Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

[BazookaTooth]

I'm certainly not comparing it to the likes of the MX-VYNL but the price ($250 CAD) is definitely attrative and this could be a good entry point.

At the pace you have been upgrading your system you might just skip the good entry point

 

[Joe Mac]

I'm certainly not comparing it to the likes of the MX-VYNL but the price ($250 CAD) is definitely attrative and this could be a good entry point.

For sure it’s likely to be a step up from the inbuilt and if you’re not planning on flipping in the next couple of years it would definitely be a nice starting point.

 

[kvetcha]

It’s probably a level or two below what you were looking at but at its price range it’s a definite contender with the Darlington MM6 and MF LS2-LPS around the €200-300 mark! That review is so glowing that I’d love to hear a side by side comparison of the three!

The iPhono2 sounded really great.

 

[91X]

As I have mentioned in other threads there are two schools of thought:
1) Good, well made, affordable, mostly neutral, low capacitance cables. Getting a little harder these days as the ever popular Blue Jeans LC-1 interconnect goes for $50 3M now ( I think I remember when they were 25 and 30)
2) Demo/loan out several boutique interconnect from your local stores or thecableco.com if you don't hear what you like return them.

I lean towards the first school of thought, but am in a quandary as to which of those to go with. Though admittedly the more comprehensive route, I'm not inclined to obtain and audition various cables. (Right now I've got a mix including Morrow MA1 and Signal Cable analog two, but want to unify with custom lengths). Cables I am currently considering are Mogami 2497 and Duelund 16awg. Anyone with experience with either of those please feel free to chime in.

 

[Hollywood]

The Schiit Mani 2 is your next phono pre-amplifier | Darko.Audio

A phono stage with advanced MC cartridge loading and rumble filtering for US$149.

darko.audio

 

[Angsty]

I would not recommend the Parasound Zphono at $229. It's not a *bad* unit, but I do think there are better choices at the $300 price point. I used a Zphono USB for a couple of years as my first external phono but was not feeling great about it (or vinyl). I was much happier when I was able to find a favorably discounted Sutherland Insight. I'd choose the Cambridge Audio, MoFi, Graham Slee or Musical Fidelity over the Parasound. If you have aspirations to test out MC cartridges, the Hagerman looks quite interesting.

I found this THD+N (i.e. SINAD) chart today than compares some phonostages along the lines of background noise and distortion. It may be of help for those looking for a phono now. The newer Schiit Mani 2 tests quite well in this respect. I'd never wanted to part with my Insight long enough to have it measured for the chart!

Schiit Mani 2 Review (Phono Stage)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Schiit Mani 2 phono preamplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $149. Naturally the unit looks like other Schiit products and seems to even have the previous Mani skin given the lack of "2" designation in the front. Fortunately...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Angsty]

I lean towards the first school of thought, but am in a quandary as to which of those to go with. Though admittedly the more comprehensive route, I'm not inclined to obtain and audition various cables. (Right now I've got a mix including Morrow MA1 and Signal Cable analog two, but want to unify with custom lengths). Cables I am currently considering are Mogami 2497 and Duelund 16awg. Anyone with experience with either of those please feel free to chime in.

I'm not much of a cable connoisseur; it's an area where I tend to rely on basic electronics principles. The Mogami 2497 has much lower capacitance than the Morrow (67pf/meter vs 120pf/foot), which makes it much less likely to color analog signals, especially for MM cartridges. The Mogami will be better shielded than the Morrow, but the impact of that may vary in your specific configuration.

As for speaker cable, I like to have lots of high quality copper, but nothing much more fancy than that. 16 AWG can work for shorter runs, but I prefer to have 12 AWG or 10 AWG for runs > 10 ft. I'm using 20+ year old Radio Shack 16 AWG, red and black "speaker cable" in 6 foot runs in my office system with no ill effects and no positive impacts from thicker gauge cable. The 16 AWG fits my speaker terminals better than the larger gauges. The Duelund appears to be tin-plated copper and cotton-covered versus all-copper and plastic-insulated. I'd be concerned about moisture infiltration for a cable like that.

 

[HiFi Guy]

I wish I could get on board with iFi but I’m still bitter about my iPhono2 randomly dying after a year.

Look at the Mani 2. As much of a piece of shit the original Schiit was, the new Schiit looks like it could be the shit.

I’m here all night. Tip your waitress.

 

[Hollywood]

Look at the Mani 2. As much of a piece of shit the original Schitt was, the new Schiit looks like it could be the shit.

I’m here all night. Tip your waitresses.

So do you think the Mani 2 is a better buy than the Zen Phono?

 

[HiFi Guy]

So do you think the Mani 2 is a better buy than the Zen Phono?

Without question. The iFi iPhono 2 had very high failure rates- 3 here alone that I’m aware of. Way more over at SHF. You don’t really see reliability issues with Schiit.

 

[Hollywood]

Without question. The iFi iPhono 2 had very high failure rates- 3 here alone that I’m aware of. Way more over at SHF. You don’t really see reliability issues with Schiit.

Interesting @Ed Selley seems to think the Zen Phono is the greatest thing since sliced bread at that price point.

 

[MikeH]

Interesting @Ed Selley seems to think the Zen Phono is the greatest thing since sliced bread at that price point.

something can sound excellent but if it has high fail rates, it's a bit of a moot point and probably not worth the headache.

 

[JohnnyCashFan]

Interesting @Ed Selley seems to think the Zen Phono is the greatest thing since sliced bread at that price point.

Ed does not seem to respond to these or pm's

 

[HiFi Guy]

Ed does not seem to respond to these or pm's

As a paid reviewer, he needs to be cautious as far as what he puts in writing. Goes with the territory.

 

[JohnnyCashFan]

As a paid reviewer, he needs to be cautious as far as what he puts in writing. Goes with the territory.

music questions too

 

[HiFi Guy]

music questions too

Busy I guess.

 

[HayesWeighsIn]

Another piece that Ed and Darko have piqued my interest with is the Debut Pro. Both seemed to love it, and Ed's takeaways seem to always line up with what I hear as well. I have fond memories of my very early Debut Carbon, til the motor went south. Don't think we'll have them in the US til May. Wish they were a little cheaper, but nothing's going down! Starting to think about a second setup later this year.

 

[Hollywood]

My only issue with Schiit Audio is shipping options to Canada costs a fortune and that doesn’t even include customs fees and brokerage fees not to mention it only ships in 2-4 weeks.

 

[OMC]

Yay, the Cambridge Audio CXC V2 arrived today. Crutchfield doesn’t mess around: free two day air shipping and triple boxed to boot. My first experience with them is good, so far. As long as the transport sends signal to the DAC, which arrives tomorrow, I can give Crutchfield two thumbs up! My digital game has officially been updated. As I’m having shoulder replacement surgery in two weeks being able to enjoy CD listening will help during the recovery period. No vinyl listening for a week or so.
Cool, 10,000th post in this thread.

 

[HiFi Guy]

My only issue with Schiit Audio is shipping options to Canada costs a fortune and that doesn’t even include customs fees and brokerage fees not to mention it only ships in 2-4 weeks.

2-4 weeks isn’t bad compared to people trying to get a Technics SL-1200G. Try a year, and still nothing. I was going to buy one, but decided to keep my Ultradeck instead.