Jasmine vs Musical Surroundings Nova Phono Pre-Amp

My PSAudio Phonostage has a hum that won't go away. I'm also interested in the Musical Surroundings, as I want the quietest phono preamp possible, and am looking at battery powered units. Budget is $1k. Does anyone have any experience with the musical Surroundings?

I had a PS Audio that I replaced with a KRELL KPE. At first I wouldn't even listen to the Jasmine because in my warped mind there was no way a $500 phono stage would compare. However, on first listen it blew away the KRELL and got even better with time. I now own 2 of the Jasmine phono stages. I have heard of problems with them being damaged in delivery but have no personal knowledge of that.

I agree with Linus and Bobsdevices. I bought the Jasmine
mkII for my second system and was stunned by its price
quality relationship. The manufacturer is very reliable and
kind. While I thought that the main unit was defective and
asked for a new one the fault was actualy in my tonearm
(left channel). I got the new unit within two weeks and needed
to pay only for the postage. So I don't believe that damaged units
(by delivery) will cause more problems than what is involved
by exchanging the units.

I think that the Nova Series of phono stages are truly wonderful for their price point, like all Michael Yee designed audio products. The trick is to set them up properly for your cartridge.

Speaking of which, you will probably resent me saying this but IMO you will never wring the best performance out of either your DL-103 or Well Tempered tonearm when used together - this is simply not a good match. The DL-103 family is an extremely low-compliance cartridge that was designed for heavy, rigid, high mass tonearm. Simply weighting the headshell is not enough - that will not significantly change the tonearm resonance.

I speak from experience here, but YMMV. Good luck.

I'm very happy with my Vincent PHO-8 phono preamp. Similar design to the Jasmine, but slightly cheaper.