Angsty
Well-Known Member
Awww, c’mon man! It took me years to put away thoughts of a Manley phonostage - now this! 
Phono pre-amplifier (phonostage) upgrades
- Thread starter Angsty
- Start date
displayname
Well-Known Member
Glad this is still in the mix. It was one of the first ones I suggestedThat’s a tough price range new or used. I really liked my Vincent PHO-8 when I had it. There’s a used one on USAM for $200 shipped.
Vincent Audio PHO-8 Phono Preamp
Vincent Audio PHO-8 Phono Preamp.The one for people who dont like wall warts.Very well regarded for the price. A huge step up from cheapie pro-ject and the like.simple switch for Moving Magnet or Moving Coil loads.I have original box, cords and paperwork.$200 includes shipping to continental USA...www.usaudiomart.com
spydrwebb44
Member
Moving Magnet (MM) phono stage from www.darlingtonlabs.com
Jbraswell
Well-Known Member
I negotiated a deal on a first gen Rogue Ares Phono Amp.
Comes with the Cinemag Red 3440 SUT windings instead of the newer Blue 1254.
However it does include the external power supply and Genalex Gold Lion tubes.
For $800 and some shipping, I'm pretty happy with the deal.
They cool thing is I can upgrade windings in the future with Rogue, if I choose.
Edit: I think it's Red 3440 instead
Comes with the Cinemag Red 3440 SUT windings instead of the newer Blue 1254.
However it does include the external power supply and Genalex Gold Lion tubes.
For $800 and some shipping, I'm pretty happy with the deal.
They cool thing is I can upgrade windings in the future with Rogue, if I choose.
Edit: I think it's Red 3440 instead
Last edited:
Angsty
Well-Known Member
Congrats! Looking forward to the commentary on how it sounds!
Nice! Everything I I’ve read indicates the Cinemag 1254 is a substantial upgrade over the 3340. No personal experience though.
Jbraswell
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I think it's a worthy upgrade to consider in the future.
I was closely looking at just simply adding this SKY 30, which is a solid deal compared to SRP.
Bob's Devices CineMag Sky 30 - Photo4927462
www.usaudiomart.com
In the end, the gain stage in the pre amp already sounds quite nice. So upgrading to a SUT, even red, will be a worthy change.
I'll catch my breath here on this journey for a while and sell off my Denon integrated.
Considering I got into an all tube valve separates game for a little over $3K has me smiling pretty good.
Angsty
Well-Known Member
I’m finding that I can’t get too excited about SUT upgrades without understanding why one should be better than others because of the physics.
It’s just an area I have not explored much and probably won’t if active amplification keeps getting better. Currently, I’m very curious about Micheal Fidler’s MC Pro.
Jbraswell
Well-Known Member
This will be my first go with a SUT. I'm really intrigued with it. Windings are a bit of black magic tech that I'm sure you can go pretty far down a rabbit hole. I've observed it in the automotive industry years ago.
I spoke with a rep at Rogue this AM. I have to go full up to the Magnum upgrade to get the Cinemag Blues. He said I'll see a nice improvement if I decide to go magnum but the change from the solid state gain switch in the Perseus pre amp to the Ares phono amp will be the bigger improvement in the chain.
Someone should really check out that Sky 30, although there's a bit of an eye chart to figure out how it aligns with your cart specs. It's really a cool SUT.
Jbraswell
Well-Known Member
The SKY 30 is coming home.
Kind of shocked my lowball offer worked but this SUT is too intriguing.
I can handle the Ramen and beans for a few months
Kind of shocked my lowball offer worked but this SUT is too intriguing.
I can handle the Ramen and beans for a few months
Congrats! If your SUT experience is anything like mine, you’ll be in for a treat. I was tempted but honestly don’t feel anything in my system needs improvement.The SKY 30 is coming home.
Kind of shocked my lowball offer worked but this SUT is too intriguing.
I can handle the Ramen and beans for a few months
Jbraswell
Well-Known Member
I'll try it out. I'm too curious lately.
But for the price I got it, it can easily be flipped if I'm not really hearing the hype it brings.
It may also get me to forget about the future rogue upgrade.
Shouldn’t a SUT be similar to the generator in a phono cartridge? You can get the same output from powerful magnets and fewer windings or less powerful magnets and more windings. But each would sound different.
Jbraswell
Well-Known Member
So I need to get this crazy train of connections I have assembled straight in my mind.
Help is appreciated.
Is this the correct signal path?
Power Amp>Perseus Preamp Aux (instead of phono input)>Ares Phono Stage (MM @ 47K ohm)>SUT>TT>LOMC
Then, there is the grounding. How should I ground this signal?
Help is appreciated.
Is this the correct signal path?
Power Amp>Perseus Preamp Aux (instead of phono input)>Ares Phono Stage (MM @ 47K ohm)>SUT>TT>LOMC
Then, there is the grounding. How should I ground this signal?
Angsty
Well-Known Member
That looks right to me. Start with grounding the turntable to the Ares. If there is noise, experiment with grounding to the SUT or Perseus. Ground loops can be unpredictable in what actually will resolve them.
Jbraswell
Well-Known Member
Came across this cool factory tour video from CineMag
Jbraswell
Well-Known Member
The first gen Rogue Ares phono amp is up and running.
Bonus it came with some nice tubes!
No SUT in yet but I can say this little separates journey has pulled more sound out of the vinyl than I could have imagined. The bass is clean and strong. Percussion sounds are so damn life like whether it's hat or snare. Vocals sound clear. Everything is where I wanted to go.
Sounds like a different pair of speakers now with the amount of punch coming through.
I was concerned about losing the tone controls but I don't think I miss them at all.
Bonus it came with some nice tubes!
No SUT in yet but I can say this little separates journey has pulled more sound out of the vinyl than I could have imagined. The bass is clean and strong. Percussion sounds are so damn life like whether it's hat or snare. Vocals sound clear. Everything is where I wanted to go.
Sounds like a different pair of speakers now with the amount of punch coming through.
I was concerned about losing the tone controls but I don't think I miss them at all.
TrainFan73
Frothy
Well if you get the itch again later, you can always add an equalizer.
I’d suggest a trip to the dr and the relevant medicated cream they prescribe.
Jbraswell
Well-Known Member
That makes my head hurt.