VAC Sigma 160i MM phono stage question

I agree with much of what Mulveling has to say. I own a 160i (non-SE) with MM phono stage, and it is quite good. Yes, I have heard better, but not for under $3K list prices.

The only concern I have about Mulveling's comments is that he says he's heard the 160iSE phono and it sounded EXTREMELY nice, then went on to say that the MC upgrade is not a good value. According to Kevin, and the VAC website, the 160iSE comes standard with the MC upgrade. So, it would appear that he either did not listen to a 160i and NOT a 160iSE, or he did listen to a MC phono stage and did not realize it.

Cheers,
John

John, good catch -- I was incorrectly extrapolating from the Renaissance III. Back when I purchased the III there was the option for no phono, MM only, or MM+MC (I opted for the latter). In my dealer's showroom I didn't look into the 160i close enough to see that MC was the only listed option (just looked again the other day, and sure enough that's it). So definitely I was in error there.

But my experience with the III still stands -- the Lundahl SUTs for the MC upgrade option sound good, but the CineMag 1131 SUT sounds better (even with an extra interconnect).

Thanks again for the feedback. I should be receiving the unit later today so I should know for myself pretty soon.

What MC cartridge are you using?
I'm running a Sumiko Blackbird MC directly into the MM phono stage, as it does not require a SUT with it's high 2.5 mV output.

I'm using a Lyra Kleos at 0.5mV as well as a ZYX 4D at 0.24mV. Don't think either would work well without a SUT or MC phono stage.

Anyway, I did some listening this evening and can confidently say that I prefer the sound of the SUT straight into the Sigma MM as opposed to going through the Chinook. The Chinook, while great, seemed to take away some warmth away and sounded a bit analytical when compared to the Sigma MM. Maybe just a question of personal preference but I'm loving the sound of the Sigma phono paired with my Hashimoto based SUT.