2023 Editors’ Choice: Best Phonostages $6,000 & Up

When compared to the big boys—costly gear from Boulder, Ypsilon, and so forth—the VTL isn’t some kind of giant-slayer. But the comparison isn’t fair, or to put it another way, it’s only enlightening in showing that gear in the TP-2.5i’s price range comes tantalizingly close to achieving the performance of far more elaborate designs with separate power supplies and the like. Anyone looking for a superbly enjoyable but moderately priced phonostage with a touch of tube bliss would do well to consider the TP-2.5i. JHb, 302

Coincident has surpassed itself with its marvelous new tube phonostage. Powered by a 40-pound separate power supply that connects to the main unit with an umbilical cord, the Coincident packs an unbelievable wallop, particularly in the bass. The Coincident is tailor-made to drive rock or orchestral music. Its rich midrange, deep low end, and sizzling dynamic swings make a wide variety of LPs sound more lifelike, endowing the music with a real sense of drama and urgency. Vocals have a creaminess to them that is difficult to resist. Put bluntly, the Statement makes a real statement. JHb, 322

With three inputs, variable cartridge-loading—adjustable via remote control—and a front-panel display of gain and loading, the Rhea is a versatile phonostage. Although it has tons of gain, the noise level is relatively low, making it compatible with a wide variety of cartridges. The Rhea exhibits transient quickness, effortlessness on crescendos, and a deep, layered soundstage. The Signature version vividly demonstrates the value of component quality. Although the circuit is identical to that of the Rhea, the Signature uses ultra-premium parts. The result is a much better bottom end, even smoother timbres, and (surprisingly) greater dimensionality. Rhea owners can upgrade to the Signature for the difference in retail price. The Signature upgrade is expensive, but well worth it. RH, 151/196

The Seta Phono preamp performs all the functions of a conventional analog phono preamp, but its most salient additional feature is that it has multiple outputs, and one of these is a “flat” output that has not been RIAA equalized. The reason for the “flat” output is so that users can do their RIAA or other EQ curve digitally via Pure Vinyl software. Together they produce results that are sonically equivalent in quality to the original LPs. (The Seta design has also been recently enhanced to include transimpedance input mode as well as the original voltage mode.) If you’ve been waiting for the state of the art in digital transfers to improve before committing any of your vinyl to digital, the time has come to begin your own archiving process. The Pure Vinyl/Seta combo will give you all the tools you need to do the job right. SS, 238

This phonostage is unmistakably Zesto from the defining wave in its industrial design. The two-stage tube gain system is the quietest RB has experienced, while at the same time excelling at dynamics and detail. The Zesto remains true to the music, delivering instrumental textures and remaining tonally neutral, without blooming in the midrange as many tube-based phonostages do. The Zesto is never fatiguing and will provide hours of listening enjoyment for all types of music. RB, 328

Esoteric’s flagship phonostage may seem expensive, but it’s a bargain compared with much pricier phonostages. That’s because the E-02 competes with the best regardless of cost, and in many ways delivers reference-class performance. Fully balanced with a whopping 72dB of gain, the E-02 ticks off all the audiophile boxes. But what makes it such a standout is the way it disappears, imparting virtually no sonic signature of its own to the music. The E-02 simply sounds like the recording and the rest of your system. The execution and build-quality are exemplary. AM, 294

This entirely redesigned, entirely solid-state phonostage (with outboard power supply) from the great Japanese audio engineer Kazutoshi Yamada is the entry-level companion-piece to his Model 8120 power amp and 3100 linestage preamp. Like the amp and preamp, the Model 120S is simply superb sounding, designed with an almost magical ear to what makes music sound sweet and lifelike. When you throw in very high resolution of inner detail, great bass, and the incredible soundstaging and imaging for which Yamada’s Zanden gear has always been famous, you get a demure little phonostage that is hard to beat at its price. Model 120 reviewed, JV, 259

The XP-27 is a dual-chassis design employing double-shielded toroids, two of them, in the power supply. To lower the noise floor, switching and loading in the XP-27 is accomplished at a relatively high signal level, which is good news for fans of ultra-low-output mc cartridges. The XP-27 is also notable for its ease of use. Front-panel knobs have multiple settings for resistive load and reactive load (i.e., capacitance); plus, there are three gain settings, appropriate for pretty much any cartridge. RCA and XLR outputs, one set of each, are provided. A superb choice for vinyl-loving old hands, as well as those who may be coming home after a sojourn in the digital desert. AQ, 316

A significant upgrade of the LP2, which was Lamm’s entry-level phonostage for many years. The emphasis is entirely on signal purity. An exceedingly low noise floor is a major plus, allowing the music to swell up from a velvety black background with no perceptible hash or grain. The presentation is detailed, but not overly so. The vibrancy and urgency of human voice are reproduced exceedingly well. Tonal colors are beautifully rendered but without excessive tube warmth. The tonal balance is very much on the neutral side of reality. In sum, a perfect marriage of traditional solid-state strengths with the harmonic textures of tubes. DO, 248

The 810LP is technically impressive, particularly its heroic power-supply design and vibration-isolation measures. It’s also solidly built and offers a wide array of gain and loading options that makes optimizing its performance for any cartridge a snap. World-class by any measure, the 810LP combines a dead-quiet background, a pristine clarity of timbre, outstanding dynamics, and an expansive and well-defined soundstage. Even under the microscope of reference-class loudspeakers, this Simaudio impresses not just with its audiophile attributes, but more importantly with how musically compelling it makes listening to LPs. TAS’ 2013 Phonostage of the Year. RH, 231

Reviewer Jacob Heilbrunn listened to the Edison both through the Brinkmann Marconi and Ypsilon silver PST-100 preamp, which afforded him the opportunity to hear exactly what it was—and was not—doing. The sheer artistry that the Edison conveyed on the Philips recording The Delectable Elly Ameling was a combination of the sublime and the beautiful. On Mozart’s wonderful motet Exsultate, Jubilate, the Edison tracked every syllable, every quaver, every trill that Ameling enunciated during her ravishing performance. There wasn’t a trace of sibilance or harshness. Instead, the Brinkmann delivered a posh, upholstered sound that was quite delectable.
Breathtaking, actually. JHb, 301

The P-200 can comfortably accommodate both mm and mc cartridges. It distances itself from the competition by virtue of its superb spatiality, transient speed, and resolution of low-level detail. Expect a compelling dynamic range capable of fleshing out subtle microdynamic nuances as well scaling orchestral peaks with composure. The P-200 simply gets out of the way and allows the music to ebb and flow without dynamic constraints or tube colorations. Most of you will be perfectly happy with the stock tube complement which squeezes out a fair amount of tube magic but know that it responds well to basic tube rolling should you get the urge to experiment with your favorite preamp tube types. DO, 334

A thoroughly modern, versatile, dual-input phono preamplifier in a single, relatively compact chassis. Both versions include a hybrid JFET/12AU7 vacuum tube mc input capable of 62dB/68dB (single-ended/balanced out) gain. One offers a 12AX7-based mm second input, the other a Lundahl transformer-coupled second mc input. Both make use of significant circuit upgrades originated in the TL-7.5 Series III tube/JFET preamplifier. The hybrid JFET mc input deftly combines solid-state’s low noise advantages with the vacuum tube’s rich sonics to produce enticing, timbrally neutral sound. VTL’s micro-processor-controlled operating system makes possible convenient, full functionality front-panel switching. MF, 335

A tiny Class A phonostage (and linearizer) with infinitely adjustable curves to properly EQ mono recordings made before the RIAA era (one of FM’s most famous innovations), the FM 122-MKII tells you the truth about LPs without robbing them of their inherent musicality. This is a very transparent component that gives you a keen insight into how instrumentalists are being recorded, without adding any sense of the analytic or much color of its own. Regardless of the virtues of newer-gen Swiss gear (and there are many), this remains a formula for successful playback, and FM Acoustics remains a marque you ought to audition before making an ultra-high-end purchase. JV, 286

The two-box (main unit and power supply) Téssera Reference accepts four inputs, two moving-magnet and two moving-coil (or up to four low-output moving-coils with the use of two additional external step-up devices). Sonically, it is full-bodied and composed. The sound created by this phonostage maintains dynamic development and much of a note’s decay when called for. Without favoring one over the other, it reproduces all music genres fairly evenly. AJ, 287

Audio legend A.J Van den Hul is famed for his Speed Racer-like cartridges, but he has also made a serious run at phonostages in recent years. The solid-state, fully balanced Grail SE is his effort to produce a top-drawer phono preamp. It features a current-mode input that is supposed to optimize the energy transfer of a moving-coil cartridge and ensure zero hum. If the Grail is anything to go by, the proponents of current-mode phonostages are onto something. The Grail packs a real wallop on jazz big band and orchestral recordings, a testament to its wonderfully low noise floor. It does not possess the bloom of tubed units nor reach quite as far into the back of the hall as some other current-mode phonostages. But its silky sound and dynamism are an enticing package. JHb, 302

The John Curl-designed Andromeda uses some of the same building blocks found in the Pictor linestage, including three separate power supplies in an outboard chassis. (A separate optional DC Filter unit is available.) The Andromeda can accommodate up to four cartridges—two moving coils and two moving magnets (one each XLR and RCA). Impedance for moving-coils can be set from 5 ohms to 999 ohms in one-ohm increments via a knob on the main unit’s rear panel. Moving-magnet settings allow for three capacitive and three resistive loading options. The trick, as with any phonostage, is to apply the RIAA equalization curve accurately and add enough gain to increase the low-voltage cartridge output to line-level standard, while also preserving signal integrity and keeping noise to a minimum. The Andromeda does a marvelous job at these things. Reviewer Kirk Midtskog has heard plenty of mega-buck turntable rigs, and the Andromeda made his sound much, much closer to those setups than he thought possible—fabulously clear, open, impactful playback. KM, 294

When JV heard the original version of the tube-powered Zanden 1200 phonostage with user-selectable EQ, better than a decade-and-a-half ago, he was amazed by its reproduction of acoustic space. It simply put more square yardage between and among instruments than any other audio component he’d ever reviewed, and with that incredible increase in separation came a commensurate increase in the audibility of each instrument in an ensemble—what it was playing and how it was being played. The only downside to the original Zanden 1200 was its bass range, which was a mite plummy in the way that tube gear then sounded. The latest iteration of the 1200S no longer suffers from bass bloat. Indeed, it is positively superb in the bottom octaves, reproducing pitch, timbre, intensity, and duration with the blur-free clarity of solid-state. The Zanden’s neutrality extends from bottom to top, making the 1200S among the highest-resolution tube phonostages JV has heard. One of TAS’s 2019 Products of the Year. JV, 293

The P1 phonostage relies on current amplification rather than traditional voltage amplification. This means that you get a better transfer of energy, at least in theory, and a lower signal-to-noise ratio. Sonically, it’s as if the P1 removes a layer of varnish from recordings to reveal what’s lurking in the grooves. The presentation is quite different from a tube phonostage. The P1 has better bass grip and dynamic slam. While there’s no gainsaying that it does not possess the glamour of tubes, or pass the same amount of harmonic information, it excels in neutrality, dynamic heft, and the ability to peer into the remotest recesses of an LP, revealing in detail what is taking place during the performance. Anyone looking for a state-of-the-art solid-state phonostage should give the P1 a long listen. JHb, 297

Like its companion piece, the Reference 10 Line Stage, this two-chassis, touchscreen-operated, entirely dual-mono (from power supplies through output circuits), tube phonostage has sensationally lifelike tone color and tonal weight, tremendous dynamic reserves, and uncannily three-dimensional imaging, making for a sonic presentation that is unmistakably “right” from midbass to top treble. The highest-fidelity phono preamp that ARC has made (which is saying a mouthful), and certainly one of the most realistic phonostages on the market. JV, 242

Goldmund’s original PH3 phonostage was released in 1995. There followed a long dry spell wherein the company concentrated on digital playback. With the LP revival of the past decade the company has again seen the light, and the PH3.8 Nextgen is the first proof. Unlike the single-box PH3, the PH3.8 Nextgen is a two-chassis component, with a separate external power supply. The unit’s slew rate of >80V/µs and rise time of <400ns, combined with its very low noise and very high bandwidth, are said to be keys to its transient speed and hard-hitting dynamics. But the PH3.8 Nextgen doesn’t just deliver lifelike speed and impact; it also, and simultaneously, gives you the color, texture, and action of instruments and vocals. A genuine contender for the laurels. JV, 312

Designed by John Curl, the Perseus is one of the most lifelike transistor phono preamps JV has auditioned. Capable of feats of resolution undreamt of by analog hounds, the Perseus not only recovers information that many other phonostages miss; it also recovers it without spotlighting those details by completely leaching away their tone color (though the Perseus is on the coolish, analytical side). Like all of Constellation’s Performance Series products, the Perseus does a standard-setting job of balancing extraordinarily high resolution and transient speed with lifelike (when the record is lifelike) timbre. JV, 223

Boulder made waves with its 2008 phonostage well over a decade ago, but the 2108 shows that its efforts have not crested. Quite the contrary. The fully balanced 2108 is markedly superior to its predecessor, both in terms of a lower noise floor and a more mellifluous sound. Gone is any hint of the sterility that some detractors professed to discern in the 2008. Instead, the 2108, which has a separate power supply, is a suave performer. Its iron-fisted control is always in service of the music rather than the reverse. On LP after LP, the 2108 conveys the phenomenal transient accuracy that has become a hallmark of Boulder equipment. It stands at the apex of solid-state reproduction of vinyl records. JHb, 306

The 755 phonostage is an entirely re-thought and greatly improved version of the Soulution 750. It now arrives with user-selectable loading via its AMOLED panel, improved bandwidth, distortion, and separation, and enough gain and regulation in its line-level output stage to drive and control a power amplifier directly (thus obviating the need for a separate preamp). Its performance is phenomenal, combining all the traditional Soulution virtues (color, bloom, body, slam, lightning transient speed) with extremely high-resolution of detail and superb pitch definition in the bass. The thing about Soulution is that that detail is woven into the fabric of the music (rather in the way tubes present detail), rather than riding analytically on its surface. One of Soulution’s truly great products and JV’s reference. JV, 276

If you’ve got the dough and the itch, you’re going to have to go a very long way to find a superior tube unit. Capable of 76dB gain (which can be upped to 82dB at customer request), this two-chassis (separate power supply), all-glass-bottle VAC has more input headroom than any other phonostage JV has had in his system. The sonic results are audible, as the Statement Phono Stage never hits a “dynamic ceiling,” the way other tube and transistor phonostages so often do. Plus, you will get the most exquisitely dark, rich timbres and beautifully resolved textures you’ve heard this side of an SET, without any of the fat-potato bottom-end or treble roll-off of an SET. JV, 263