Rustee Posted February 15, 2020 Author Share Posted February 15, 2020 13 hours ago, muon* said: only have experience with Red and Bronze myself. I can see myself eventually upgrading to a Bronze. How do you find it compared to the Red? Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muon* Posted February 15, 2020 Share Posted February 15, 2020 Just now, Rustee said: I can see myself eventually upgrading to a Bronze. How do you find it compared to the Red? Cheers, A completely different level of performance, better in every way you can think of. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mat-with-one-t Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/caulfield-north/stereo-systems/pro-ject-audio-phono-box-s-phono-pre-amp/1241378640 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mat-with-one-t Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 As an option, I used a Creek ohh-9se for, well, decades. They come up really cheap and are really impressive. Down side is inability to easily play with gain/load options. Vincent seems to offer a great unit as suggested here. Another (step up but maybe achievable used) is a Lehmann Black Cube. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustee Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 23 hours ago, muon* said: A completely different level of performance, better in every way you can think of. Thanks, great to know another reasonably cost effective step up in SQ awaits me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustee Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 14 minutes ago, Mat-with-one-t said: Vincent seems to offer a great unit as suggested here. Another (step up but maybe achievable used) is a Lehmann Black Cube. Thanks, the Lehmann Black Cube looks good. Don't know much about the technical specs but I see it has more gain than most of the others ( 46db as opposed to 40-ish db for MM). I guess it would play louder hopefully not at the expense of quality. A quick search and I couldn't find any Ozzy online stores selling them, this would probably make them hard to come by used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mat-with-one-t Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 I got an se 2 version used. They certainly come up. Note there are a lot of versions. “statement” is the base model. The “se” is ideal as it comes with a high quality external power source. It’s quite a thing to play with settings in a phono stage to match your cartridge. The difference between a few resistor settings can be astounding. Always worth having that as an option.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustee Posted February 19, 2020 Author Share Posted February 19, 2020 (edited) Just want to say a big thanks to all the advice offered. It's given me plenty to think about, models to keep an eye out for and the confidence that I should hear a step up in SQ. I've decided that I'll stick to a budget of about $500ish give or take, keep any eye in the classifieds for a couple of the models suggested above (was keen on the Valab but missed out) or grab either the Vincent Pho 8 or the GSP Audio Gram Amp 2 SE. I figured one of these will ( I hope) give me good bang for buck and allow me to update my cart to a Bronze in the nearer future than if I was to spend over 1k on a phono stage. Thanks again everyone. Russ Edit: I should also shout out and thank @aussievintage for reviewing the Jaycar unit. The review was perfect timing, was super cheap, available locally and has performed fabulously for the first year of my vinyl journey. Cheers. Edited February 19, 2020 by Rustee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasabijim Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 sound sounding plan I've got the GS Gram Amp 2 SE, acquired the PSU1 about 6 months ago, and recently moved up thru the Ortofon 2M range to the Bronze after running a blue stylus in a silver body for about a year and a half 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustee Posted February 20, 2020 Author Share Posted February 20, 2020 12 hours ago, wasabijim said: sound sounding plan I've got the GS Gram Amp 2 SE, acquired the PSU1 about 6 months ago, and recently moved up thru the Ortofon 2M range to the Bronze after running a blue stylus in a silver body for about a year and a half Thanks, sounds like a very similar path that I am about to embark on. Did the PSU1 power supply make a notable difference? How does the Bronze compare to your Blue/Silver combo? Cheers, Russ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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