[mswobo]

Have a Rogue Audio 99 and Odyssey mono blocks and Rega Rp1 with Ortofon Blue.

Do I add Tube or SS amp. Looking to spend $700.00 and may go a little higher if I need to.

Looking for direction .....Thanks

[medium jim]

A lot will depend on your other gear, such as your speakers and what sound you are looking for.

Jim

[mswobo]

Vandersteen 2ce's and listen to a lot of 50's and 60's Jazz.

[medium jim]

Vandersteen 2ce's and listen to a lot of 50's and 60's Jazz.

The Vandersteen's are a hard to drive speaker, so that pretty much precludes tubes, I would look for a good and powerful SS amp, maybe a Parasound HCA1500 or similar.  But if I Read correctly, you really are looking for a preamp and would go with tubes as it will give your system a little sweetness and warmth.


Jim

[galyons]

The Vandersteen's are a hard to drive speaker, so that pretty much precludes tubes...

Huh?  The OP is asking about a phono stage!   

The Blue has a pretty healthy output. So, it really depends on what you like, SS or tube.   Do you want new or used?  Want to build out a kit? Are you planning any changes to the TT, arm or cartridge? Any plans to move to MC?   There are many choices for your budget.  The phono stage is really a critical parts of the vinyl kit, so do it right the first time.

Cheers,
Geary

[jarcher]

Why not the phono board for the Rogue 99 preamp? That seems to have been a $600 option when new. Maybe they can give you some kind of deal as an existing customer.

[Ericus Rex]

Why not the phono board for the Rogue 99 preamp? That seems to have been a $600 option when new. Maybe they can give you some kind of deal as an existing customer.

I have the phono board in my 99 and it sounds pretty good!  Very hard to beat it for $600.

[mswobo]

I have the phono board in my 99 and it sounds pretty good!  Very hard to beat it for $600.

Thanks for your input. I agree my table went to next level when i got the 99. I am trying to get more out of table and may need to look at that first.

Got to love this hobby always looking to tweak. 

[Ericus Rex]

Are you saying you already have the phono board in your 99?  If so, I think you'll likely have to spend much more than $700 to get a significant improvement.  Have you tried some premium 12AU7s in it?   That would improve the sound for far less than $700.  Also, what 6SN7s are you using?

[JakeJ]

Are you saying you already have the phono board in your 99?  If so, I think you'll likely have to spend much more than $700 to get a significant improvement.  Have you tried some premium 12AU7s in it?   That would improve the sound for far less than $700.  Also, what 6SN7s are you using?

+1 ^

[roscoeiii]

While I love tubes elsewhere in my system (preamp is a hybrid kW line stage, amp is a Rogue Stereo 90), I tend to prefer SS phono preamps. Especially at lower price points, I feel that they tend to be better at amplifying the small signals of a phono cart, with fewer downsides (such as higher amounts of noise). The difficulties of small signal amplification become even more substantial for LOMCs, if you are considering those in the future.

At the $700 price point, I'd look at the Dynavector P75. Loved my P75, and they can be found used for less than $700, and new for a touch more. The other phono stage in this price range that gets a lot of love is the Jasmine. Though I haven't heard that one. TONEPUB also gave a great review to the very inexpensive Lounge phonostage:

http://www.tonepublications.com/MAGPDF/TA_054.pdf#page=38

I cannot speak directly to this, but I have read that for some of the Rogue units (don't recall which ones) the phono stage is considered the weak link. I think there is discussion of this over on Audio Asylum.

[medium jim]

Huh?  The OP is asking about a phono stage!   

The Blue has a pretty healthy output. So, it really depends on what you like, SS or tube.   Do you want new or used?  Want to build out a kit? Are you planning any changes to the TT, arm or cartridge? Any plans to move to MC?   There are many choices for your budget.  The phono stage is really a critical parts of the vinyl kit, so do it right the first time.

Cheers,
Geary

Hi Geary:

I gathered that, maybe I should have been more specific and recommended the Bottlehead Eros to the OP:

http://www.bottlehead.com/store.php/categories/phono-preamps

Ciao,
Jim

[rollo]

Tubed phonostages can be a pain in the arse at times I own one. Noisey tubes and so on.  However when right they can sound marvelous. The cart you are using has a wonderful synergy with The Vista Mk2 SS phonostage.  Boris will set it up to perfectly match your cart. Inexpensive to boot. I would directly compare it to the one you have. Next step up IMO would cost you more than $700.
    With your speakers you have plenty of color. I would recco a SS device for your system. have fun trying.


charles

[medium jim]

Tubed phonostages can be a pain in the arse at times I own one. Noisey tubes and so on.  However when right they can sound marvelous. The cart you are using has a wonderful synergy with The Vista Mk2 SS phonostage.  Boris will set it up to perfectly match your cart. Inexpensive to boot. I would directly compare it to the one you have. Next step up IMO would cost you more than $700.
    With your speakers you have plenty of color. I would recco a SS device for your system. have fun trying.


charles

Tube Phono Stages typically are non-colored and allow for tube rolling which can be the ticket for listening to different genres of music

Jim

[Ericus Rex]

I cannot speak directly to this, but I have read that for some of the Rogue units (don't recall which ones) the phono stage is considered the weak link. I think there is discussion of this over on Audio Asylum.

That's certainly the case for the Cronus and Metis; they sound OK but nothing to write home about.  But the 99s phono board sounds quite good.  I got my 99, with the board, expecting the phono section to be mediocre and to be used with a second table with a cheap cart while my Ray Samuels Nighthawk got the most play.  I was so pleased with its sound I sold the Nighthawk and got a Rogue Triton for the cheap cart/2nd table.

[roscoeiii]

That's certainly the case for the Cronus and Metis; they sound OK but nothing to write home about.  But the 99s phono board sounds quite good.  I got my 99, with the board, expecting the phono section to be mediocre and to be used with a second table with a cheap cart while my Ray Samuels Nighthawk got the most play.  I was so pleased with its sound I sold the Nighthawk and got a Rogue Triton for the cheap cart/2nd table.

Thx for that clarification.

[mswobo]

Are you saying you already have the phono board in your 99?  If so, I think you'll likely have to spend much more than $700 to get a significant improvement.  Have you tried some premium 12AU7s in it?   That would improve the sound for far less than $700.  Also, what 6SN7s are you using?

I have not tried tubes. I am month into having my first tube piece ever. Thought about tubes but not sure what to do on that front. Need my handheld on that at this point.

Do I buy quality tubes for the phono stage end?

[roscoeiii]

Quality tubes are most important on the phono end of things. They need to be very low noise and microphonics.

[mswobo]

recommendations for tubes for the phono section appreciated..

[roscoeiii]

Well, perhaps more important is buying tubes from a reputable dealer who grades their tubes for noise etc.

Kevin Deal from Upscale Audio is a good person to talk to for these, as is Jim McShane. Be sure to tell the tube seller that the tubes will be in a phono stage.