem as though for a decent Valve Stage I will be looking at paying at least £300 or £400, if not more :-(

I was watching an MF X-LPS the other day, but forgot it finished last night and missed out (shame because it was only at £50.00 with 4 hours to go) I just got caught up in something else :-( Undecided what to do at the moment....I was listening to LP's for most of the afternoon yesterday and to be honest I have seen a HUGE improvement in sound from upgrading to the Goldring 1042 Cartridge. IF I decide to change the Goldring Phono Amp then it will more than likely be for a Solid State at the moment...probably something like the X-LPS or V-LPS.

Say hello to a new MF X-LPS owner!

.
 

Lost Angeles

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Hello
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