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prepress 04-13-2023 08:36 PM

My Last Purchase?
 
I have reached a point where I am contemplating what I expect to be my last audio purchase; finances will not allow anything major before too long and retirement is beckoning in a year, maybe two. I thought I'd solicit opinions or perspectives on this.

I have an Audio Research LS3, in its box in a closet and unused since 2013. The LS3 is supposed to be my back-up if my C2300 went down. What occurred to me is that if the 2300 does go down or I decide to get rid of it, I wouldn't be able to play records since the LS3 is a line stage preamp, and if I want to maintain a complete system I should revisit the idea of a phono preamp. I abandoned the idea at the beginning of the year but it's come back to me now.

My concern is that if I do go for a phono preamp, it would need to be something that would go with the rest of my system and not overpower it (i.e., be noticeably better than everything else), but be comparable or only slightly better. For perspective, here is the actual gear in addition to the C2300:

SOTA Sapphire VI turntable
SME 309 tonearm
Grado Timbre Sonata3 cartridge
McIntosh MCD500 SACD/CD player
McIntosh MC501 monos
Pioneer Elite 09FD/88FD Blu-ray
Pioneer Elite DVL-91 combi-player (I have some laserdiscs still)
Mirage M-3si speakers
Transparent Super IC
Transparent Plus speaker cable
Transparent Premium PC
Shunyata Venom V10 NR PCs

I have been looking at the Parasound JC3 Jr phono preamp once again, thinking it would be about right for what I have. At an MSRP of $1699 it's probably about as far as I dare go, as this is going to be an expensive year already, what with needing new glasses, a new mattress, and the usual trip to my sister's in Texas (especially important since she lost her husband 3 months back), plus a possible trip to DC to visit a friend. In fact, I may not be able to do all of these things this year.

But back to the phono pre, I was wondering what, given the gear I listed, the AA community thinks would be comparable to my current gear. Given my current finances, I took the JC3+ off the table due primarily to its greater price and not knowing how much better than the JC3 Jr it is. Comments welcome, and thanks.

Antonmb 04-13-2023 08:45 PM

For the price I don't think you can go wrong with the Parasound.

Formerly YB-2 04-13-2023 10:32 PM

If were me (and it may be later this year) I would go for a Manley Chinook. Had a JC3jr a few years back and it was fine, but nothing special.

prepress 04-14-2023 05:19 PM

The Manley Chinook means more tubes, though the reviews I looked at (only 2 so far) seem to say the stock tubes are good (Electro Harmonix, I think). The Chinook is about the same price as the JC3+. But any phono preamp means another power cord and interconnects, adding to the cost. Fortunately, I have some old Wireworld cords around and some Kimber Hero and AQ King Cobra ICs, so I could bypass that expense. Maybe even go for a mattress topper at 1/3 the price of a new mattress, depending upon what mattress I would get. But let me not get ahead of myself yet. I have to give this all some careful thought.

miner 04-14-2023 06:58 PM

I owned a Manley Chinook SE for a while. I had to send it in for warranty work - twice. Just saying. Have to say though, the dealer sent me a new one with upgraded tubes on the second return for repair.

clpetersen 04-15-2023 08:43 AM

I am considering a move up in the turntable world, which would mean a move from MM to MC cartridges and an external phono stage. A contender for me is the Bryston unit (I am partial to Bryston design philosophy). Extensively reviewed and measured with a lot of commentary on the circuit design here:
https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/...preamp-review/

Conclusion:
"In my estimation, the Bryston BP2-20 MM/MC is a top-flight example of what a phono stage should be. Unlike some phono preamps that provide so much adjustability that they become almost glorified tone controls; the BP2-20 is focused on simply amplifying those tiny cartridge voltage inputs in the cleanest, most robust manner possible. ...."

PeterMusic 04-15-2023 08:47 AM

I'm going to focus on the $, as you have. You have a great system today, and in the context of your current gear, $1700 is not a lot of money. But it does appear to be a significant chunk of cash for you right now. Also, isn't the phono stage in your C2300 pretty darn good already? As good as $1700 might buy? So I would bank the $1700 and use it when something fails in 2-5 years when you're feeling even less inclined to spend

prepress 04-15-2023 01:39 PM

Part of the reason a separate phono pre came back around is the memory that my C2300 has been repaired twice, in 2013 (in warranty) and 2016 (just out of warranty). That second one was the result of one too many ungrounded touches to the unit; the static fried the motherboard, apparently. I didn't have the 2300 for about 2–3 weeks, but rather than take the LS3 out, I just went without music. I could do that again I suppose, but would rather not.

PeterMusic is correct: the C2300, like all Mac units, is supposed to have a more than decent phonostage. If I were to buy something, it would need to be as good as the 2300 or a little better, because I would put the new phonostage into the system and use it now, not buy and put it aside to use only with the LS3 if needed.

I also haven't been playing vinyl much, not since last summer, so it's odd that I'd get back on the phonostage train so suddenly. I'm trying to think ahead. Maybe my first step is to reacquaint myself with the C2300's phonostage while both researching phonostage contenders and looking at finances; a 3-pronged approach. Maybe this happens this year, maybe not. But I want to do it right.

miner 04-16-2023 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterMusic (Post 1073701)
I'm going to focus on the $, as you have. You have a great system today, and in the context of your current gear, $1700 is not a lot of money. But it does appear to be a significant chunk of cash for you right now. Also, isn't the phono stage in your C2300 pretty darn good already? As good as $1700 might buy? So I would bank the $1700 and use it when something fails in 2-5 years when you're feeling even less inclined to spend

I agree. $1700 will not surpass the phono stage in the C2300. I tried and failed. The only one I had in your price range that almost did surpass the C2300
Was the PS Audio Stellar phono stage.

prepress 04-17-2023 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miner (Post 1073718)
I agree. $1700 will not surpass the phono stage in the C2300. I tried and failed. The only one I had in your price range that almost did surpass the C2300
Was the PS Audio Stellar phono stage.

Well, I'm thinking the issue has been settled. For this year at least.

I don't know how, but I'd forgotten about a rather large (for me) bill due on my credit card of $2.3K next month (I got a friendly e-mail reminder from Bank of America the other day). Some of that will be blunted by my expected tax refund, but given the speed at which government moves, the refund won't be coming too soon. With that in the mix, I should forget the phonostage for this year probably, and look to 2024; that does mean that I should be able to spend more then, and could look to the JC3+ or something in that range as my limit. Meantime, I'll stick to my "play records / research phonostages / watch the dollars" approach and see where things are as the year progresses. Who knows, things may break differently.


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