Phono stage recommendations. Rega Aria Mk2 just died.

guyincognito

So my trusty Rega Aria Mk 2 bit the dust out of warranty and will no longer power on. I have reached out to True Sound in California to see what the process is for out of warranty repairs but am also thinking maybe it is time for an upgrade.

I have been very happy with the Aria but I would be curious what others would recommend as a replacement/upgrade. Used or new in the $2500 range give or take. I currently have a Planar 8 with Apheta 3 MC cartridge.

guyincognito

Well, a friend suggested I check the fuse with a multimeter even though it looked fine. He was 100% correct. No continuity. New fuse solved the problem. I guess I don't need to order that Gold Note PH-10 after all.

maxward

But you’re still thinking about it.

treitz3

There is usually a reason the fuse blew. Did you do any connection swapping while the unit was powered on? If nothing moved, then it will *most likely* happen again.

Tom

guyincognito

Nothing unusual happened, no storms or power surges before. It turned on one day and wouldn't power up the next day. No changes to the system or cables. The fuse looks 100% fine but has no continuity. I'm thinking fuse failure at this point.

mhardy6647

Fuses don't usually just fall on their swords -- they're usually pushed.

guyincognito

If it happens again I will certainly dig deeper. I bought it used two years ago and have had zero problems with it.

mhardy6647

No reason why you should [have problems with it] -- a well designed and constructed low level preamp/eq should last for decades without needing attention.
(EDIT: The one exception being if it uses any tantalum capacitors -- even electrolytics should last at least a couple of decades, and still typically work for at least a decade more than that if not operated close to the components' voltage or temperature limitations)

So, I, too, will hope it was just one of those things and not symptomatic of more serious trouble!

Emlyn

A similar thing happened to me with a PS Audio phono preamp. I suspect in my case it was a static discharge problem during the winter that affected a faulty AC regenerator. Having these sensitive circuits protected by a fuse is a good thing. Easy fix after a call to PS Audio asking why it might not power up and the problem hasn't come back after three years.

guyincognito

That's encouraging to hear. The wife and I just got back from a big European vacation and I really didn't like the idea of shelling out for a new phono stage at this moment. Also, for me it is hard not to use a broken piece of gear as a stepping stone to better things. I hate making lateral moves.

txcoastal1

I hear that...

"But, but, but...the turntable is just siting there. It will not work without it.
It's a quality turntable and needs a quality engine to sound good"...."I didn't plan this, it just happened."

"I Know, I know, I know......yes dear"