Vincent - PHO-8 - Phono Stage MM/MC - Outboard Power Supply - Black

I had a few phono amps from $100 Pro-Ject starter phono stage, $400 upgraded Pro-Ject S2 and one that cost about $1400 tube phono amp from Decware. The lower the cost, the sound quality is so so. The tube amp from Decware is probably the best sounding in my opinion, but I would say the Vincent Pho 8 comes pretty close to the higher end phono amps. This is my opinion and I would say I'm the middle of the road audiophile with experience because I've purchased quite a few components in my life time to know what sounds good and what sounds bad...and really bad.I bought the Pho 8 mainly because I created a small audiophile listening post in my office and wanted something that is for a small room and has pretty decent sound. I didn't want to break the bank and I could if I wanted to, but with a young family I need to watch my expenses. So far, right into the set-up and plugging in my Kimber cable RCAs, then flipping the switch...it was night and day compared to my internal phono stage amp. The sound is clear, no humming, and very smooth music from my LPs. I played some Jazz and vocal LPs, all sounded very good for this budget friendly Pho 8. It beats the Pro-Ject S2 and comes pretty darn close to my higher end Decware tube phono amp (I sold due to downsizing). Note for the humming other reviews stated, I think it's important on the quality of your receiver or integrated amp. The higher quality of main amp you have the less noise or humming you will hear. I have no humming or noise at all with this phono amp.The build quality is superb and heavy for a small phono amp. I like how they separated the power unit from the RCA outputs. I'm guessing it's to lessen the noise you may get from the power fluctuations. The look is nice and well designed and looks great to my eyes. Which makes me wonder how much better the higher end Vincent Pho 701 amp would sound, my guess it's going to be much better than the Pho 8. I'll stick to this model for cost wise and I do recommend this product. To me the sound is what matters the most, not the power rating, the ratio measurements or other comparisons. Nice unit for the price, quality, sound and beats even higher end phono amps.My System: Peachtree Nova300, Pro-Ject X9 turntable with a Sumiko Blue EvoIII MC Cartridge, KEF LS50s bookshelf speakers, Schitt Audio Loki tonal control and all cables connects are from Kimber Cable.

My setup consists of a Rega P32000 table with a Dynavector 20x cartridge. Fed through audio input(not phono) of an Onkyo TX-NR777 receiver and Paradigm Studio 60 speakers. I was using a cheap JEC TC-760 phono pre before. Right out of the box, I noticed a better soundstage but was still a muddy sound. There is definitely a burn in period for this pre. After a couple hours of listening, the muddy sound disappeared and the soundstage opened up a little more. Upon experimenting with the different listening modes of the Onkyo, I settled on the Direct mode. That made further improvements in the sound. I was listening through one of the Dolby modes, but feel that is not the way vinyl was meant to be heard. Currently listening to Janis Ians' excellent "Breaking Silence" album. Couldn't be more happier with this purchase. I'll be running through my vinyl collection for weeks and expect with more break in, the sound will only get better. This is a marvel of German engineering.

I'd say that this unit when compared to the Schiit Mani is more refined sounding. The Mani has the convenience of adjustable dip switches on the bottom of the unit which are helpful with MC carts, but this Vincent is just smoother and more refined sounding over all. Using the MM setting with various MM carts, the Vincent sounds wonderful. However, it would be nice if there was more adjustments for the Moving Coil side...but that doesn't mean it wont work well and sound good. A very good product with exceptional cost/performance balance.

I was worried about the Vincent PHO 8 when I would hear buzzing or fuzziness. What I heard was the quality of the vinyl. When I compared to the sound of the same record to my old phono preamp, the gritty buzzing sound was still there. If anything, the Vincent could make a bad record sound passable by reducing the pops and rumbles.Overall, this is a capable preamp which I have used with different setups. The Vincent preamp is transparent after the break in. I haven't used the MC functionality, and the noise floor on the MM setting is dead quiet. At this point, I would need a nicer cartridge to really challenge the Vincent. It has truly opened up the sound for me.Owned for about 3 months.

Not particularly impressed. The overall sound is very average. I didn't notice a difference at all compared to the phono on Yamaha integrated amp. I will say that the aesthetics and overall build quality were nice. It just didn't deliver on sound.

I don’t usually write reviews but felt this product warranted it. After a bit of research and reading reviews I decided to go with the Vincent. My receiver has a phono input and sounded decent but I felt something was lacking. As soon as I hooked this up there was an immediate improvement. The soundstage opened up. The music packed more of a punch. Albums that previously sounded somewhat muddy now played back with clarity. I heard little details in some albums my ears had not picked up before. It only got better with more burn in time. I cannot compare to other models but am extremely pleased with this purchase and highly recommend.For reference, my setup is a Project Debut Carbon DC turntable with blue Ortofon stylus, Denon AVR4802 receiver and Focal Cobalt 806S speakers.

One of the best phono amp but it has a hum and buzz noise.