I am very happy with my main hi-fi. The Stiletto LP12 with Keel, Skorpion, Ekos and Kleos feeds a Superline (with a 576R Z-Foil plug) into my 52/ SC/ 300DR.
In Tasmania, I have ND5XS2 & Core feeding my old 82/HC/250 and neat Xplorers, but I am thinking of wrapping and sending my old LP12 down there as a source for the second-hand records that are for sale. It has Kore, Ekos and (old) Krystal.
I was thinking that the obvious choice would be to fit a Prefix K and swap the ageing Krystal for a new one - after all, I have a spare Hicap to power the Prefix. However, it has been suggested that the K is very sensitive to RF and can hum and that a Prefix S might be better. It has also been suggested that a Krystal should not have more than 200 ohms in the phono stage (i.e. that I had the wrong plugs in my Superline all along).
Others have suggested that non-Naim phono stages would be better anyway - unless I am stretching to another Superline.
Yet others have suggested spending rather less on the cartridge if it is ‘only’ feeding a Prefix and 82 - perhaps a Prefix S with AT OC-9 or a Hana.
A Prefix should not hum unless there’s an issue elsewhere or hasn’t been installed correctly. However, it can pick up RFI in some areas and countries, although later or updated units are far better in this respect and personally I’ve never had any such issue with any of my own Prefixes.
For an LP12 running with an off board motor supply thePrefix is a great performing and great value solution, especially if you already have a spare PSU or a good AUX2 feed going spare.
Thanks Richard. Would you put a Prefix S (and Hicap) with a Krystal? I i
only ever heard a Prefix with previous generations of Linn cartridges.
I think that the 82 won’t power a Prefix directly, and that a Prefix is significantly better than a Stageline or similarly priced phono stages - is all that right?
Not much chart music from the last 20 years or much disco-type music. Most recently played were Zappa, Jansch, The The, Bowie, Bach’s Well Tempered Klavier, Miles Davis, Sons of Kemet, Stone Roses, Canto Gregoriano, Zeppelin, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Joni Mitchell, Roy Harper and Peter Gabriel.
Not easy - the old LP12 is here while the rest of that system is in Tasmania. With 52 in the main hifi, I already know I like Krystal/ Superline a lot (though Kleos seems better).
What would your recommendation have been if there were more Bowie, Floyd and Steely Dan on the list?
If there had been more Beatles / Stones on the list I would have suggested listening to the EAT E-Glo Petit.
For the money this is a real stand out. It is good all round but it makes an excellent fist of these era of recordings, which I have found is not a given.
The best suggestion thusfar is to get a new Krystal (or a Dynavector XX2) here, and to buy a Dynavector P75 Mark 4 phono stage in Tasmania - since it is much cheaper (at c.£700) and rather easier to get in Australia than it is here.