Which phono preamp?

[Les Adams]

The final (for now) upgrade to my system is going to be a s/hand outboard phono stage to run my V15Vxmr into a line input instead of using the on-board Denon device, but I am undecided which model to buy.

I have been looking on Ebay at the Creek OBH18 and the Musical Fidelity XLPS. I am confused slightly because there seems to have been 3 versions of the XLPS and I can not find any conclusive details as to what the differences are and how each version compares to the Creek.

Can anybody shed some light on this for me and perhaps offer some advice?

Also, is there another phono stage for around 150 pounds that would be better than either of these?

[Arturo7]

If you're handy, you can't go wrong with Bottlehead. Tube sound for $280 US. (I think that's about 150P?)

http://www.bottlehead.com/et/et.html

[squeegy200]

If you're handy, you can't go wrong with Bottlehead. Tube sound for $280 US. (I think that's about 150P?)

http://www.bottlehead.com/et/et.html

I built one of these this past spring. It is amazing for high output MM cartridges.Works very well with my Grado Reference Platinum.

I've spied a handful of these Phono stages attached to some very high end systems at a couple of shows.

[Kaboom]

i've been eyeing the bottlehead gear for a VERY long time now, since i think DIY is WAY cool and tubes are WAY cool. i think this preamp would make a nice introduction to tubes for not too much money, specially now that its on offer with upgraded parts, but still 300 bucks is quite a lot of money for me at the moment and i'd like to know if there's anything sonically superior at that price, be it solid state or tubed.
I'm currently running a Btech 926 which is basically a miserable NAD PP2 knockoff.
So is this bottlehead gear as amazing as they say, despite its rather poor measurements?
Cheers!

[squeegy200]

i've been eyeing the bottlehead gear for a VERY long time now, since i think DIY is WAY cool and tubes are WAY cool. i think this preamp would make a nice introduction to tubes for not too much money, specially now that its on offer with upgraded parts, but still 300 bucks is quite a lot of money for me at the moment and i'd like to know if there's anything sonically superior at that price, be it solid state or tubed.
I'm currently running a Btech 926 which is basically a miserable NAD PP2 knockoff.
So is this bottlehead gear as amazing as they say, despite its rather poor measurements?
Cheers!

In stock form, the Bottlehead gear does have some background noise. This can be reduced by using better solder, higher grade parts, and better care in the assembly stage. There are other hop up kits which drop the noise floor even further. But what is fascinating is the vast knowledgebase that is readily available for tuning, repairs, and upgrades.

What I like is that bottlehead products are just pure and simple point to point designs. They use decent quality hardware but you are free to upgrade using your own select parts if desired.

The Foreplay III is the easiest of the kits. I thought its performance surpassed many Preamps I've tried in my system up to 10x purchase price.

I've used the BTech 926 and the phono stage in an NAD 3020(Which may be similar to the PP2) and I preferred the Seduction. I use a Grado Reference and I liked the Seduction with it better than the $500 Grado Phono stage.

[hifitommy]

a FINE phono stage and the 1020 is the same stage in a stand alone confiuration. designed by tom holman (THX), its as good as you can get for anywhere near the money.

another recommendation to consider is the hagerman bugle kit. the easy way out is the 3020/1020.