Hi,
Are there any users of the Whest Audio TITAN Pro Phono Stage. Having added the Lyra Etna SL to my LP12 I’ve been blown away by the upgrade and the itch to find an alternative to my Superline has started 
Thanks for any advice.
I’m in a similar situation.
Seen a 2nd hand Nagra VPS that tempting !
Went from SL/SC to Whest Titan Pro with a LP12, Aro,DV Xv1-s with excellent results. Titan Pro was later replaced with Whest MC Ref V monos… now with Etna SL.
Whest stages are great and fit well within the Naim system.
ATB,
Mark
Great to hear Mark. I emailed Whest to enquire about the V4 but James Henriot said he’s stopped making them, and will have a new ref level stage hopefully by the end of the year to replace them - so I missed that boat!. He recommended the Titan Pro as an alternative to the monos.
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Look for LCR, EAR 912 perhaps?
The Titan Pro is a great stage.Very clean, dynamic presentation.Try about a 200 ohm load with your Lyra. Make sure you use an above average IC from the phono pre to your main preamp- this cable makes a big difference imo… Oh and leave the Titan Pro ON all the time ,just like your Naim gear.
ATB,
Mark
Not sure a tube phono stage will drive easily and without noise a cart like Lyra Etna SL. 0,25 MV.
Tom Evans Mastergroove, Pass XP 25, Whest…seem to be more appropriate. Or tubes phono like Ypsilon, Audio Research Reference.
Thanks Mark. I’m using 220 ohm with 10 capacitance on the SL/SC at the moment which to my ears sounds more refined and natural rather than 500 plus ohms that some have recommended - so I’ll certainly try 200 with Whest.
I’ll have to use the one that comes with the Titan for the demo - the IC I have for the SL is a Chord DIN not RCA, do you have any IC recommendations if I’m impressed with the Whest?
I can go RCA or XLR into the back of my S1
Cheers Pete
@916SPS- As you probably know, James H can customize the loading selection on your Titan Pro. For the demo, make sure he has the 220 ohm available on that unit-just tell him that you will be using a Lyra and he will know what to do.
Are you located in the USA? If yes, then look into the Graceline Level 2 cable from Black Cat cables. Knock-out cable imo. If in the UK , then the usual suspects like Chord Music and Tellurium Q Silver Diamond or Statement will do the trick as well.
I’m not sure if the S1 has a true balanced connection for the input? If yes, then I would use XLR’s. I have been running balanced connections to very good effect with my phono’s.
Good luck with your journey!
ATB,
Mark
Thanks Mark
Mark, I see you are using the Tidal Audio Prisma preamp, which has a built-in phono stage. How does that stage compare with your Allnic and Whest units, might I ask?
The built in stage is very good but it does not reach the level of the Allnic H-7000 or my Whest MC Ref V monos…It is a flexible phonostage though and offers very good performance .
Thanks, that’s interesting. Tidal seems to take great pride in their phono expertise, so high praise indeed for Allnic and Whest.
I suspect the Tidal Presencio would win the game…at a price. We are talking about top their phono stages here so expecting the built in Prisma to beat them at its’ price point is a bit unrealistic imo. But if you want a simple vinyl playback system that performs at a high level then the Prisma is all you need. We all want the best that we can get our hands on- that’s why I still use the independent phono stages.
Well it’s been an interesting few weeks!
Having messed around with the loading on the Superline and then been fortunate enough to be able to do home demos of Clearaudio’s Phonostage absolute (inside) and Whests’ Titan I’ve found the right stage for the Etna SL. I was loaned a fantastic Gutwire interconnect from the guys at ‘The Audio Consultants’ along with the Clearaudio unit, as the only phonostage interconnect I have is DIN and both the other units are either XLR or RCA.
The Clearaudio was a definite improvement giving more detail, defintion, PRaT and presence to the music I played. I had a few conversations with James Henriot (who is a very engaging, warm and enthusiatic bloke) from Whest who then sent me the Whest Titan Pro - Blimey straight out of the box it worked, but two days on the sound is overwhelming. Everything, and I mean everything, is massively improved. It still isn’t properly warmed up - James said it really comes on song 4 days after switching on - but it’s completely on another level. It works so well with the NAIM signiture sound - it really does help vinyl sound as close as possible to live music. The Clearaudio was great but there was something processed and restrictive about the sound coming from my speakers. I’ve put an order in for the Titan!!
£10,000?
Are you asking what’s the cost sjw?
Superline/ supercap is already around 7,5 k. So if this Whest is on another level, it’s not so expensive.