I have been thinking of upgrading a few things in my system for a while, what I am looking to upgrade are phonostage, pre-amp and speakers. I had a few phonostages in mind to try out, the ones I had in mind are the Esoteric E-03, Rega Aura and the Zanden Model 120 to replace my Rega Ios. One of the things I require from a phonostage is that it must have the controls / loading on an easy to adjust dial on the front panel, no dip switches. When I upgrade as a rule of thumb, I need to be spending at least 3 x what I am replacing else it’s no point, you must consider inflation the price of everything has gone up else I am only making a sideways move to something different and not a true upgrade. Checking out these phonostages they have all now gone up in price, which make most of them a little less attractive. The Esoteric has gone up about £3K and they have just stop making them since the E-02 is out, the Zanden has gone up about £3K and the Rega has gone up about £400. They become less palatable since they are not improved versions, they are still the same things but just cost more. Anyway at the moment, I have the Rega Aura on a home loan so I can try it in my system. I never buy anything anymore unless I can have it at home and use it in my system in my room, that is the only way you truly know. You only really know what the kit is doing, when you have lived with it for a while. I find an hour or 2 in the dealers dem room to be a false evaluation, you may be wowed in an hour or 2 but when you live with it for a while you really know. Out of the box, the Aura is an improvement in all areas over my Ios. After a few notes you can just tell, I did do a few switch back and forth then I stopped to just live with and enjoy the Aura. I would not say I heard anything I did not hear before, but first thing that I noticed was how much quieter the phonostage is. I could hear everything better than before, the sound stage was deeper and wider, clarity was on a different level. I have been playing my records, throwing many different tracks at it to see how it handles them. It has done a very credible job with most tracks. People say this phonostage is revealing and yet forgiving at the same time. I would agree with the revealing part but the forgiving part, I disagree with it is brutal on not so good recordings. A couple of tracks that it was brutal on is 12” mix of Grace Jones – Me! I disconnect from you and the other I have found so far is E-Z Rollers – Droppin Science, when the bass drops it’s painful to listen to. I may be able to fix this issue buy doing a better setup, but we shall see. I am still playing around with the capacitance to see if I can hear which setting sounds best. Build quality the phonostage is built like a tank. A friend of mine was here listening to the phonostages with me, we both came to the same conclusion an improvement in every area over the Ios. So looks like I will be buying a new phonostage. Ios on right and Aura on left.
Sorry I can't help you but it reminds me of when ARKAY used to talk of the 2nd hand stores in Hong Kong and he was always finding cool, very high end, accessories. He used to be able to try out a lot of different equipment and if he didn't like it, sell and make a small profit.
Mister X, I was never that good or adventurous to go out and buy second-hand stuff and then sell it on for profit. I don’t buy second-hand stuff, I love opening new things and being the first person to handle it since it was boxed up in the factory. I don’t usually pay for these things as the dealers know me and let me borrow their dem gear to use at home first, if I like the stuff I will always go back and buy it. I have just added a few new accessories lately, but now I don’t see them as accessories but a must. A friend gave me a Puritan Audio Ground City to add to my system. He bought one a while back and like it so much, he ordered one for me as a present. It was on back order for 4 weeks. I got it played a record, left everything the same then plugged it in and played the same record again. I got a little worried as the system was dead silent, I thought the pre-amp was broken as I plugged the Puritan Audio Ground City into the pre-amp I was relieved when I heard the record start to play. If it had damaged the pre-amp that would have been I big repair bill. Now I can’t live without the Puritan Audio Ground City in my system. I also replaced my turntable matt with the Funk Firm Acromat APM, this has lowered the noise floor and improved the sound from the cartridge too. One bonus side effect from this new matt now is, my static issue has gone since I started using the matt. I still use my Furutech De-Start III when I pull the record out of the sleeves, but don’t use it anymore between sides. If anyone is having static problem, I highly recommend Funk Firm Acromat APM. The Funk Firm Acromat APM is Acromat and Glass bonded together. The Acromat is the original one but the Acromat APM has the glass too. One word of warning if you are going to use any of the Acromat, you need to be able to adjust your VTA to raise arm height as the basic Acromat comes in 3mm and 5mm thickness the Acromat APM is 7mm thick. I also replaced my record weight with HRS ADH, which comes in at 860 grams. Again a big improvement for the turntable. As I write this I am enjoying Innocence’s first album belief, wow it sounds amazing.
Understandable, do you ever check AudioKarma? They get into everything over there and might have some other choices for you.
No I have never been there, but I am on What's best forum and one of the guys have just gone from the Rega Aura to the CH Precision P1. He says the P1 blows the Aura away, then it should as the Aura is just over £4K and the P1 is just over £25K or just under £40k with the X1 power supply.
With everyone talking so much about the Lino C, I have been reading up on it. I am liking what I read. I called Channel D to see if they have a UK distributor so I can borrow one to try out at home, unfortunately not. After spending some time on the phone with Channel D, asking all sorts of questions about every aspect of the phonostage. When I finished I asked for the name of whom I was talking to, so when I email them I know whom to reference. I was surprised to find out I had been talking to Rob the designer himself all the time. I have to say the guy is very nice and helpful and answered all my questions. I think I am about to do something, I never do which is to buy something blind without having listened to it in my system first. They have a 30-day money back guarantee, but since I am far away I cannot take advantage of this. If I pay the money, it’s a one-way trip so I better like it. Just making up my mind now whether to go for it or not. I am looking at getting the one with the Current mode and the Voltage mode, that way if my cartridge does not work well with the Current mode at least I can use the Voltage mode. That is a $995 optional extra, but better safe than sorry. Lino C 3.3 review
i'm shocked chris but we love you just the same lad.....i was looking at some speakers for 65k and honestly if had the money i would buy them in a heartbeat mind you they weight was about 200 kilo so i would like to see someone carry those up the stairs lol...millionaires toys but somebody on the dole must dream lol
Thanks Radio Raheem, let's hope it pays off. As I've made up my mind. I paid and placed my order today. Just got to wait as they are built to order. We've all got to dream and hopefully one day the dream comes true, was it the Sonus Faber speakers?
I'm not sure what they were Chris lad. a type of pyramid speaker and just a pipe mans dream.....makes me think though my systems really are mickey mouse compared to what i have seen lad bought these speakers just in, problem i have with them long story short. they seem to be acting like 16 ohm speakers on a 4 ohm system hardest speakers to drive that i have had but they look beautiful in the flesh....all good for the price of a broken walkman so i'm happy lad https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155644727031?hash=item243d260ef7:g:83sAAOSw66tfsugL&amdata=enc:AQAIAAAA0F+nFlBEEOVX2pz8eiTqMwZIRr+Pjex3DwsR/jsGezMcGcpfXdedVSGJWnpA6Mo/m0sX9htrEQPhka3hEe4ZFJBL3H6Qh2H0qwsSpaD7Tfxjei9PA2YNMKyXDUTtk/jmaEG4FVoZSul6mfU5k+QEfPWzk0IMeQrc+XVY8vR4W2xPC0WlkMgfBG6AVTiGgBff7ZAY28oyVJB+/uf7UygLvaSBPqGPBT699CaQ3e0ylXnee8/FgWmGbGsndmHSnCF8YVI8g1pRwkAsuEtffvvzcSU=|tkp:Bk9SR9zmwsGzYg i like your style though. if i had money i would have the best system known to man as nothing else matters to me apart from music these days
Pyramid speakers, i wonder what they are? Those Elac's, do you mean 6 ohm and not 16 ohm, 16 ohm is an easy load. I don't have money, well will not soon i am off to view some houses tomorrow. So trying to get the phonostage in before that starts, because once i get to start buying a house the play money will be gone.
just discovered these speakers make noise bypassing the equ's lad it's like a rave here at the moment lol....i had 16 ohm speakers once Chris i could not drive them so i am a bit confused haha.....i will try and find the speakers bro should be in my history but i don't understand all that shit i just used to build computers not use em......you only live once brother so buy what you want you can't take it with you to think of the system i could of had if i hadn't bought all of those radios mind you i still say my systems are pretty good for someone on the sick haha
well i had a look Chris.i couldn't even find my history lad lol....just to think when i used to build computers i had was in the top 1 percent fastest computer in the world lad haha. i did not muck about but the stupid thing is i have a shitty high end laptop now and it blows away all the computers i once built, quite sad really but i enjoyed doing it. computers with 4 graphics cards and all that. now i just find computers boring the magic has gone I'm afraid
Only Just plugged in the Channel D Lino C 3.3 phonostage today for a quick listen, liking what I hear so far.
I have now been living with Channel D’s Lino C 3.3 transimpedance phonostage for about 2 weeks. I had to wait for it as they are built to order, equipped with the specification you order. It arrived double boxed. I opened the boxes to the sound of something rattling around, not a good sign. I opened the unit to find 3 screws rolling around, i figured out where they came from. By looking at that I figured one more screw must be somewhere and low and behold, I found the fourth screw. Not happy about this, I emailed Channel D and followed up with a call the following day. Rob from Channel D answered, after he figured out where the screws came from, he was very apologetic and offered to send out replacement screws and brackets the next day if I am happy to replace them myself or send the unit back. I opted to have new brackets and screws sent out. He did explain what had happened and yes his explanation was plausible, I did say to him I was surprised QC did not pick this up before it went out the door. He assured me this is a one off, I believe him. Anyway, that over and done with, I got down to the fun part listening. I plugged it in and left it for a good 30 minutes while I listened to music on the Rega Ios. I switched over to the Lino C using the Voltage mode, the first thing that came across was the quietness, the wider / deeper soundstage. Everything sounded more believable the vocals / high frequencies were clearer, the sound was punchier. I switched back to the Rega, so I can go from the Rega back to the Lino C using the transimpedance section of the Lino C. Wow, going to the Lino C using the transimpedance part of the phonostage was an ear opener, the music sounded more real is the only way I could describe it. So now that I know the Lino C is better than the Rega Ios, now is the time to compare the Lino C’s Voltage mode against the Current mode. I played tracks to compare both the Voltage / current mode. The voltage mode appeared punchier which I put down to the higher gain. Using the voltage mode, with the volume knob at 9 o’clock on the current mode I had to wind it up to 11 o’clock to get about the same volume. Anyway comparing the 2 modes, the music coming out of the current mode was just more real / believable than the music coming out of the voltage mode. That’s not to say the voltage mode is bad, just that the current mode is that much better. I prefer the current mode sound. To get the best from a current mode phonostage the cartridge’s internal resistance should be as low as possible, some people say in the single figure range. My cartridge has an internal resistance of 24 ohm, the Lino C should apparently work with up to 40 ohm resistance but the lower the better. Since the current mode sounded better to me, that is what I am going to use. I only had the issue of the volume from the turntable being much lower than the rest of the other sources. I must remember to adjust the volume knob if I am going from one source to the other, else I will get a nasty surprise. Some days later I remembered I can change the gain setting in my pre-amp, so I have now gone into the pre-amp and turned down the gain settings by 6db on all the line-in except the turntable input so now everything matches. One of my friends came over to have a listen to the new phonostage. I started by playing the Lino C since it was hooked up then the Rega, he liked the Lino C. I then played the Lino C again, now going between the current / voltage mode. I did not tell my friend which was what, he correctly identified the current and voltage modes. He preferred the current mode like I did. Rating the Lino C I have to say on build quality I would have to rate the Lino low and on sound quality, I rate it very high. So overall I would recommend the Lino C, but I hope in the future they keep an eye on their QC and build quality. I have played some records using the phonostage, but not as many as I would like as I have been busy. The other reason I had not played as much is one of my drive units on my speakers is on the way out, it distorts badly when a low bass note is played and that side sounds louder. Before I worked out the issue, I had already decided to buy new speakers. Doing a lot of tests like changing cables round so moving left cable to right to see if the information moves, nothing moved around. Then I worked out it was the drive unit on the way out. I then pushed on the drive units, I noticed the suspension on one of the drive unit is gone. The faulty one moved too freely and the other gave me more resistance. When playing I can see the drive unit was out of control and moving wildly compared to the other drive unit. I have placed an order for Peak Consult Sonora plus I have placed an order for 2 matched pair drivers for the broken Peak Consult Princess Signature, I still want to be able to sell the speakers on and it would be nicer for the next person to have matched drivers. Since the Sonora are made to order, I must wait at least 4 weeks for them to be built and shipped. Since the replacement drives are made to order as well and they don’t have any in stock so I must also wait about the same length of time. So it looks like the replacement drive units will arrive at the same time.
One thing I missed out while talking about the Lino C is, to get even more out of the unit is you need to damp the case. The case rings like a bell if you tap the top, for me i am using HRS damping plate on top of the case to get even better performance out of the phonostage. I have to say I use HRS on top of most things for improved sound, if you have not tried HRS damping plate go and borrow one to try out.
