Hagerman Bugle vs DACT CT-100 phono stage

tomw · « **on:** 8 Oct 2005, 01:32 pm »

Has anyone done a comparison of these 2 products and is there such a comparison done in AudioXpress

thanks

tom w

analog97 · « **Reply #1 on:** 8 Oct 2005, 01:49 pm »

Isn't this an unfair comparison.......$50 vs $1,000?? If I have my facts staright, it seems unlikely there will be a published comparison.

hagtech · « **Reply #2 on:** 8 Oct 2005, 08:23 pm »

Unfair to whom? Yes, audioXpress did some listening tests with these two phono stages in 2004.

http://www.audioxpress.com/reviews/media/604hansen2283.pdf

jh

tomw · « **Reply #3 on:** 8 Oct 2005, 11:16 pm »

Jim

Many thanks for the link. Interesting read. I was toying with the idea of a DACT CT100 but I'm a tube person. What I liked about the DACT is the elimination of a step up tranny. Looks like it will be a Cornet2 for me plus Lundahl step ups in the near future!

tom w

analog97 · « **Reply #4 on:** 9 Oct 2005, 02:25 pm »

I was amazed by the design engineer's posting of that Bugle/DACT comparison. The unbelievably inexpensive Hagerman design triumphs over a far more expensive/complex design. This makes sense to me now, having built JH's Cornet2. My experience with the Cornet2 is that it is far, far better than my previous phono-pre, which received a similar rating to JH's Bugle in Stereophile. At this point, given the incredible performance of the Cornet2, it is hard to imagine how good that Trumpet must be. I am hoping for a meeting to come up in Hawaii, so I could hear it. In any event, you will be most impressed with the Cornet2. I built mine rather easily, given my limited experience, and followed JH's suggested capacitor upgrades (the Auricaps). From this point forward, I am following all JH's suggestions, period. As soon as I figure out a way to isolate my analog playback system from my TV/home theatre equipment, I am going to build the Clarinet. This isn't easy because I have to use an AV receiver for the 6-channel input from the SACD player, and unless I keep unplugging/switching stuff (a real pain), I have to either use the receiver as a pre-amp for the Cornet2. Then, the subwoofer x-over is another complicating factor.....enjoy your Cornet2 as much as I do, although that is gonna be very difficult.....