Sounds like a nice addition Rick. Things like having a seperate power supply really show attention to detail, and how dedicated the company is to maximize sound quality. There is so many invisible fields going on inside a compents cabinet (electomagnetic fields, static fields etc.) not to mention transformer vibration, seperating what you can is always beneficial. Even seperating wires is beneficial. On the net there are sites that say the electrical field stays within the wires conductor, and other sites say that the electrical field extends outward and beyond the conductor, and the sheathing, be it silver, copper wires etc. Totally contradictory information!!!.. I can tell you that the second one is correct; the electrical field extends well beyond the conductor and the wires sheathing, and is easily heard in my experiments. The 12AU7 tube is what I am using in my tube volume control. I found some old NOS 1953 & 1954 black plate, tall glass Sylvania tubes. Preferred by some to Mullards, especially for depth reproduction. The Sylvania 12AU7 tubes you are using are likely the later "shorter" glass tube from the box you picture. The earlier taller glass tubes are usually better at such things as image size, bass, etc. But the taller glass tubes are more conducive to having a hint more microphonics, which can be tamed by tube rings on your tubes. The rings are not that expensive, are well worth it, and sonically a bargain for the improvements in focus, detail, high end extension, purity and taming microphonics, in both short and taller glass tubes. I would never not use tube rings. I have at least 2 or 3 on each tube. The first ones I used, which are no longer made anymore were, silicon rings by Dupont. I believe Dupont invented silicon, if I'm not mistaken. A rubbery thick tube ring. There are 40 different types of rubber by the way.They make tube rings for input tubes and special tube rings made especially for output tubes, which get much hotter. No smarter thing than using tubes in phono stages and preamps.
I've been intrigued by tube rings. I should look into those. I made an error when I said it was a sylvania. The one I showed was a clear top old stock RCA. I forgot the Sylvania hadn't been cleaned yet.
How exciting!!!! It's not often we find something that changes our experiences( music or otherwise) for the better as much as this seems to have! Congratulations on the find! Will definitely be checking into this!!
Now that’s how to do a review without actually knowing it’s a review. Thanks for sharing too! Great hearing about company products I’ve never even heard of. The only caveat is I’m on one side of the world and they’re on the other. No chance of even having a listen 😢 However it’s brilliant to find out about these magic boxes and to experience your own joy of the journey towards nirvana. Beautifully understated and a joy to us too. Thanks Rick for taking the time out to do this. It really brightens up our day. While I’m at it I’m wondering have you ever heard of my ‘gear’, namely Croft valve amplifiers, Castle Howard transmission line speakers and AnalogueWorks/Nottingham Analogue tt’s. Thankfully I reached my own version of nirvana a while ago. Sadly too the great men who made and designed these precious objects of desire have since passed on. I salute you Tom Fletcher and Glenn Croft, turntable and amplifier magician’s respectively.
Hi! I looked up each of the gear you mentioned. All are beautiful. Is the Croft valve the series 5? I saw a few different Analogue turntables but believe I found the one you mentioned. If you ever get around to it and don’t mind sharing I’d love to see pictures.
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords Very nice of you to say so Rick! Though a lot of naysayers wouldn’t exactly describe the Croft Series 5 as beautiful 😱 It was my very first inroad to the valve experience back in ‘94. I still have it! Along with others I’m afraid to mention as I became a ridiculous fanboy! Anyway my current amplifier setup is the Micronaut/Polestar pre/power hybrid amplifiers in my main system and Glenn’s very last designs Micro 25/Series 7 amplifiers in my second system. In the same room! I just love that magical Croft sound. Anyway the ‘spare’ system is there in case my main system sits down. Of course I do actually listen to it regularly anyway. Of course I’ll send you some photos!
Thanks for sharing! No surprise, same thing with guitar amps, no PCB will ever feel and sound like PTP, same thing with transistor or digital vs valves. Cheers!
Love your channel bc you stick to the fundamentals and educate outward from there. Ty for sharing this component - I bought a Schiit Mani 2 phono pre-amp (musical fidelity m5si & project x1b)...what a difference! I am willing to bet, like me, this is NOT your last pre for the next 6 yrs 😂
Great stuff Rick delighted for you. I had a similar experience when I added my first dedicated phono stage. (In my case the Dynavector P75 Mk IV). This was definitely the best upgrade I have ever made and I think that phono stages in general probably receive less attention than they should in most people's systems.
Just discovered your channel, and I could not agree more on tube preamps and vinyl. I had my Townshend turntable refurbed last year, and a new MM cart fitted. I was running that thru an Edwards solid state pre-amp, then an Icon PP20 tube power amp into Spendor LS3. With that rig, reissues tended to sound better than early presses. Then I got the matching Icon pre amp so it's all tubes now. As you say: detail and separation! Suddenly my first press Get Yer Ya-Yas out sounded incredible, and I stopped playing my 2003 Abcko reissue. I also had a big improvement in bass; probably connected to the Townshend TT silicone trough as well as the amplification. Especially directional bass on red plum Artisan Atlantic LPs. Another big step forward for my was gettting a HumminGuru ultrasound cleaner. If you don't have your own ultrasound cleaner, there's your next 50%!
Thanks for showing the innards.. The designer/builder knows where to put the money on.. You have an all Polypropylene film (DC Link) psu caps too, rare to see.. Tube shunt regulated, looks like a psu filter choke/s in there too.. Thick solid copper ground busses.. Wima FKP (not the not so good MKP) for RIAA Eq filtering.. Vishay resistors, in the direct signal path.. I find that if you have very low or zero interference, you can get away without tube shields, which has some sonic rewards..
You’re spot on with regards to the build- thank you! I also a toroid power transformer under a steel shield and an extremely low value first filter cap rate at 1.2kv DC to handle the charging pulses from the rectifier, then the balance of the filtering is LCLRC respectively. All power supply resistors are wire wound Vishay which I find to sound slightly better as well the final output is a cathode follower stage to avoid any miller capacitance effects from the final RIAA output. I mention this because everything else you mentioned is spot on, and I thoroughly enjoy designing and building! Cheers, Aric
Thanks for finding this one. I am looking around for an endgame phono stage. I will get my new TT (Rega Naia with Aphelion 2 cart) and a Zesto Andros step-up transformer early August. So a dedicated high end MM stage is something I've been looking for. I appreciate point to point, have a Primaluna EVO 300 preamp. The Rega space age would be quite a contrast to a wood cabinet, but it may actually work. Thanks again for bringing the Aric to my attention.
Hi Daniel! The Rega Naia is a beautiful turntable. There are different color options that Aric offers. It might be worth a quick email to him to see what he could do for the Rega Naia matching. Cheers!
I have a Remton Audio 383 mk 1, three tube phono stage with a separate power supply. The shields are apparently fitted to reduce the tubes ringing on mine! It's a lovely piece of kit, with a great sound. Glad you're enjoying yours too. Best wishes and happy listening, from Scotland. Jim🏴🙂
I posted a video of the Remton 2 months ago titled; Remton Audio tube phono stage fitted with Tweaker Man's Little Houses Isolation Feet. If you have the time and inclination to look. Jim🏴🙂
Thanks for the review. I've been thinking about the Super MM for a while now. I run a Modwright PH9.0XT, but was thinking of simplifying. I already use a Hashimoto HM-7 SUT, so going to MM only seems like a good idea. I wish you could have compared the Super MM to something else besides the stages you had. BTW, I had a Tavish Adagio and it's a great stage also. I heard from someone that doing the tube rectifier on the power supply is a good upgrade. I'm actually thinking of ordering Aric's Super 2A3...
I swear by the Super MM now. When I move to Moving Coil next year I'll either have to go with a high output or a SUT. Either way - the separate power supply with the Super MM is gold. Agreed - Tavish makes great products as well!
Hi David - It's the Pangea Audio wall shelf. From what I understand demand was high but they will be getting more in (may have already). I did a video on it a while back - ruclips.net/video/qTMG_2zko6w/видео.html
A big yes for point to point .if it's done right .......... I fit sounds great ...............that means that it cfan be upgraded ( not so with the often erronous illusion to upgrade amps with shortcommings ) Better potmeter..or replace it with a fixed output ( sounds better, potmeters do eat some music ) Better wiring ...OCC... Better RCA connectors ...... Better sockets. Some resistors ....Tantale ( Audio note or Shinkoh ) A/B sounds better than most resistors but are a bit more noisy....( they are not inductive so they capture no magnetics fields or interference ) Suspending tube sockets on ribber decoupling silent blocks........ Optimize ....Layout of heater wiring ......or use shielded wire ! ........and other minor details.........but if you are satisfied , upgrade can wait...... Tubes ..............ECC83 Telefunken flat plates ( or 5751A RCA /triple mica / black plates ) .........................ECC82 " idem".........................( or 5814A " idem " command series) ........if you are lucky to find those .....E83CC original TESLA ! ( NOT JJ !!!) ....they are in fact the same as the obsolete ECC803s from Telefunken....... Siemens/Valvo/Adzam/Philips are also excellent ............even the ECC82 RFT . Mullard ECC83 are a bit noisy ! 5U4 Gold Brand Sylvania ......or genuine RCA... Milflex is one of the best quality capacitor for the price...........tinned copper foil ( Dueleund ) is superior but very very expensive..............ultimate is full AG occ wire and AG foil caps ......but out of budget for most of us . On the very best selected and musdican sounding nos tubes , the most silent ones , you also you can benefit from Herbie tube dampers, ..... Happy listening ...........yes a good tube RIAA make a LOT of difference............ .and have a lot of fun listening to analog and vinyl........
Is a phono stage a sophisticated preamp? If you had pioneer, Harmon kardin, Sansui receiver (i do) would you use real nice external preamp on aux or receivers phono selector?I have a techniques Turn table And I am not thrilled With The way it sounds.I also have a Sansui Turn table and comparatively it sounds so much better!!! My 2000A receiver Has two phono inputs so I can go back and forth.
Hi! I would opt for the external phono stage. It is basically a preamp but specifically designed for turntables. You certainly don't have to go ultra-high end - there are some great phono stages for under $300. It will definitely sound better than a built in one. Hope that helps!
MM phono stage? A while back you were looking for MC cartridge suggestions. Would you go with a stepup transformer? I have tried the LL1933AG mu-metal core , Jensen JT-346AXT (required two RC networks to tame its peak) and LL1931 with amorphous core (DIY projects). I like either Lundahl. An alternative is to use a current mode MC amplifier such as the one outlined on Richard Lee's article, available on Hifisonix. I built a Boozehound Labs JFET head amp with a dual-JFET buffered output to drive a cable and the Lee. The current mode pre requires a low resistance cartridge
I am definitely going to an MC in the coming year. The Super MM is amazing so I’ll have to spring for a SUT. Question is which one. For carts I’m leaning towards a Hana. I also need a SUT with a small footprint (running out of shelf space!). Trials and tribulations...
Since I own a Tavish Classic phono-preamp, I am curious how much better you think the AricAudio sounds in comparison? Is it night and day? Is it worth the extra price of admission? (roughly 4 times the cost) I always thought my Tavish would be the end game phono-pre for me, now you have me curious. Anyway, thanks for the review!! Subscribed for more content...
Hey Rob! The Tavish classic is a great phono stage and I have been very happy with it for a couple of years. I still recommend it. That being said the Aric audio stage was an audible improvement to the point where I wouldn’t be able to go back. I’m playing with different tubes in it now and the detail is incredible. Hope that helps!
Hi Larry. Which cabinets do you mean? The Aric Audio phono stage (sorry -can't remember what else was in the video)? If you mean those - it's curly maple.
Hi David. If you're facing the Turntable - to the right is the Super MM Phono Stage from Aric Audio and to the left is the Galion TS120 Integrated tube amp.
Good thing my Vintage Pioneer, JVC and Sansui receivers already have great pre-amps built in. Plus the JVC and Sansui accept 2 Turntables. I can save money by not having to buy something that looks like it was designed and built by Thomas Edison in the 1910's. I could make my receivers look cooler I guess by gluing a couple of old TV Tubes on the top and lighting them up with an amber LED. LOL.
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords very cool I'm just 20 minutes away from him! I just upgraded my 160 super to a TD 125 with the Sorane tonearm, made a really significant improvement. And about 6 months after that they upgraded my Hana EL to an SL
Confession: I have never had tubes in my setup. (I briefly had an old all-in-one mono record player intended mainly for 45s that had tubes. Although not sophisticated by any means, the sound absolutely had a "charm," for lack of a better term.) I love my ordinary solid state Onkyo receiver, but if I decide to add a different phono stage rather than just relying on what is built in, this is might as well be my first choice. Is it worth it for me to only go with tubes in the phono stage, or should my amplifier also have tubes for it to be truly worth it? On the topic of Toys In The Attic, that reminds me that I also need to finally get that quadraphonic gear I have wanted for decades. My copy of Toys is that SQ quad edition, but I have only ever played it in stereo, haha.
FWIW I would say experiment. Around 7 years ago I bought a valve buffer from China. It was around £40 and I placed it between every component I had to see the effect it had on sound. After much tinkering with different new and vintage valves I decided I loved the valve sound. Today I have a valve preamp and a valve phono stage into a 600 wpc classD power amp. Valves plus power = utter sonic bliss 🎸🎧🎵
If you want to start with tubes - go with the phono stage first. You don't have to go high end or spend alot either. If budget is a concern the Project Tube Box is a good option for a phono stage. If you love the sound (it's how I started), you can upgrade the phono stage from there.
I have had noise picked up by my phono amp. Not recently. But it has happened a few times over the years. I did not realize that you are using a moving magnet cartridge. They can be very good. But the weight of the magnets is a limiting factor in just how good a moving magnet cartridge can be. The magnets have far more mass as compared to the coils. So the cantilever is not able to move the magnets as easily as moving the coils (and it is the interaction between the magnets and the coils that produces the voltage that is sent to the phono amp). The moving magnet cartridge cannot have the same finesse, or the same speed, as a moving coil cartridge, and therein lies the limitation of a moving magnet cartridge. I suggest that you audition a couple of great moving coil cartridges. The three best ones that I have heard are Hana's flagship cartridge (takes the bronze), Air Tight's PC-1 (takes the sliver), and Clearaudio's Goldfinger (takes the gold). The Goldfinger was simply mind blowing (and wallet emptying). There are many other, more affordable, moving coil cartridges worth auditioning.
The MM I have is the Ortofon Black LVB250. Amazing cart and I do want to move into MC carts later this year or next. Budget has stopped me. I know there are some great MC carts in the $600 range I would consider (but I'd also need a SUT). My only concern is if the $600 MC would be a step back from a $1000 LVB250. Maybe not or maybe they are comparable. I have no experience yet with MC to know better... Thoughts?
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords "My only concern is if the $600 MC would be a step back from a $1000 LVB250." That is a great question, and one that probably to which no one knows the answer. That was the problem that I ran into when I decided to purchase a turntable. With every other component that I purchased, I was able to listen to it either in the store or (via a loaner) in my apartment. The store loaned me amps, DACs, pre-amps, and interconnects, over the years. But when it came to the turntable, tone-arm, and cartridge, I had to decide without ever hearing the items. The turntable set-up that they had in the store 1) did not appeal to me aesthetically, and 2) I was not impressed with its sound quality -- and they were using a $3,000 Clearaudio cartridge. With so many turntables on the market to choose from, I was of the opinion that could have both great sound quality and aesthetics, too. Great sound quality is a must. But I have to live with how it looks, too. And that is why I had to choose everything without being able to demo it. The store gave me advice. Although they carried the brand that I chose, they never stocked my turntable model. For my tone-arm and cartridge, they stocked neither. I ended up rolling the dice, based on reviews in Stereophile and The Absolute Sound. Even with their reviews, they did not have my combination of turntable, tone-arm, and cartridge. Did I end up making a good choice? I think so. I am pleased with how it sounds. When I asked the store's turntable guru to professionally align my set-up, I brought it back to the store. A few days later he called me and told me it was ready. He had it hooked up in his flagship (dream stereo) room, and it sounded great. So my combination worked. That was a load off my mind -- to stop worrying if I made good choices. But my story does not help your dilemma. It only helps me to commiserate with your dilemma. All I can suggest is that you read reviews from reputable sources. That is what I did. And I cannot think of any alternatives, unless you can get loaners. And if it is not local, then the cost of shipping will eat into your budget. Lastly, whatever you audition, be sure to dial it in. I, initially, was not too happy with my choices. But after the store's turntable guru dialed it in, I was happy. And there is also the break-in period. It just boils down to a lot of time, effort, cash, and perhaps a bit of luck, to land the right combination. Do you have a list $600 candidates in mind?
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords I am not sure if I ever put this in any of my comments. It is from one of Michael Fremer's videos. I believe he was showing an audience how to set-up a turntable, when he said the following: "The worst case scenario includes when a cartridge manufacturer installs the stylus into the cantilever at an improper angle. This happens occasionally on multi-thousand dollar cartridges, and probably happens regularly on sub-thousand dollar cartridges." Hana makes great cartridges. But there is still a human being putting them together. Whatever cartridge you choose (Hana or any other brand), inspect it for the above.
Thorens TD160 Super ?..................when well set up it is as good as a Linn.............! I used one with some teflon oil ...........platters turns for over 5 minutes .........and with a CU Micro Seiki mat/platter........wonderfull............
Yeah, I just got the Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3 B phono pre-amp and I'm perfectly satisfied. I don't feel the need to have tubes in the phono stage since it's going into an integrated tube amp. And also mine is able to handle mm and mc cartridges.
I just got a phono box s3b and I’m honestly pretty happy with it balanced out sounds so good. I’m using a LHY audio 18v liner power supply with my gosh this combo is killing it for me.
@@michaelcuellar59 Another cool thing is I can have the RCAs going into my Willsenton R8 tube amp and the XLRs going into my Yamaha A-S3200 integrated amp and switch between them. Extremely versatile.
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords the fact that it's a one man operation explains the looks though. My brother only buys "artisan" gear from garages and his setup looks like a janitor's closet :)
I'm a little confused by the uses of phono stages. I was just talking with a friend earlier today about this topic. Why are people buying phono stages if they have a good receiver that has one built in? Do you have to run the phono stage from the AUX jack on the receiver? Or are they mainly used by people that don't have a receiver and need to get sound to their speakers being used? I've never bought one so I'm not really sure how and why they are used. It was my impression that people bought them for the sound or fidelity THR can produce or alter that might be better than the built-in photo stage on a receiver. But that doesn't seem to be the case either. You don't use a phono stage going between the turntable and the photo jacks on a receiver, right? I've just never really looked into a. Phono stage and wonder what they are mainly used for and how they are positioned in the chain. Thanks for any l help. Brian in Fort Worth 🎶
Hi Brian - Some amps and receivers (and turntables) do have built in phono stages. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. For the most part the built-ins are simply there for the RIAA curve equalization and signal boosting. Dedicated phono stages preserve the signal and provide a level of clarity and detail that built-ins won't do - nor were they meant to. As ofr position - they simply go between the turntable and the amp (or receiver). If you have a phono-in on the receiver, you won't want to plug into that since the phono stage is handling everything. You would plug it into another input. Always happy to help if you more questions! You can also reach me through the website.
Okay you lost me at the 5U4. There's no reason to put a rectifier tube in an electronic circuit - zero. Why? Because you can't hear DC. Audio is electronic engineering just like test instruments are electronic engineering. The only difference is what it does. Did you ever see a modern test instrument with a tube rectifier? No. Why not? Because an engineer who designed a tube rectifier would be laughed at and promptly fired. Test instruments measure thousands of times better than the human ear is capable of hearing, we have test instruments that can measure picoamps and we can make solid state rectifier circuits that far exceed tube rectifiers for accuracy and noise, it's no contest. I defy anyone on the planet to tell me in a DBT a tube rectified supply from a solid state rectified supply. Point to point? I defy anyone to pick out a point to point vs. a PCB amp,. You can hear solder connections? You just can't, in fact most people can't hear the difference between two capacitors, if you can't measure it you can't hear it. We can make test equipment, navigation circuits, missile guidance systems with incredible accuracy but we can't make a decent amp that's not point to point wiring without a tube rectifier? Think about what you're saying. Please audio guys learn some electronics.
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I have and love this phono stage. I run a Denon 103 with a Cinemag 1254 step up transformer and it's pure heaven. Aric rules.
I'll be shopping for an SUT at some point in the next few months. Thanks, Samuel!
Glad you found your audio nirvana...Thanks for sharing.
Can't beat one's fine craftsmanship. Good find.
Thanks, Chris. I was thrilled to learn of it.
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords I’m deep in the phono pre amp as well. Really liking it and learning.
Great video Rick... The Journey never ends!!
Thanks, Michael!
Sounds like 😊 it's a winner 🏆. Thanks for sharing this
Sounds like a nice addition Rick. Things like having a seperate power supply really show attention to detail, and how dedicated the company is to maximize sound quality. There is so many invisible fields going on inside a compents cabinet (electomagnetic fields, static fields etc.) not to mention transformer vibration, seperating what you can is always beneficial. Even seperating wires is beneficial. On the net there are sites that say the electrical field stays within the wires conductor, and other sites say that the electrical field extends outward and beyond the conductor, and the sheathing, be it silver, copper wires etc. Totally contradictory information!!!.. I can tell you that the second one is correct; the electrical field extends well beyond the conductor and the wires sheathing, and is easily heard in my experiments.
The 12AU7 tube is what I am using in my tube volume control. I found some old NOS 1953 & 1954 black plate, tall glass Sylvania tubes. Preferred by some to Mullards, especially for depth reproduction. The Sylvania 12AU7 tubes you are using are likely the later "shorter" glass tube from the box you picture. The earlier taller glass tubes are usually better at such things as image size, bass, etc. But the taller glass tubes are more conducive to having a hint more microphonics, which can be tamed by tube rings on your tubes. The rings are not that expensive, are well worth it, and sonically a bargain for the improvements in focus, detail, high end extension, purity and taming microphonics, in both short and taller glass tubes. I would never not use tube rings. I have at least 2 or 3 on each tube. The first ones I used, which are no longer made anymore were, silicon rings by Dupont. I believe Dupont invented silicon, if I'm not mistaken. A rubbery thick tube ring. There are 40 different types of rubber by the way.They make tube rings for input tubes and special tube rings made especially for output tubes, which get much hotter. No smarter thing than using tubes in phono stages and preamps.
I've been intrigued by tube rings. I should look into those.
I made an error when I said it was a sylvania. The one I showed was a clear top old stock RCA. I forgot the Sylvania hadn't been cleaned yet.
How exciting!!!! It's not often we find something that changes our experiences( music or otherwise) for the better as much as this seems to have! Congratulations on the find! Will definitely be checking into this!!
Thanks, Glenn! I'm enjoying it immensely. It's one of those pieces of gear that makes you want to listen all day long.
Now that’s how to do a review without actually knowing it’s a review. Thanks for sharing too! Great hearing about company products I’ve never even heard of. The only caveat is I’m on one side of the world and they’re on the other. No chance of even having a listen 😢 However it’s brilliant to find out about these magic boxes and to experience your own joy of the journey towards nirvana. Beautifully understated and a joy to us too. Thanks Rick for taking the time out to do this. It really brightens up our day. While I’m at it I’m wondering have you ever heard of my ‘gear’, namely Croft valve amplifiers, Castle Howard transmission line speakers and AnalogueWorks/Nottingham Analogue tt’s. Thankfully I reached my own version of nirvana a while ago. Sadly too the great men who made and designed these precious objects of desire have since passed on. I salute you Tom Fletcher and Glenn Croft, turntable and amplifier magician’s respectively.
Hi! I looked up each of the gear you mentioned. All are beautiful. Is the Croft valve the series 5? I saw a few different Analogue turntables but believe I found the one you mentioned. If you ever get around to it and don’t mind sharing I’d love to see pictures.
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords Very nice of you to say so Rick! Though a lot of naysayers wouldn’t exactly describe the Croft Series 5 as beautiful 😱 It was my very first inroad to the valve experience back in ‘94. I still have it! Along with others I’m afraid to mention as I became a ridiculous fanboy! Anyway my current amplifier setup is the Micronaut/Polestar pre/power hybrid amplifiers in my main system and Glenn’s very last designs Micro 25/Series 7 amplifiers in my second system. In the same room! I just love that magical Croft sound. Anyway the ‘spare’ system is there in case my main system sits down. Of course I do actually listen to it regularly anyway. Of course I’ll send you some photos!
@@cybot6 Thanks for the images in advance! You can reach me direct through my website joyofvinyl.com. Thanks again!
Thanks for sharing! No surprise, same thing with guitar amps, no PCB will ever feel and sound like PTP, same thing with transistor or digital vs valves. Cheers!
Cheers!
Love your channel bc you stick to the fundamentals and educate outward from there. Ty for sharing this component - I bought a Schiit Mani 2 phono pre-amp (musical fidelity m5si & project x1b)...what a difference! I am willing to bet, like me, this is NOT your last pre for the next 6 yrs 😂
Schiit makes great products! If this phono stage doesn;t make it until 2030 my wife will kill me 😂😂😂
Great stuff Rick delighted for you.
I had a similar experience when I added my first dedicated phono stage. (In my case the Dynavector P75 Mk IV).
This was definitely the best upgrade I have ever made and I think that phono stages in general probably receive less attention than they should in most people's systems.
Agreed. I’ve always been a proponent of external phono stages, but this is the first time I’ve noticed a substantial difference and sound!
Just discovered your channel, and I could not agree more on tube preamps and vinyl. I had my Townshend turntable refurbed last year, and a new MM cart fitted. I was running that thru an Edwards solid state pre-amp, then an Icon PP20 tube power amp into Spendor LS3. With that rig, reissues tended to sound better than early presses. Then I got the matching Icon pre amp so it's all tubes now. As you say: detail and separation! Suddenly my first press Get Yer Ya-Yas out sounded incredible, and I stopped playing my 2003 Abcko reissue. I also had a big improvement in bass; probably connected to the Townshend TT silicone trough as well as the amplification. Especially directional bass on red plum Artisan Atlantic LPs. Another big step forward for my was gettting a HumminGuru ultrasound cleaner. If you don't have your own ultrasound cleaner, there's your next 50%!
Thanks John! I have heard quite a bit about the HumminGuru. It's something I want to see in action. Cheers! 🍺
Those shields look exactly like the ones on my 60 year old H.H. Scott Type 130. Same tubes, too!
I'm sold on their benefits!
Thanks for showing the innards.. The designer/builder knows where to put the money on.. You have an all Polypropylene film (DC Link) psu caps too, rare to see.. Tube shunt regulated, looks like a psu filter choke/s in there too.. Thick solid copper ground busses.. Wima FKP (not the not so good MKP) for RIAA Eq filtering.. Vishay resistors, in the direct signal path.. I find that if you have very low or zero interference, you can get away without tube shields, which has some sonic rewards..
You know any more about this than I do - thanks for all that!
You’re spot on with regards to the build- thank you! I also a toroid power transformer under a steel shield and an extremely low value first filter cap rate at 1.2kv DC to handle the charging pulses from the rectifier, then the balance of the filtering is LCLRC respectively. All power supply resistors are wire wound Vishay which I find to sound slightly better as well the final output is a cathode follower stage to avoid any miller capacitance effects from the final RIAA output. I mention this because everything else you mentioned is spot on, and I thoroughly enjoy designing and building! Cheers, Aric
Another great video Rick!
Thanks, John! 🍺
Thanks for finding this one. I am looking around for an endgame phono stage. I will get my new TT (Rega Naia with Aphelion 2 cart) and a Zesto Andros step-up transformer early August. So a dedicated high end MM stage is something I've been looking for. I appreciate point to point, have a Primaluna EVO 300 preamp. The Rega space age would be quite a contrast to a wood cabinet, but it may actually work. Thanks again for bringing the Aric to my attention.
I have Rega P 10 with Aphhelion 2 and Rega Aura phonostage fantastc
Hi Daniel! The Rega Naia is a beautiful turntable. There are different color options that Aric offers. It might be worth a quick email to him to see what he could do for the Rega Naia matching. Cheers!
I have a Remton Audio 383 mk 1, three tube phono stage with a separate power supply. The shields are apparently fitted to reduce the tubes ringing on mine! It's a lovely piece of kit, with a great sound.
Glad you're enjoying yours too.
Best wishes and happy listening, from Scotland.
Jim🏴🙂
I posted a video of the Remton 2 months ago titled; Remton Audio tube phono stage fitted with Tweaker Man's Little Houses Isolation Feet. If you have the time and inclination to look.
Jim🏴🙂
Cheers from NH, Jim! 🍺🥃
Thanks for the review. I've been thinking about the Super MM for a while now. I run a Modwright PH9.0XT, but was thinking of simplifying. I already use a Hashimoto HM-7 SUT, so going to MM only seems like a good idea. I wish you could have compared the Super MM to something else besides the stages you had. BTW, I had a Tavish Adagio and it's a great stage also. I heard from someone that doing the tube rectifier on the power supply is a good upgrade. I'm actually thinking of ordering Aric's Super 2A3...
I swear by the Super MM now. When I move to Moving Coil next year I'll either have to go with a high output or a SUT. Either way - the separate power supply with the Super MM is gold.
Agreed - Tavish makes great products as well!
Super cool channel! Subscribed❤
Thank you, Max!
Loved hearing about this! Your link has an extra “k” in it.
Hi Randy! Fixed it a few moments ago - thank you!
Great channel what base are you using on that project table ?
My bad on that thorens table ?
Hi David - It's the Pangea Audio wall shelf. From what I understand demand was high but they will be getting more in (may have already). I did a video on it a while back - ruclips.net/video/qTMG_2zko6w/видео.html
A big yes for point to point .if it's done right ..........
I fit sounds great ...............that means that it cfan be upgraded ( not so with the often erronous illusion to upgrade amps with shortcommings )
Better potmeter..or replace it with a fixed output ( sounds better, potmeters do eat some music )
Better wiring ...OCC...
Better RCA connectors ......
Better sockets.
Some resistors ....Tantale ( Audio note or Shinkoh )
A/B sounds better than most resistors but are a bit more noisy....( they are not inductive so they capture no magnetics fields or interference )
Suspending tube sockets on ribber decoupling silent blocks........
Optimize ....Layout of heater wiring ......or use shielded wire !
........and other minor details.........but if you are satisfied , upgrade can wait......
Tubes ..............ECC83 Telefunken flat plates ( or 5751A RCA /triple mica / black plates )
.........................ECC82 " idem".........................( or 5814A " idem " command series)
........if you are lucky to find those .....E83CC original TESLA ! ( NOT JJ !!!) ....they are in fact the same as the obsolete ECC803s from Telefunken.......
Siemens/Valvo/Adzam/Philips are also excellent ............even the ECC82 RFT .
Mullard ECC83 are a bit noisy !
5U4 Gold Brand Sylvania ......or genuine RCA...
Milflex is one of the best quality capacitor for the price...........tinned copper foil ( Dueleund ) is superior but very very expensive..............ultimate is full AG occ wire and AG foil caps ......but out of budget for most of us .
On the very best selected and musdican sounding nos tubes , the most silent ones , you also you can benefit from Herbie tube dampers, .....
Happy listening ...........yes a good tube RIAA make a LOT of difference............
.and have a lot of fun listening to analog and vinyl........
Thanks for the tube recommendations - I always appreciate that!
Is a phono stage a sophisticated preamp? If you had pioneer, Harmon kardin, Sansui receiver (i do) would you use real nice external preamp on aux or receivers phono selector?I have a techniques Turn table And I am not thrilled With The way it sounds.I also have a Sansui Turn table and comparatively it sounds so much better!!! My 2000A receiver
Has two phono inputs so I can go back and forth.
Hi! I would opt for the external phono stage. It is basically a preamp but specifically designed for turntables. You certainly don't have to go ultra-high end - there are some great phono stages for under $300. It will definitely sound better than a built in one.
Hope that helps!
If you have a nice receiver With built in preamp Still Go external pre amp.?
I would, but it really depends on the receiver. There are some exceptionally well done built-ins out there
MM phono stage? A while back you were looking for MC cartridge suggestions. Would you go with a stepup transformer? I have tried the LL1933AG mu-metal core , Jensen JT-346AXT (required two RC networks to tame its peak) and LL1931 with amorphous core (DIY projects). I like either Lundahl.
An alternative is to use a current mode MC amplifier such as the one outlined on Richard Lee's article, available on Hifisonix. I built a Boozehound Labs JFET head amp with a dual-JFET buffered output to drive a cable and the Lee. The current mode pre requires a low resistance cartridge
I am definitely going to an MC in the coming year. The Super MM is amazing so I’ll have to spring for a SUT. Question is which one. For carts I’m leaning towards a Hana. I also need a SUT with a small footprint (running out of shelf space!). Trials and tribulations...
Since I own a Tavish Classic phono-preamp, I am curious how much better you think the AricAudio sounds in comparison? Is it night and day? Is it worth the extra price of admission? (roughly 4 times the cost) I always thought my Tavish would be the end game phono-pre for me, now you have me curious. Anyway, thanks for the review!! Subscribed for more content...
Hey Rob! The Tavish classic is a great phono stage and I have been very happy with it for a couple of years. I still recommend it. That being said the Aric audio stage was an audible improvement to the point where I wouldn’t be able to go back. I’m playing with different tubes in it now and the detail is incredible. Hope that helps!
maaaaan, this i a cool phono amp. i enjoyed this review. can u get ur hands on a tavish adagio to compare?
I'd love to - I know Tavish Designs is a bit behind on delivery. I'm not sure if they do loaners for comparisons.
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords theres a long wait list right now.
no idea . why not ask?
what kind of wood is in those cabinets?
Hi Larry. Which cabinets do you mean? The Aric Audio phono stage (sorry -can't remember what else was in the video)? If you mean those - it's curly maple.
What is that piece of equipment to the left of your turntable?
Hi David. If you're facing the Turntable - to the right is the Super MM Phono Stage from Aric Audio and to the left is the Galion TS120 Integrated tube amp.
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords Thanks. Very impressive. 👍
Good thing my Vintage Pioneer, JVC and Sansui receivers already have great pre-amps built in. Plus the JVC and Sansui accept 2 Turntables. I can save money by not having to buy something that looks like it was designed and built by Thomas Edison in the 1910's. I could make my receivers look cooler I guess by gluing a couple of old TV Tubes on the top and lighting them up with an amber LED. LOL.
Have the same issue with my Pathos phono stage if I get anywhere near it with my mobile it makes a terrible racket ... All valves act exactly the same
I have to say it surprised me and was a good demo of the use of shields.
Cool
Did you get your Thorens from Dave over at Vinyl Nirvana, I think we might be in the same neck of the woods
I did! Picked it up at his place over a year ago. I’m in NH. About 45 minutes from Dave.
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords very cool I'm just 20 minutes away from him! I just upgraded my 160 super to a TD 125 with the Sorane tonearm, made a really significant improvement. And about 6 months after that they upgraded my Hana EL to an SL
@@chelillingworth9466 Did you keep the 160 or were you able to trade-in for credit to go towards the 125?
@@chelillingworth9466 Wow. I might reach out to Dave about it. I never realized that was an option. Thanks for the response!
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords I'm not sure if it was a one-off or a special case but it's worth asking
Confession: I have never had tubes in my setup. (I briefly had an old all-in-one mono record player intended mainly for 45s that had tubes. Although not sophisticated by any means, the sound absolutely had a "charm," for lack of a better term.) I love my ordinary solid state Onkyo receiver, but if I decide to add a different phono stage rather than just relying on what is built in, this is might as well be my first choice.
Is it worth it for me to only go with tubes in the phono stage, or should my amplifier also have tubes for it to be truly worth it?
On the topic of Toys In The Attic, that reminds me that I also need to finally get that quadraphonic gear I have wanted for decades. My copy of Toys is that SQ quad edition, but I have only ever played it in stereo, haha.
FWIW I would say experiment. Around 7 years ago I bought a valve buffer from China. It was around £40 and I placed it between every component I had to see the effect it had on sound.
After much tinkering with different new and vintage valves I decided I loved the valve sound.
Today I have a valve preamp and a valve phono stage into a 600 wpc classD power amp.
Valves plus power = utter sonic bliss
🎸🎧🎵
If you want to start with tubes - go with the phono stage first. You don't have to go high end or spend alot either. If budget is a concern the Project Tube Box is a good option for a phono stage. If you love the sound (it's how I started), you can upgrade the phono stage from there.
What is Eric audios website?
Its aricaudio.com. 🍻
I have had noise picked up by my phono amp. Not recently. But it has happened a few times over the years.
I did not realize that you are using a moving magnet cartridge. They can be very good. But the weight of the magnets is a limiting factor in just how good a moving magnet cartridge can be.
The magnets have far more mass as compared to the coils. So the cantilever is not able to move the magnets as easily as moving the coils (and it is the interaction between the magnets and the coils that produces the voltage that is sent to the phono amp).
The moving magnet cartridge cannot have the same finesse, or the same speed, as a moving coil cartridge, and therein lies the limitation of a moving magnet cartridge.
I suggest that you audition a couple of great moving coil cartridges. The three best ones that I have heard are Hana's flagship cartridge (takes the bronze), Air Tight's PC-1 (takes the sliver), and Clearaudio's Goldfinger (takes the gold). The Goldfinger was simply mind blowing (and wallet emptying).
There are many other, more affordable, moving coil cartridges worth auditioning.
The MM I have is the Ortofon Black LVB250. Amazing cart and I do want to move into MC carts later this year or next. Budget has stopped me. I know there are some great MC carts in the $600 range I would consider (but I'd also need a SUT). My only concern is if the $600 MC would be a step back from a $1000 LVB250. Maybe not or maybe they are comparable. I have no experience yet with MC to know better...
Thoughts?
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords "My only concern is if the $600 MC would be a step back from a $1000 LVB250."
That is a great question, and one that probably to which no one knows the answer.
That was the problem that I ran into when I decided to purchase a turntable.
With every other component that I purchased, I was able to listen to it either in the store or (via a loaner) in my apartment. The store loaned me amps, DACs, pre-amps, and interconnects, over the years. But when it came to the turntable, tone-arm, and cartridge, I had to decide without ever hearing the items.
The turntable set-up that they had in the store 1) did not appeal to me aesthetically, and 2) I was not impressed with its sound quality -- and they were using a $3,000 Clearaudio cartridge. With so many turntables on the market to choose from, I was of the opinion that could have both great sound quality and aesthetics, too. Great sound quality is a must. But I have to live with how it looks, too. And that is why I had to choose everything without being able to demo it.
The store gave me advice. Although they carried the brand that I chose, they never stocked my turntable model. For my tone-arm and cartridge, they stocked neither.
I ended up rolling the dice, based on reviews in Stereophile and The Absolute Sound.
Even with their reviews, they did not have my combination of turntable, tone-arm, and cartridge.
Did I end up making a good choice? I think so. I am pleased with how it sounds.
When I asked the store's turntable guru to professionally align my set-up, I brought it back to the store. A few days later he called me and told me it was ready. He had it hooked up in his flagship (dream stereo) room, and it sounded great. So my combination worked. That was a load off my mind -- to stop worrying if I made good choices.
But my story does not help your dilemma. It only helps me to commiserate with your dilemma.
All I can suggest is that you read reviews from reputable sources. That is what I did. And I cannot think of any alternatives, unless you can get loaners. And if it is not local, then the cost of shipping will eat into your budget.
Lastly, whatever you audition, be sure to dial it in.
I, initially, was not too happy with my choices. But after the store's turntable guru dialed it in, I was happy. And there is also the break-in period. It just boils down to a lot of time, effort, cash, and perhaps a bit of luck, to land the right combination.
Do you have a list $600 candidates in mind?
@@NoEgg4u I've been looking at a couple of the Hana MC carts.
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords I am not sure if I ever put this in any of my comments. It is from one of Michael Fremer's videos. I believe he was showing an audience how to set-up a turntable, when he said the following:
"The worst case scenario includes when a cartridge manufacturer installs the stylus into the cantilever at an improper angle. This happens occasionally on multi-thousand dollar cartridges, and probably happens regularly on sub-thousand dollar cartridges."
Hana makes great cartridges. But there is still a human being putting them together. Whatever cartridge you choose (Hana or any other brand), inspect it for the above.
How much it cost
Too much
The price of the Super MM Phono stage is $2,475 with tubes in your choice of wood.
Do yourself a favor and try the Grado Master 3 cartridge. You’ll never need or want to go above 40 dB in your photo stage.
It's a great cartridge. I'll definitely cobsider it when I move into the world of MC carts next year.
Thorens TD160 Super ?..................when well set up it is as good as a Linn.............!
I used one with some teflon oil ...........platters turns for over 5 minutes .........and with a CU Micro Seiki mat/platter........wonderfull............
Those CU Micro Seiki mats look amazing
Gosh, the price is over the moon!
Make a clone EAR845 and you will be as happy and thousands better off
Rick never said it's cheap. Some people spend more on cable UPGRADES alone annually than this.
Uh oh. I JUST got a Pro-ject DS2. Let’s test my fortitude. 😂
😂😂😂
Yeah, I just got the Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3 B phono pre-amp and I'm perfectly satisfied. I don't feel the need to have tubes in the phono stage since it's going into an integrated tube amp. And also mine is able to handle mm and mc cartridges.
I just got a phono box s3b and I’m honestly pretty happy with it balanced out sounds so good. I’m using a LHY audio 18v liner power supply with my gosh this combo is killing it for me.
@@michaelcuellar59
Another cool thing is I can have the RCAs going into my Willsenton R8 tube amp and the XLRs going into my Yamaha A-S3200 integrated amp and switch between them. Extremely versatile.
to each his own, I don't get the design/looks inside out at all. But if it sounds great, that's a compelling reason.
Hi Gabor! In the end it's really the music and the sound, just as you said.
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords the fact that it's a one man operation explains the looks though. My brother only buys "artisan" gear from garages and his setup looks like a janitor's closet :)
I'm a little confused by the uses of phono stages. I was just talking with a friend earlier today about this topic.
Why are people buying phono stages if they have a good receiver that has one built in? Do you have to run the phono stage from the AUX jack on the receiver? Or are they mainly used by people that don't have a receiver and need to get sound to their speakers being used? I've never bought one so I'm not really sure how and why they are used. It was my impression that people bought them for the sound or fidelity THR can produce or alter that might be better than the built-in photo stage on a receiver. But that doesn't seem to be the case either. You don't use a phono stage going between the turntable and the photo jacks on a receiver, right?
I've just never really looked into a. Phono stage and wonder what they are mainly used for and how they are positioned in the chain. Thanks for any l help.
Brian in Fort Worth 🎶
Hi Brian - Some amps and receivers (and turntables) do have built in phono stages. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. For the most part the built-ins are simply there for the RIAA curve equalization and signal boosting. Dedicated phono stages preserve the signal and provide a level of clarity and detail that built-ins won't do - nor were they meant to.
As ofr position - they simply go between the turntable and the amp (or receiver). If you have a phono-in on the receiver, you won't want to plug into that since the phono stage is handling everything. You would plug it into another input.
Always happy to help if you more questions! You can also reach me through the website.
2500 usd hmm it’s lovely but that’s overpriced for what’s possible sonically regarding phono stage duties.
$2.5k
... and this would set you back how many $$ ?? It looks awfully expensive...
I'm guessing 10k plus...
The price of the Super MM Phono stage is $2,475 with tubes in your choice of wood.
@@silversurfer493 that sounds like a really decent price in the grand scheme of things.
@@MrAricaudio123 Not too bad! This sounds reasonable. Thank you for the information…. Seems I did not scroll far enough down ….
@@silversurfer493 You're welcome and thank you for the interest!
Did I miss the $$$ ???
$2,475.00 according to the website
Okay you lost me at the 5U4.
There's no reason to put a rectifier tube in an electronic circuit - zero. Why? Because you can't hear DC. Audio is electronic engineering just like test instruments are electronic engineering. The only difference is what it does. Did you ever see a modern test instrument with a tube rectifier? No. Why not? Because an engineer who designed a tube rectifier would be laughed at and promptly fired. Test instruments measure thousands of times better than the human ear is capable of hearing, we have test instruments that can measure picoamps and we can make solid state rectifier circuits that far exceed tube rectifiers for accuracy and noise, it's no contest.
I defy anyone on the planet to tell me in a DBT a tube rectified supply from a solid state rectified supply.
Point to point? I defy anyone to pick out a point to point vs. a PCB amp,. You can hear solder connections? You just can't, in fact most people can't hear the difference between two capacitors, if you can't measure it you can't hear it. We can make test equipment, navigation circuits, missile guidance systems with incredible accuracy but we can't make a decent amp that's not point to point wiring without a tube rectifier? Think about what you're saying.
Please audio guys learn some electronics.