Yes, Ampearl RE-2030 as a LCR phonostage competes more or less with a vdh The Grail or Remton LCR.
Another bang for the bucks alternative with LCR equalisation might be Kitsune HiFi KTE LCR-1 MK4.
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Like any upgrade you don’t know until you try I guess.
I am pretty impressed with the Moon, but the Aria is in a higher segment. So I don’t think one can think alone of the ohmage. Want to know it I gives better sound, better soundstage and a lower noise floor.
The Aria also matches the required capacitance which the Moon cannot.
Overall I see recommendations of using the Aria with the Rega MC elements so it’s simple curiosity. Plan to keep my current system for a long time so if I get even more out of it with this, I’ll bite. And as I can now try before I buy it’s suits me just fine.
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Capacitance doesn´t matter with MC carts at all. And yes, it´s not about an appropriate cartridge load only.
I´d rather doubt you will get any margin of lower noise floor with the Aria you´ll able to hear. If you want to be really impressed with a new phono stage you should change the phono stage technical concept by switching either from a passive equalization to an active one or vice versa or to a concept that´s far higher rated from a technical perspective like LR or LCR. Otherwise you´re changing actual performance by a tiny margin (0,x%) only.
However, cabling might be also a playground.
Mostly for MM/MI though because of the capacitance. Less for MC I’d say.
Thanks for the info. Food for thought.
Should say I am not specifically looking to change the Moon at all costs. I curious what the Aria gives as so often it is touted as the perfect match for Rega cartridges.
I am not an expert in phono stages at all and I dunno if I want to be. I want something that’s good, that I don’t have to think about too much and just works.
So because of the many suggestions to run with the Aria and quite a few saying the Moon is wrong for my setup I want to hear it first hand and then decide from there.
As for my question here. If there was a clear winner over the Aria from someone who has tried both AND I could just as easily get and test it where I live and in lockdown I would have considered it.
If, in fact, the Aria only gives 0.x% increase I’m sending it back and keeping the Moon.
A Rega 6 with an Aria , a £450 cartridge with a £900 phono stage.
Why not try a Graham Slee Reflex - dedicated to MC and cheaper.
I like GS a lot
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Well it’s a 1000 Euro cartridge so a few more pounds than this. So the balance is a little better.
But I have read a lot about the Graham Slee. Unfortunately it is not something I can demo at this stage as the local dealers don’t seem to stock it.
Let’s be honest, upgrading the phono stage is also retail therapy due to COVID mental strain. I won’t even try to hide that LOL.
I would contact Graham Slee - they do home trials , ah I missed the bit about the Pro MC thought it was the normal Ania
Apologies
In terms of presence on the rack, the Rega will win hands down - any day, Graham Slee just sound very good
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Ah no worries. Rega should really have given it it’s own name.
I don’t live in the UK, so I think that would be out even in normal times. There seems to be one dealer who imports Graham Slee here and it’s 100km away 
But reading more about what you suggest made stumble on someone who reviewed the Rega Aria and the GS Accession. And it seems to suggest the Aria as a very favorable alternative.
So that, coupled with the fact that my dealer can source the Aria and support it makes me feel more comfortable with testing the Aria soon.
So the Rega Aria has been delivered to test out.
A number of instant improvements over de Moon:
- The signal gain is higher so equals the normal volume setting I would use for streaming on my Star. So I do not need to crank the amp open by 10 or more clicks.
- Despite the higher gain the noise floor is considerably lower than the Moon. It is not zero but a large improvement.
- The SQ. As it is a brand new unit, it still needs to run in but already it is more detailed, fuller and better soundstage.
All in all it seems like quite a significant upgrade.
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So you like it then 
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Yeah it’s sounding really very good. Hearing what the Ania Pro is capable of now.
Having one thing investigated by the dealer before pulling the trigger on buying it.
But this should not be an indictment on the Moon. It costs less then half of the Aria and is a really good piece of kit.
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Are you keeping the Aria?
My dealer just through a Vertere phono 1 into my field of vision - well under my arm actually and sent me home to have a listen. Unfortunately the ON switch broke just after I set it up, so I’m waiting for a new unit to demo, but I’ve asked for an Aria to trial at the same time saying I’ll buy one of them…
I haven’t searched on here yet to see others impressions of it.
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The reason that I have not put my final verdict down is that I was in the middle of investigating a small niggle with the dealer.
Short answer is: Yes I am keeping it.
But here is the niggle. I noticed, that on higher volumes, the noise floor of the Aria was higher on the right channel than the left. At listening volumes it is pretty much indiscernible.
I reported this to the dealer and they had another unit sent from the importer which they tested in store. And they found it to be the same.
So they had the importer test and they tested a unit from another batch and found the noise floor was equal over the two channels. They then sent this unit to the dealer who tested it yesterday and also found the issue was gone.
Tomorrow they are delivering that unit which I will buy.
So keep this in mind. It seems to be something in a batch of Arias.
Honestly I have not compared the Aria to phono stages in the same bracket so I cannot comment on that, but just listening to it I am very very impressed. It has brought the SQ on my system to the point where vinyl is in fact better than digital.
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awesome, that was what I found when I demo’d an Aria a few years ago.
enjoy the music…
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Do you mean the noise floor difference? Or the SQ?
I meant “the point where vinyl is in fact better than digital”
which is what I started my upgrade journey 5 years ago to achieve… to be able to enjoy my vinyl collection, which has lead to a rediscover of newly released, new music on vinly…
The phone stage will be the last piece in the current journey.
It will be interesting to see where digital goes in the next 10 years, the last 5 has been interesting but not engaging enough for me.
Ah clear! I would have been interesting to know if the channel noise imbalance has been around for long.
This has actually also been mine. Been upgrading things like cables, installing Roon etc. But had this nagging feeling that my previous phono stage was not up to scratch.
Now I am pairing the Aria with a Rega MC though, so they are made for each other. But in all the reviews they state that it performs very well with almost all cartridges out there.
Digital is and will remain a large part of my listening. But having my vinyl on the level it should be completes things for me. I actually had no idea the Rega planar 6 with the Ania Pro was capable of this.
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Would it be fair to say you’re over the Moon now you have the Aria?
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