ajxd Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Been looking to upgrade to a stand alone; currently using the onboard in my Rotel RA-1570. Rest of my system is Marantz TT-15S1 with Clearaudio Virtuoso and Goldenear Triton 2s. Been thinking of... Musical Surroundings Phenomena II (or Nova II if I find one used due to wanting the battery powered). iFi Phono2 Ray Samuels Nighthawk Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 I had a passing interest in the Clearaudio Nano a while ago. My thought process was that it is likely designed to work well with the entry level Clearaudio tables/carts and hence should suit the Marantz package. I’m pretty satisfied with the on board phono section in my PM8004 though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjorn Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 I have the original iPhono. It's a slight step up from what's in my Rotel sound-wise, but offers tons of extra adjustments/cartridge flexibility which is probably why I'll hold on to it. Other than that, not really crazy about its design, the little switches are a pain to mess with and not very intuitive. Having cables on both ends can be a little awkward, but I hide mine behind my turntable, seems to be designed with that in mind. That being said, apparently the 2 is even a bit better performance-wise if the hype it to be believed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted May 22, 2018 Author Share Posted May 22, 2018 15 hours ago, Tardcore said: I had a passing interest in the Clearaudio Nano a while ago. My thought process was that it is likely designed to work well with the entry level Clearaudio tables/carts and hence should suit the Marantz package. I’m pretty satisfied with the on board phono section in my PM8004 though. New house; new loud system. I get some background noise at 55ish; would like to be able to listen at 65 for when I'm wanting loud music. Just a little boost needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 14 hours ago, ajxd said: New house; new loud system. I get some background noise at 55ish; would like to be able to listen at 65 for when I'm wanting loud music. Just a little boost needed. You could try any of the Musical Fidelity phono stages, they all get a hell of a lot out of MM (they do a good job with MC as well) but make sure you can try before you buy over a decent listen as they can be a tad bright in some systems. Not sure what price and availability is like your side of the Atlantic but the V90 LPS is an absolute bargain and can be had for not a lot of money here (about £140 new) and performs way above it's price point, if you can find one an old XLPS is always a very good buy, over here anyway a good used one should be around £100 to £150. Of course if you want to spend some money you can always go for a Musical Fidelity Nu Vista at around £3300 but if that's a little high then there are another 3 or 4 in the range at prices in between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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