Phono pre-amp loaner request

I would like to request a phono preamp loaner program if possible.

 

I would also be interested if there were a loaner pre going around. I am fairly inexperienced with these and would love to get a baseline how things compare. Currently only have a modded TC-750 and a basic project phonobox ds for comparison purposes.

What level of pre were you thinking about @JK47? I know loaners tend to be on equipment under $1k.

I personally would love to try out a tube pre to hear difference.

 

I would be interested in Sutherland Engineering , Musical Surroundings, Ray Samuels F-17, Bottle Head, I would prefer made in the USA in the $500-$1000 range new or used. I'm open to other suggestions as well.

 

I would be really interested as well. It seems really tough to get reliable information about phono preamps because there are so many options floating around out there.

 

I'd be open to building the BH Reduction (with CCS upgrade) and sending it around. Just need a bit of time to save up. Or get SBAF funds.

 

After I hopefully get Marv's shippable turntable, I'll definitely try to get in on this

 

I'd be happy to donate my Hagerman Bugle 2 to science since I don't have it plugged into anything at this point. Haven't tried it in a while, but I'd be surprised if it was even close to competitive with the Mani or stock TC-750 based on memory.

 

For those wondering, BH Reduction (+ Integration upgrade) has been ordered. I will update everyone as it goes. Plan on this being a loaner.

 

Awesome news - this has been something I've been very curious about, but never pulled the trigger to order.

 

I hope line isn't too long for the loaner. BTW, it's going to come with the IERC shield/heatsinks which look pretty effin cool.

 

What's the main difference between this and the BH Eros?

 

Eros looks like it uses the EF86 pentode as the first stage rather than 6DJ8. Other than that, it basically comes with all the Integration upgrades. More gain too.

 

In the budget category I've been intrigued to hear one of these:
http://www.loungeaudio.com/#!lcr-mr-iii/c1vla

$300 for a SS phono-pre with LCR RIAA seems like a damn good deal.

 

Marv is certain right about the phono world. All this stuff out there. A lot of it might be good but you never know.

 

The S/N ratio is pretty overwhelming IMO since it's much trickier to pinpoint the impact of any element of an analog chain without careful listening. Even when there are reviews, it's tough to determine their validity since people rarely cite their full setup (I.e. carts, tables, tonearms, interconnects, amps, speakers, etc.).

This loaner program should be great since we can see how the preamps perform under a variety of conditions and how they synergize with other gear.

 

Update:

Reduction is up and running. I was talking with Doc on the BH forum about some PS questions. I'm going to order a few parts but they're back-ordered ATM. I should have them by the end of the month (hopefully)

 

More here: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...duction-integration-phono-preamp-loaner.2008/