Lounge Audio LCR vs Yamaha A-S1100 Phono-Section.
Tramsparent_
Posts: 14
For those that have or have tried the Lounge LCR MM Phone stage, they are a strange little unit.
Some guys claim severely muted highs and collapsed sound-stage and others do not; praising their ability to resolve highs, with ease.
I'm assuming system synergy is creating the rather prominent differences, but this unit seems quite "prone" to changes up and downstream, more than any other component I've tried. And yes, I am using a very decent TT and Cartridge.
My Lounge most definitely is on the muted side (as if the Treble control was dropped by 50% or so).
Compared to the Yamaha A-S1100 Phono stage, it really is night and day.
The Yamaha Phono section is very clean and produces music (on a well-recorded album) that is extremely close to that of my Audio Server or CD player and most people that hear it say it sounds the same.
I like the Lounge but it sounds too far removed from the Server when playing albums that it sounds like something is way off.
Interesting hobby and why I'm hesitant to recommend specific components as being "the one to get", as it depends on all the other "stuff" going on.
Some guys claim severely muted highs and collapsed sound-stage and others do not; praising their ability to resolve highs, with ease.
I'm assuming system synergy is creating the rather prominent differences, but this unit seems quite "prone" to changes up and downstream, more than any other component I've tried. And yes, I am using a very decent TT and Cartridge.
My Lounge most definitely is on the muted side (as if the Treble control was dropped by 50% or so).
Compared to the Yamaha A-S1100 Phono stage, it really is night and day.
The Yamaha Phono section is very clean and produces music (on a well-recorded album) that is extremely close to that of my Audio Server or CD player and most people that hear it say it sounds the same.
I like the Lounge but it sounds too far removed from the Server when playing albums that it sounds like something is way off.
Interesting hobby and why I'm hesitant to recommend specific components as being "the one to get", as it depends on all the other "stuff" going on.
Post edited by Tramsparent_ on
Comments
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Thanks for the review. Always interesting to hear perspectives on phono preamps. In the old days, we used the internal phono sections that came in the receivers/integrated amps/preamps, and many were quite good. I recall the Yamaha CR-800 and 810 having good phono sections for example. Recently, I have been disappointed in the internal phono stages in receivers I've had. That A-S1100 is one good looking piece of kit by the way.
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Agreed.
I don't believe manufacturers are prioritizing phono-stages in many of the mainstream Receivers/Amps like they had to when vinyl ruled.
The one in my R-S700 Yamaha Receivers is "okay".
A good phono-stage sure can make a world of difference and is something that should be tried with your system for a while, before purchase (if possible).
The Lounge is super-smooth, popular, and generally receives high-praise but simply not a good fit for the rest of my gear.
Cheers -
Interesting to read your opinion. I seriously considered the Lounge phono stage before opting for the MoFi unit. My vintage Yamaha receiver's phono was fine-sounding, but only provided 38dB of gain - and I was using a low output MM cart. I sold the receiver and got a separate preamp w/o phono and added the MoFi. It suffers from none of the issues you've raised, indeed, none at all IMO. I'm sure your S1100 sounds great, too - I'm in the "like the Yamaha sound" camp.
