Nsgarch - Thanks for the reference on an experienced TP user.
Raul - Please further elaborate as to why the TP does not do it for you relative to the arms that do knock you out (no pun intended).
I completely agree on the importance of the phonostage. My MCP-1 is a dual mono all tube, MC amp with a 6922 and 6072 gain stages in series with RCA loading plugs and external tube regulated PS. Electron Images is/was Canada based and had two highly regarded phono stages (with the top of the line model having more user selectability than the MCP-1). Both units were desiged by a former Sonic Frontiers guy and who later was a consultant to Audio Note UK, but he is no longer with them and cannot be contacted at the moment.
The MCP-1 was always a champ in my system when it comes to dimensionality, transparency and resolution. Thanks to the help of a superb circuit designer, it has gone through extensive and necessary mods to address inherent design issues having to do with power regulation. It was somewhat lean when it first arrived from its original owner. This person did not have a tube tester so the unit also badly required retubing. Consequently, equally involved was the tube rolling required to dial in that balance between tonality and dynamics while retaining the above attributes.
The above adventures have led me to the discovery of how sonically influencial are output coupling and other signal carrying capacitors. Boy was I floored when a capacitor change (at $18 to $35 each) impacted the sonic signature significantly more than an IC, PC and tube change. To add to this madness, the sound changed over a period of 2-3 days and at even a week or two, to the point that what I preferred sonically at the outset is different once voltage and signals have passed through the new caps. Although the power regulation issues and tube/tonality have been addressed, the caps experimentation is what is currently keeping me preoccupied.
Many other units have come and gone and yet the analog is just not yet at the "reaching out and grabbing me" stage. I've had opportunity to hear the BAT VKP10SE, Air Tight ATE-2, Steelhead, Hagerman Trumpet, Groove, Basis Exclusive, Art Audio Vinyl One, and now the Whest and Ear 88pb. In my system and as you might guess, I prefered the tube units, especially the Steelhead followed by the BAT and ATE-2 (the rest were not close), but their prices were a bit steep for me at the time. Only one other unit was able to handily compete with the above preferred trio. It is also a tube based design; a MM phonostage with a cathode follower circuit and an overbuilt external PS that required the use of my Bent Audio step up device for the MCs I use. Unfortunately, it was a prototype/work in progress/experiment by a designer/solo operator who was swamped with many other higher priority orders that I simply could no longer wait. The MCP-1 came during my evaluation of the above units and was REALLY good for the price. It was flexible with its RCA loading plugs and it had ample gain for MCs with outputs as low as 1.5mV all the way up to about 0.8mV, thanks for the headroom allowed by the gain of my linestage and the input sensitivity of my amps.
I will soon receive the Wavestream Kinetics phono stage and I cannot wait! Others have suggested the Doshi full function pre but, as always, one step at a time. The VPI Aries and convenient arm wand interchangeability has allowed me to hone in on the cartridges I like. It would be great if I can complete the arm and tt upgrade before I really focus on the phono stage. Or should I do that now before I decide on the table or arm? TIA and best regards.
