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phono pre amp giant killer?

I'm in the market for a used phono pre amp. I'm considering the pro-ject tube box II and the clear audio nano (because of some positive reviews and the fact that I use a Clear audio Vertuoso Wood Cartridge). My question is how much do you need to spend on a used phono pre amp in order to get to the level of truly top flight performance? My budget was going to be 350 but that may change with this thread.

thanks
andy
andyth
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Andy, for bluegrass in particular I would look for a phono stage with high slew rate so that the plucks will sound right. Ask about this when you talk with designers/manufacturers.
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
Go for either the Phono Box 11 SE or the Dynavector 75. I have the latter currently in a system that would retail for above 30K and it is not disgracing itself.
birdies
85 posts
 
I'll echo Stanwal on the Dynavector P75. Unbeatable for the money, both for sound quality and flexibility.
darkmoebius
899 posts
 
Gram Slee Era Gold mkV - a little above your price range on the used market at ~$450, but I owned it and compared it with a few other phonos in the $1.5k-2.5k range(new) and it held it's own.
andyth OP
26 posts
 
Thanks for the advice on the Dynavector p75 and the Gram Slee Era Gold mk v. I'll be looking into those.
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