Phono amp advice please

Hi folks,
I've recently bought a Planar 3 & a new DL110 cart & now realise I need a phono amp as my Creek 5350SE doesn't have the phono stage built-in. :newbie:

Superfi sell two Creek plug-in phono "modules" @ £50 & £60, or the NAD PP2 or Project phono Mk2 @ around the £50 mark.

1) Of those above, which would give best performance;.... or
2) Should I consider a little more money on a new item or a 2nd -hand purchase?

3) If 2nd hand......suggestions please.

 

I personaly would have thought the Creek plug in module would provide the biggest bang/buck...... for 2 reasons.

1) It will be synergistic with your system
2) It is a plug in module therby avoiding additional costs for case work & power supply electronics.

As regards to purchasing something new or s/h would reap benefits if your happy to spend a larger sum. I doubt you'd find anything s/h for £50 worth buying. Graham slee & Lehman make some excellent phono stages, worth seeking out new & s/h. Rotel RQ-970BX phono stage s/h would also be worth looking for. Not sure the kind of bucks it goes for but purely as a guess I'd say around £100

 

Creek phono stages are fine so given the level of source I'd just pop one of the Creek cards in.

 

The Cambridge Audio 640p is surprisingly good and only £60 - I'm pretty sure you have 7 days to get a refund if you don't like it (mm & mc). I've compared it a lot (as a friend has one) to my own phono stage and I (I think both of us do) prefer mine but it's a lot more expensive.

 

ID agree. I recently purchased the 640p and it was a n allround massive improvement over the phono stage in my Tag McLaren pre amp. I now use it between my tuntable an Promitheous Pre Amp. It is a superb piece of equipment at this price point.

 

Thanks for the help chaps. Two schools of thought, but both positive.
Ta

Gary

 

I haven't looked at the specs of the Creeks but I'd make double sure there's enough gain. I was running a DL110 into a Creek OBH8 (MM box) and found the quoted 37dB to be on the seriously quiet side with this cartridge. It was fine with real MM carts but the Denon is quite low output for a HOMC.