phono stage - head to head

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muffinman

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i have just got myself a trichord dino & dino+ psu for £365 delivered. MIB 6 months old. bit of a bargain i think. before i take it to my heart i am going to carry out a full performance comparison with my current phono stage. a creek ohb 9 with the creek oh2 regulated psu. i will post results here.
i will be selling on the item i choose to let go. i will sell them at cost to me, so if any one is interested please pm me and i will reserve your offer.
dino & dino+ £365inc delivery
creekohb9(mc) + oh2 psu - £150 inc delivery

ta
 
I use the Creek OBH 8SE,and have been very happy with it,so will be intresting to see your findings,mines into a Rega P25 though.
 
thanks for the tip wadia .

something is making me a little sour at the moment. since i posted the imminent arrival of my dino+ i have heard very mixed reports. this is alongside 100% glowing reports from all magazines and retailers.

the dino+ represents (monetarily at least) a 100% increase in product over my current creek set up. the dino alone is alledgedly a 'quantum leap in sound quality' and the addition of the dino+ psu 'really takes it to another level'. how the hell can it possibly be worse?

i know we all spend far too much on this 'hobby' but £500 is still no small potatoes and i know many people who would think i an absolute tool for spending 'so much' on a phono stage (my wife included).

i know i will be able to sell the dino for no loss should it fail to live up to the hype, but i know i will be very dissapointed at the same time, and perhaps, a lot more cynical.

gulp

muffinman
 
I wouldn't worry about it. I have a basic Dino without the Dino+ and it sounds bloody good. It's also incredibly flexible so you can experiment with cartridge loading and gain to your heart's content (if it isn't sounding as good as it should, chances are you need to fiddle with the settings), and it's easily good enough to use with exotic low-output MC carts.

In context, £365 is a bargain for a decent phono stage. I'll be very surprised if you don't find it a significant improvement over the Creek. It should be significantly more detailed and transparent.

-- Ian
 
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Too late to be of any use I suppose, but the Loricraft Missing link is well thought of by some friends of mine.
Haven't heard it myself, yet.
 
JOEL SAID:
the Loricraft Missing link is well thought of by some friends of mine.
Click to expand...


it may not be too late. i have bought the dino to see how it performs. if it does not live up to its hype, it will be sold on. i will keep the loricroft in mind for that. also the ear 834p sig
 
Actually, I ought to qualify that and say better for low-output MCs. Never tried my EAR with an MM or high-output MC, I've been told its MM input is better than its MC.

-- Ian
 
I can't compare my Dino + to other stages as I've not heard them but I can say that Dino was a massive lift over my Exposures inbuilt card and then when I changed amp I was very happy with the quality. Got my Dino+ after about 6 months with my new amp and there was a noticeable tightening and paradoxically fleshing out in sound quality which I think is an improvement.


It does need careful positioning though as I have found it picks up hum easily.
 
Trichord. Interesting.

As the three amigo's have gone their seperate ways, they all seem to continue their fascination with lowering noise floors.

JC with the Jaya and cables (good stuff), GF with the NC PSU and phonostages (a bit bland to my ears but good nonetheless), and TE with his magical lithos regulators(kinda funky if built to standards quite unexpected at the cost!

So I wonder how good a reunion product would be? For me, having listened to products from all three, I would have to say that Tom must be the stoner of the group;)
 
I don't know noise floors, Merlin Balnd?, you need a spot of colour my boy :) I recommend a 14 days R & R.
And 2 blue led's that work what ever the time of day :D have fun you guys.
Feel sorry for me all I have here is a tact and a pair of JM labs mezzos, man where has the music gone :(
 
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I have an 834p atm, and preferred it over the dino. Its a very small thing, though, I could happily live with a dino and am sure you will find it better than the creek, thought isn't the creek made of separate transistors? it could be good in that case.

The sonic character in the dino I was alluding to is relative, and overall, it is a good phonostage, a work of genius for the price, and the loadings and gain make it useful.

The 834ps transformers impart a distinct sonic quality to a very transparent mm stage, the bass becomes a little bloated and slow, and the treble laid back.
I have just got an audiotechnica transformer, and that's a riot compared to the ears. a touch shouty, but clearer, more powerful, and faster. I never thought I would criticise tdp, but the transformers are rather laid back.

I think tbh, I also had a michell iso, and I didn't find the external psu to give much discernable aural advantage, though intellectually more satisfying with it. The iso was better in the top, the dino better below. I kept the dino, as I found the iso to be a tad lean.
 
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Hi,

I have heard the Trichord Dino in many systems performing well. I last heard one in a system with a Gyrodek with Orbe mods, Tecno arm & Kontropunt B cartridge, into WAD kit pre & the old WAD 300B power amp with Heybrook Sextet speakers.

The Dino is very good as it also offers adjustment for various loads & gains to suit the cartridge & listener. I have a EAR 834 phono stage knocking about. This is quite good but I have heard (& use) better. The weakness of the EAR are the extremes. I do think as well the transformers also are at fault. But overall it is good to listen to.

Other new phonostages include The Tom Evans Microgroove (£450), Graham Slee range (£179 upwards), Dynavector P75 (£475) to name a few. There are also older items on the 2nd hand market that can be had for similar money.

SCIDB
 
Hi guys, I've been following this thread for a bit to gather peoples opinions on phono stages. Having recently got my Rega P25 up and running I've been considering getting an external phono stage to replace the one in my RA-02 which at least gets me up and running but I reckon is probably the weak link in the system. So I was wondering what you guys would suggest I try in the £150 - 200 range.

Cheers,
BL21DE3
 
Hi BL21DE3,

Have a look at this one. At £179.95 it is a good starter. I have heard very good things about it.

Also look at Muffinman's Creek which is up for sale at £150.

SCIDB
 

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