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L3 Phono Stage
Single-Ended Triode Phono Stage (formerly called the M3 Phono Stage)
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As a vinyl and tube lover and I am pleased to announce the L3 Standalone Phono Stage from AudioNote Kits. Truly the ultimate DIY Phono pre-amplifier for the DIY market.
The much anticipated L3 Phono Stage Kit is now available - a perfect partner for the L3 Line Pre-amplifier or an integrated amplifier like the Kit1.
Using the circuitry from the phono section of the highly acclaimed Audio Note M3 Pre-Amplifier finished product, we are making available a DIY phono stage that is second to none!
Above is the new L3 Phono Stage board as shown from the underside. The board is hardwired with silver wire and note the stencils and the thick ground trace. We use plated through holes which makes hardwiring a breeze - you can solder the components into the board and then bend the component legs along the stencil traces to complete the circuit.
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The input audio signal is driven by an cascode input 6072 section tubes followed by an RIAA passive EQ circuit and another 6072 output tube. The filament circuitry from the power supply supplies the input and output tubes separately. The L3 Phono board itself will be powered by the Audio Note M2 (6X5 & ECL82) Power supply.
The L3 Phono Stage Kit boasts an overall gain of 40db (100x voltage gain) and is ideally suited to driving a line pre-amplifier or an integrated amplifier. An input impedance of 47K makes it ideal for a Moving magnet cartridge.
The Standalone L3 Phono Stage Kit comes in the same large chassis that we are using for the L3 Line and the DAC Kit 2.1 - When stacking the 3 units you will have a pre-amp section of superb quality.
Both the DAC Kit 2.1 and L3 Phono Stage will plug directly into the L3 Line unit which allows you to select the various sources i.e. PHONO, DAC, etc.
Using the the very high quality Audio Note M2 Power supply section (6X5 rectified and ECL82 regulated) we provide the 12V filaments and HT for the M3 Phono Stage.
The Phono Board itself is silver hardwired using 1W tantalums and AN copper Caps in our Signature version - This same circuit has been used in Audio Note's finished product M3 Pre-amplifiers for over a decade. We use Audio Note AN-A or AN-V (silver) cable to connect between AN silver RCA's located on the rear of the chassis for both input and output to the phono stage.
For a complete Moving Coil solution of the highest quality, see our Moving Coil Step-up kit.
Enquire about extreme versions of this phono stage that are not listed - you can load with 2W tants on both the power supply and the Phono Board along with Copper or Silver Audio Note capacitors! Phono-MM customers - please enquire about upgrading your phono kit to the new L3 phono stage!
We have made available a fast download / low resolution copy of the M3 Phono Board Hard-Wiring Guide so you can see for yourself the quality and detail of the build instructions. You will, of course, recieve a high resolution printed manual of the latest version with your kit. The downloadable version excludes the Appendix which contains the circuit diagram.
Click here to view the M3 Phono Board Hard-Wiring Guide.
We are also here for full support during and after your build!
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General Specification
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47K ohms |
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100x |
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40db |
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1x Stereo Phono Input (Audio Note silver plated RCA's) |
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1x Stereo Phono Output (Audio Note silver plated RCA's) |
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15" wide, 16" back to front, 5.75" height including height from floor |
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6072/12AY7 Cascode input followed by passive EQ and 6072/12AY7 output |
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Generalized Schematic (one channel)
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New high quality hard-wiring phono board
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We have recently improved our hard-wiring boards for this and some other products and are very happy with the results. The M3 phono board now boasts the following:
- All holes are plated through
- Ready laid PCB tracks for earth, HT inter-channel joining, and parallel filament connection
- Component layout shown on bottom, as well as the top of the board
- Larger board giving more space to work
- Heavy duty 2.5 mm board thickness
 View from the top |
 View from the underside |
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Here is a close-up shot of the underside.
You can see that all of the holes are plated-through. Also, the component identifiers are also shown on the underside to avoid confusion when turning the board over to work on either side. Some of the connections are already connected (such as the earth track which can be seen going down the left of the picture). This has been done to simplify the hard-wiring process - although there is nothing stopping you from still connecting the earths manually, of course. Only having a few tracks has allowed us to make those that we have included of significant thickness instead of having to keep them thin in order to cram as many as possible into a small space. |
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Standard Configurations and Pricing
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Includes Beyschlag & PRP resistors, Mundorf Film capacitors, AN-A cable for input and output.
$1,250(USD)
Please enquire about our range of available options and upgrades.
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More Pictures
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Click on an image below to zoom-in or cycle through the images using the arrow buttons below.
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The complete pre-amp solution
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To complete your pre-amplification section, you may want to consider adding our ultimate choice for line pre-amplification - the L3 Line Pre-Amplifier Kit. Its 5687 based output stage is taken directly from Audio Note's M3 pre-amplifier. This consists of the silver hard-wired M3 line board driving a pair of Audio Note TRANS 027 output transformers.
A perfect combination. The picture opposite shows the L3 Phono Stage Kit sitting on top of the L3 Line Pre-Amplifier Kit. |
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General Support
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We have included a special 0db 1KHz test tone WAV file here that may be useful when you are building your L3 Phono Stage. It allows you to feed the signal into your phono stage so that test voltages can be measured.
Note that this is a special low output WAV file that can be put onto CD and played through the phono stage. Under no circumstances should a normal CD be played through the phono stage.
Click here to play the file.
To download the file to your computer, right-click on the link and select 'Save Target As...' (Internet Explorer) or 'Save Link As...' (Firefox) from the pop-up menu.
I can't believe the gift of music that I just got. All those records that were stored with more or less little concern are playing in near flawless fashion.
Someone gave me four old albums of Ian and Sylvia. I thought it appropriate to play those first off since I owe so much to the North Country. Three of them are in mono and to hear the likely first recorded presentation of Four Strong Winds was moving. A bit scratchy, in mono and recorded in 1963, it was just Ian Tyson and Sylvia Fricker with one string base behind. The simple beauty and innocence of the music has made me showcase it to the three people who have already heard my system.. There are, of course other records that will blow anybody's hair back in terms of cleanliness and depth.
I am enjoying my Audionote phono preamp as I am writing this. I am grateful to you for your support, encouragement during the build, not to mention the sense of accomplishment and the fine piece of equipment.
Don Heggen
The sound is amazing! Still getting better every time I turn it on.
Thanks again, Rob
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Just a note to say that my phono pre is up and running, and sounding fabulous!
From the very first note, on the first record, "Ella Sings Gershwin", I heard so much more life in the music than I ever did before. It has been breaking in for a while now, and is sounding better all the time! I attached some pics for fun, I thought you might be curious about how other kit builders do the hardwiring. I really enjoyed it! |
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Sheldon Carl
...I have been listening to an extremely wide range of music and have to say that this phono stage is an outstanding performer.
In terms of individual frequency ranges, you have a wonderfully silky top-end, high resolution mid, and low but extremely well controlled bottom-end. The balance across the entire range is superb.
Perhaps it is this consistency across the range that makes it as musically involving as it is. I don't know for certain, but it most certainly is capable of pulling you into the music - whatever type you are listening to...
...One thing is certain and that is that I won't be wanting to upgrade my phono stage for a very long time to come...
| Paul Brookes - UK |
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"Brian - I think you have another winner here!!!"
Paris Burnette (owner of L3 Line/DAC2.1 upon completion of L3 Phono)
Before I purchase the new L3 AN Phono Stage - I worried the most about the hum, treble and bass because most hi-end preamplifiers don't have tone controls. No worries at all though, NO humm at all dead quiet & excellent stereo separation, sweet sweet trebles, powerful bass, and crystal clear mids. I can finally understand what are they singing about with no tone controls. What more you can ask for.?
Overall great looking Phono Stage, sounds excellent and I think I'm gonna stick with it for a long time.
Nick
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