[John V.]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum. I am looking into the Minimax phono. I've read the reviews and it sounds like a great piece. I was hoping to get some feedback from any users of this preamp. My turntable setup is a Basis Ovation with a Kuzma Stogi tonearm and a Benz Micro MC200 cartridge.  I know I can get a lot more out of this setup than what I'm getting with my Rotel phono stage. Anyway, I'm very close to calling Bill back and ordering one. Any info is helpful.

Thanks
John Valvano

[lcrim]

I have the Eastern Electric Minimax phono section.  In the game of matching its gain and impedance loading to the cartridge you must pick carefully.  Its a very refined piece and in my view, provides a very smooth sound.
The gain is 57 dB and the loading is @ either 100 ohms or 47 (not 47,000 ohms) for MC cartridges.  It might be wise to pair it with a cartridge ~ .5 mV and above.

[flaneb]

I am converting all my vinyl to digital, (lossless 24bit) and in doing so auditioned several phono stages.
decided on Eastern Electric after talking to several friends. I am so glad I did. Incredible detail and resolution;
with some great nos tubes was found to be as good as a friends Manley steelhead (group consensus) when we did a comparison.
With the price factored in, the EE was an outright steal.

[John V.]

Thanks for the info.
I am using a Benz Micro mc 200 cartridge which has a 2.0mV ouput. I am sure the minimax would be a great phono in my system. I think I am suffering from information overload. I never thought about loading on a cartridge before because I never had the option. When I got this new TT setup I just plugged it into the ole Rotel and it sounded awesome. Now I'm thinking of upgrading from an adequate phono stage to something a bit more worthy of the TT setup and in trying to make a decision I'm getting more confused. To add to the confusion I emailed Benz to find the output of the cartridge. He mentioned to "start at 1000 ohms and go up or down from there till you get the
right sound for your system."  I know he's trying to be helpful but that really didn't help much. My gut tells me that this phono stage will work just fine with my cartridge since it's not something very esoteric.
 So that's my dilemma in a nutshell.

[fsimms]

I have a Minimax phono preamp.  It is a beautiful sounding preamp.  I use it with Telefunken short plate tubes.  I have CD recordings of a $3000 Pass Ono phono preamp with an AT OC9 cartridge on a Sota vacuum table.   It is clearer than my OC9 and Nottingham Horizon turntable with the Minimax.  I don't know if the loss of clarity is due to the Horizon or the Minimax.  I do like the sound better with the Minimax though.

I have a Tact preamp which takes the phono signal through an AD converter, so I think the above comparison is valid.  Even though my Cd's sound clearer, I find myself turning to my records when I want to listen to music.  The sound of my records is amazing!

[flaneb]

It's easy with Eastern Electric as morningstar offers a 30 day trial. I am sure you would like it.

[John V.]

Thanks all. I just got off the phone with Bill. With any luck it may be here by friday. I'm really looking forward to it.

[bacobits1]

A great sounding Phono Pre for sure. Very quiet being important. I have had mine a little over a year now. NOS Tungsram tubes although EH tubes are pretty nice too. I was coming off of a Black Cube SE and the Mini Max just does the PRAT very nicely. I am currently using a Benz Glider 2 to good effect but have had good results with my AT OC9. I just moved and have not yet tried my Denon DL 103. I also use a Basis 1400 with an upgraded Basis RB300 arm, Incognito and Michelle Techno Weight. I use all solid silver Home Grown Audio "Tri Braid" un-shielded Interconnects.

Martin G. D'Wolf from "Bound for Sound" is using the Mini Max as his standard.
Works even better with a Signal "Magic" Power Cable. A worthwhile $78 upgrade. This was an MGD recommendation.
He has probably written more on PC's than anyone else. Most of them in the stratosphere price range except for the Signal
Cable products. This cable was compared to cables costing $2G. Frank from Signal is super to deal with as is Bill O'Connell.

Just great companies.

Enjoy!

Den

[John V.]

I've been using the Eastern Electric for a week now. It's an incredible phono stage. It does everything that was mentioned in any of the reviews. In my system it is very detailed and dynamic, has a huge soundstage and is very quiet. Everyday as I gets more broken in it continues to open up and have a greater sense of ease at the presentation of the music. I am very very happy with this addition to my system.

[mdconnelly]

I picked up one from Bill a couple months back and am using it with a ZYX fugi cartridge (.4mv) on a Kuzma Stogi S arm on a Kuzma Stabi S turntable.     It was excellent right out of the box, but wait until after you've played a few dozen albums.... it becomes far more relaxed and musical yet with lots of detail, definition and soundstage. 

A better power cord does seem to make a nice difference (check out the Black Sand Violet or Silver Ref).   Bill can also give you excellent advice on the impact of different tubes.

You made a great choice - enjoy!

[PaulFolbrecht]

I ordered one from Bill yesterday and will have it tomorrow.

Will be going up against a Graham Slee Era Gold.  Anybody compared the two?

I expect it to win. 

[John V.]

I ordered one from Bill yesterday and will have it tomorrow.

Will be going up against a Graham Slee Era Gold.  Anybody compared the two?

I expect it to win. 

That would be an interesting comparison. I'd like to read your thoughts on it.

I am really enjoying my Minimax phonstage.

[PaulFolbrecht]

Got the unit but it does not work with my sonic euphoria autoformer linestage.  Bill warned me this (and TVCs) might be a problem.  Horrible rumbling buzz.

I won't have an active linestage in house until next week so it'll have to wait a bit.