Audiophilepure

https://www.hifinews.com/content/primaluna-evo-100-tube-phono-preamplifier

Let’s get one thing clear from the outset. With the exception of (London) Decca cartridges, which are out there in their own space, the EVO 100 Tube Phono excels with moving-coils, as these are more simpatico with the overall nature of the unit. That said, if you find it too warm, moving-magnets from Ortofon and others add a touch of coolness or even restraint.

Having ascertained that the Ortofon MMs – three different colours of 2M – were sounding of their best and even benefitting from the very tubes that they corralled, I moved onto MCs, including an aged Tsurugi (which sired Lyra), the EAT Jo No8 [HFN Dec ’19], and the reborn Kiseki [HFN Jul ’18]. It was here that I began to appreciate the phono stage’s two-pronged approach of matching gain and impedance. To my delight, none of the settings were best at the manufacturers’ recommended values, the EVO 100 reinforcing my belief that you need to set your cartridges by ear.

Now, the Parasound JC 3+ has slightly more flexible loading options than its predecessor. You can choose 47K for your MM cartridge, 47K for your MC cartridge if you wish (some of the Transfiguration cartridges like this setting) and finally a variable setting (with custom-built Vishay dual-gang potentiometers) where you can choose between 50 and 550 ohms. I’m going to say that these are all the loading options I need.

The price of the Parasound JC 3+ phono preamplifier is $3000. That’s the same price as the Vendetta Research back when it came out in the early ‘90s. I have a feeling that if John Curl started making Vendetta Research phono stages again, just like the originals, he could charge a lot more than $3000. That’s what Parasound brings to the table—a scalable continuation of a legend.

https://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/vtl_tp65_ii_signature.htm

At its best, the TP-6.5 II has that rare ability to shrug off its technological baggage, sounding neither overtly tubelike, nor dryly etched and solid-statey. Instead, it cleaves to the musical character of the recording, burrowing into its musical core and then giving it a healthy shove in the right direction. There’s more than one way to skin a musical cat, and allowed to do so, this phono stage can perform the task with such sleight-of-hand you don’t even notice it happening — and that’s the mark of a product that will deliver not just great performance but long-term satisfaction. Party tricks and the sonically spectacular will quickly pall. The TP-6.5 II’s core musical virtues are made of sterner stuff. If you’ve ever wondered how VTL gets all those Best Sound at Show accolades, now you know: they play records and they play them through a genuinely excellent phono stage. Time and again, in public and throughout this review, VTL’s TP-6.5 Series II Signature phono stage has demonstrated that it is more than capable of producing (and reproducing) performances that are both musically powerful and compelling, the very essence of what vinyl replay should be about

https://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/vtl_tp65_ii_signature.htm

At its best, the TP-6.5 II has that rare ability to shrug off its technological baggage, sounding neither overtly tubelike, nor dryly etched and solid-statey. Instead, it cleaves to the musical character of the recording, burrowing into its musical core and then giving it a healthy shove in the right direction. There’s more than one way to skin a musical cat, and allowed to do so, this phono stage can perform the task with such sleight-of-hand you don’t even notice it happening — and that’s the mark of a product that will deliver not just great performance but long-term satisfaction. Party tricks and the sonically spectacular will quickly pall. The TP-6.5 II’s core musical virtues are made of sterner stuff. If you’ve ever wondered how VTL gets all those Best Sound at Show accolades, now you know: they play records and they play them through a genuinely excellent phono stage. Time and again, in public and throughout this review, VTL’s TP-6.5 Series II Signature phono stage has demonstrated that it is more than capable of producing (and reproducing) performances that are both musically powerful and compelling, the very essence of what vinyl replay should be about

https://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0623/Cary_Audio_SLP98P_Vacuum_Tube_Preamplifier_Review.htm

Thanks to the absolute spot-on mid-range, vocals are creamy smooth, especially female vocals, and the SLP-98P delivers them in a way that drags listening sessions from a couple of hours at a session to a full day-long event. Upper frequencies are delivered with sparkly, sizzle, and realistic decay without an annoying edge or shrillness. Bass slam, while never being a strong suit of 300B tubes, is very present with the addition of the 845 vacuum tube in the mix. I continue to be impressed to this day with the level of bass depth and slam that I get from my 805 amplifiers and the SLP-98P just conducts everything so smoothly to the amplifiers that it all blends into a seamless delivery of audio nirvana.

As I said earlier on in this review I have not had a single regret about buying the SLP-98P. It has proven to be a very high-performing preamplifier and one that I plan to live with till I move on to the next phase of existence. It would take me winning a mountainous lottery to think of replacing it with anything. At that point, I would go out of control on everything including building a specific listening room with room correction built into the room. Since I do not see that happening to me I am quite content to live out my life with my current amp and preamplifier setup.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/analog-corner-258-dan-dagostino-momentum-phonostage-gold-note-tuscany-gold-mc-cartridge

The Momentum did this LP full justice, presenting a transparent window onto the recording. Hartman’s voice was three-dimensional, and possessed all the warmth in his lower register, even as his precise articulation was fully delineated, and the slight bit of added reverb was put in proper context.

In the second chorus, as Billy Taylor’s piano subtly floats down in the mix, behind and off to Hartman’s side, to create a relaxing bed, and as Wilder’s three-dimensional flugelhorn emerges from pitch “black,” I heard the Momentum’s reproduction of air and honest texture (not too soft, not too etched) and harmonic rightness—not quite as ripe as through ARC’s Reference Phono 3, but sufficiently developed to make the case. But in terms of dynamics and transparency, the Momentum won.