New valve phono stage, Salas VPI (Valve phono itch)

That was quick.
Looks very neat.

Looks good Alan

Works for me.

It's a neon indicator connected to the high voltage. I am going to dim it a bit.

This stage is phenomenal, there will be a little bake off tomorrow, watch this space.

Well we had a little bake-off with the Salas and the Bigbottle3.

Quick report there isn't a fag paper between them.
Long report I will let Oli fill in more but the very minor differences were interesting, the vocals were very slightly more forward on the BB3 whilst the Salas was a little more expansive on soundstaging.

The rather excellent news is that following the discussions that were had this morning I have modified the Salas to accept MC directly, I have added a Fet cascode and some fairly complex switching to take account of the different current levels and valves used in the Salas.

First listen that is currently underway is excellent, a slight tweaking of bass response is needed.

I went for a listen to this phonostage today.

Getting little messages off Al about how much vinyl he had been churning through seemed to indicate that he may have assembled something a bit good.

I took the BB3 over and my MSFL of Dire Straits - love over gold.

The LP had been pretty much on repeat since Tuesday so what better LP to use for such an important (to me) comparison. We used the Title track.

I wasnt sure about the blue chassis Alan had picked, bit in the flesh, and with its indicator-esque lightbulb, it actually had a rather 50's Americana feel. Pretty cool actually.

We listened to the Salas via a K&K SUT as it's MM only (at this point)

First thing that struck me was how quiet it was. The track starts with some nylon strung guitar. The phonostage displayed a tactile plasticity and the little finger movement noises were capture well. As the strings rang and twanged, it was already obvious that the BB3 had a serious contender.

The soundstage seem to flourish and provide space and time to allow echoes and reverb to fully extinguish before starting the next word or note.

Knopfler sounded realistic and full toned and as the drums kicked in, there was a good balance. Nothing sounding too big or overblown.

"We could be in trouble here" I thought, looking at my BB3.

Nuances and delicacies of the finer detail were all very much presented in a fluid and natural way. No feeling of being forced or over-effort, but keeping rhythm and timing tight so as to induce an eager foot tap to the beat.

As the song ended, I was pretty much won over by what I had heard. I was a little bit jealous, a little frustrated that I cant knock these things up and play around with the same stuff, without help. What a great gift to have, to be capable of building up so much great kit for shits and giggles.

We plumbed the BB3 in and attached the K&K SUT.

on went the track and instantly I notice a bit more noise than I'd heard with the Salas.

As the track kicked off, again there was a plasticity to the guitar...."hmmm, good" I thought.

I listened for the nuances and delicacies and yes, they were all there too. Then the drums kicked in and woah! Powerful swing in the dynamic. "Oh, that's different"

As the track wore on, to me the BB3 had a bit more pace, a bit more enthusiasm and energy. Drums were hit a touch harder, notes were slighty twangier, like he"d played the notes just a bit harder, but at the same time it didnt have the mahoosive soundstage and fluidity.

I asked Alan to pit the Bigbottle's MC setting against the Salas and see what happened.

We did the Salas first, and I was more impressed the second time, than I was the first. It's just a stunningly good phonostage....possibly one of the best you'll hear with valves in.

We put the BB3 on in MC and low and behold, you'd have been forgiven for forgetting which one was in.

The background noise was gone, the soundstage was much more expansive. The BB3 still sounded like it was a bit more punchy though. I commented to Alan that it sounded closer to Solidstate than the Salas, which it should really as it's a hybrid.

It seemed to have a firmer grip on the sound, a bit of traction on the presentation, whereas the Salas was like a flowing river, but I want to be clear, it was not loose, or flabby. Quite the opposite. I strongly suspect the SUT aided the Salas and its fluidity and flow style. It matches the experiences I have had before but for once, I didnt feel like the SUT was having a say on the overall performance. The K&K would definitely be worth seeking out if you were that way inclined.

The BB has always been a MC phonostage in priority. MM was not as quiet or as expansive on the BB3 as it was in the Salas.

Everything was done to the BB3 to give MC the best sound. It really showed as it navigated every challenge the Salas provided. All via a couple of Jfets.... marvelous.

After a couple of hours of listening, it was splitting hairs to be honest. Either phonostage could have left with me and i'd have been more than happy. The Salas is HiEnd DIYaudio, of that I have no doubt. I cannot praise it highly enough.

The BB3 and i left Alan's with a pleased smile on my face. Its further confirmation that the Bigbottle is the real deal.

A great find, Alan. I really enjoyed it.

I did chuckle when I wrote about the Jfets lol

Always happy to do a bakeoff, who knows what'll happen next!!

It's a massive bonus that these guys are quite local to me

I know talking about these projects probably alienates a larger audience but there may be 1 person considering building a Salas and iMO it's worth sharing an opinion, especially if it gets someone soldering!!!

No Paul, the RIAA is spot on. I was getting a 'slight' lift due to the way I linearise the Jfet. Sorted now.

Hi Alan,

I dropped you a message on the wam a week or so about the salas. I need to know what the internal resistance is. Im just about to buy a AT OC9XML and want to ensure it will work with the VPI.

I would have dropped you a message on here rather than replying to the thread but I can’t seem to work out how.

Cheers
Andrew

Morning,

Yes I bought it about 6ish weeks ago. I’m loving it, cracking bit of kit. A definite improvement on the internal stage in the Lyngdorf, which is actually quite decent.

I’m looking to move to an MC cart, which is all new to me and wanted to check with Alan if the OC9XML will be ‘compatible’ with the Salas.

Cheers
Andrew

It definitely accepts MC’s I was told I should check the internal resistance to ensure it’s compatible with the cart I’m buying.