Post by sidvicious on Nov 22, 2015 18:33:39 GMT -5
Well, Well, Well, woooah, holly crap are words that come to mind when describing this phono stage. I have been through my share of phono preamps, lets recap, Music Hall PA 1.3, Cambridge Audio 640p, Jolida JD-9, Musical Sorounding Nova Phonomenia, I tested in home a Audio Research PH6 demo/store display (no hours on it) for two and a half weeks. I had been looking for a last phono stage to live with. The Music Hall was basic and left the details on the floor. The Cambridge was better and the subsonic filter was a help, but still, not detailed enough. The Jolida was an awakening, far more detailed than I was use to hearing once I replaced the stock tubes, but lacking in the bass. The Nova Phonomenia is a beautiful phono stage with every loading option, gain and picoferid setting you could want, and it sounds great, battery operated and extremely quiet, so why did I want to change it, well the number of times going to my dealer and listening to the Phono Ref 2SE something that I don't think I will ever own, I knew obviously that I was missing something.
I recently got the chance to audition the Audio Research PH6 and it has the bass drive of the Nova Phonomenia, but with more detail in the mid range. I kept this for two weeks and told the dealer I would be buying this and he told me to give it a little more time because it had no hours on it, it was just the store demo, never powered up, I put a little over three hundred hours on it, mainly leaving it plugged up. I kept it another half a week and got a call from my dealer and he said he had something good in store for me, He told me that he had a customer that wanted to buy the PH6 and he could get me a brand new PH8 for a little more money and he would let me borrow his personal PH8, which had over 1786 tube hours on it. The two units PH6 and PH8 are built similar both with 6H30 tubes, the PH6 with two and the PH8 with three 6430 and a 6550. The PH8 is a little heavier. The dealers PH8 comes with a standard plastic remote with loading options, tube hours, mute, display. The PH8 sounded fantastic every detail in a great recording is reproduced with ease, from the chimmer of the drums, to guitars and other things in the mix are in their own space. The PH8 has the same circuit board and uses the same tubes as the Ref 2 phono stage. My PH8 came in this Friday and I picked it up, brand new. The dealer told me not to expect what I heard with his because mine would have no hours on it and give it time to break in. Audio Research states this in the box at least 600 hours.
Well I'm hear to tell you, I have 10 hours in and this thing sounds way, way, way, way better than the PH6 with no hours from the moment the needle hit the grooves you know you are dealing with a different animal. The better the recording, the more detail you hear, want bass, if it's in the recording, it's coming out. This is absolutely the best phono stage that I have every owned and that's funny because it has less features than the Jolida and the Nova Phonmenia. The only negatives are the gain is only 58db, but it is as quiet, if not quieter than the Nova Phonmenia battery operated. My PH8 also came with a metal remote instead of the plastic one my dealer owns. I also during this time before getting the PH8 tried out a SimAudio Moon 310lp, this is a great phono stage with balanced outs and a maximum gain of 72db using balanced outs and 66db RCA and it will work with the lowest of moving coils. I almost bought this after the PH6, but the dealer said no wait, I will let you borrow both for the next four days and you tell me which one you want. The PH8 is more detailed than the Moon by far, but the Moon doesn't have to be turned up as loud.
If any of you are contemplating getting the Moon, you can't go wrong, it's great, it's just that the PH8 get's me closer to the Ref 2 SE without the cost. What's funny with this is I had heard the Moon when the dealer did an event at a bar with his equipment and it was the LS17se, DS450 Sonus Faber Olympia and a Project 9.1 turntable and it was fantastic. Well this weekend I have the DS450 again and if I work out my issue with digital and upsampling issue, the DS450 might be staying as well because to be honest, it really is that good, Ref75 like, no but in that League with more power and bass drive, possibly. The dealer just had an event at his store to test out the Audioquest Niagra Power Conditioner and the DS450 with Vandersteen 5 Carbons and a Ref 5SE and Ref 2SE Phonostage stole the show, I didn't know the DS450 could sound this good, almost tube like. Maybe just maybe there might be a Ref 5se in my future we will see, we will see.
I recently got the chance to audition the Audio Research PH6 and it has the bass drive of the Nova Phonomenia, but with more detail in the mid range. I kept this for two weeks and told the dealer I would be buying this and he told me to give it a little more time because it had no hours on it, it was just the store demo, never powered up, I put a little over three hundred hours on it, mainly leaving it plugged up. I kept it another half a week and got a call from my dealer and he said he had something good in store for me, He told me that he had a customer that wanted to buy the PH6 and he could get me a brand new PH8 for a little more money and he would let me borrow his personal PH8, which had over 1786 tube hours on it. The two units PH6 and PH8 are built similar both with 6H30 tubes, the PH6 with two and the PH8 with three 6430 and a 6550. The PH8 is a little heavier. The dealers PH8 comes with a standard plastic remote with loading options, tube hours, mute, display. The PH8 sounded fantastic every detail in a great recording is reproduced with ease, from the chimmer of the drums, to guitars and other things in the mix are in their own space. The PH8 has the same circuit board and uses the same tubes as the Ref 2 phono stage. My PH8 came in this Friday and I picked it up, brand new. The dealer told me not to expect what I heard with his because mine would have no hours on it and give it time to break in. Audio Research states this in the box at least 600 hours.
Well I'm hear to tell you, I have 10 hours in and this thing sounds way, way, way, way better than the PH6 with no hours from the moment the needle hit the grooves you know you are dealing with a different animal. The better the recording, the more detail you hear, want bass, if it's in the recording, it's coming out. This is absolutely the best phono stage that I have every owned and that's funny because it has less features than the Jolida and the Nova Phonmenia. The only negatives are the gain is only 58db, but it is as quiet, if not quieter than the Nova Phonmenia battery operated. My PH8 also came with a metal remote instead of the plastic one my dealer owns. I also during this time before getting the PH8 tried out a SimAudio Moon 310lp, this is a great phono stage with balanced outs and a maximum gain of 72db using balanced outs and 66db RCA and it will work with the lowest of moving coils. I almost bought this after the PH6, but the dealer said no wait, I will let you borrow both for the next four days and you tell me which one you want. The PH8 is more detailed than the Moon by far, but the Moon doesn't have to be turned up as loud.
If any of you are contemplating getting the Moon, you can't go wrong, it's great, it's just that the PH8 get's me closer to the Ref 2 SE without the cost. What's funny with this is I had heard the Moon when the dealer did an event at a bar with his equipment and it was the LS17se, DS450 Sonus Faber Olympia and a Project 9.1 turntable and it was fantastic. Well this weekend I have the DS450 again and if I work out my issue with digital and upsampling issue, the DS450 might be staying as well because to be honest, it really is that good, Ref75 like, no but in that League with more power and bass drive, possibly. The dealer just had an event at his store to test out the Audioquest Niagra Power Conditioner and the DS450 with Vandersteen 5 Carbons and a Ref 5SE and Ref 2SE Phonostage stole the show, I didn't know the DS450 could sound this good, almost tube like. Maybe just maybe there might be a Ref 5se in my future we will see, we will see.
