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AUDIO FORUMS >> Vinyl >> Darlington Labs phono preamp
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Message started by Geno on 06/21/24 at 02:09:35

Title: Darlington Labs phono preamp
Post by Geno on 06/21/24 at 02:09:35

I want to make folks aware of Darlington Labs phono preamps. Solid State, but my experience is that, for the money, IMHO, would be very hard to top.

I started with their MP-7, and liked it very much. Outstanding, and for $650, I think it is a steal. I lived with it for about 6 months, and then read online that they had a new model available. Or, in my case, an upgrade from what I already had.

I sent it back to them, to have my MP-7 modded into a MP-8b.

I have been listening to it for about a week now, and it is amazing! Like I said, I liked the MP-7 a lot, but the MP-8b is out of this world! I have not been able to stop listening to my records. I now consider my phono and digital sound to be about dead even in quality, but the phono play just has that extra bit of a more natural sound.

This is highly recommended, and for the money, just stupid good.

Title: Re: Darlington Labs phono preamp
Post by CAJames on 06/21/24 at 04:07:13

I wasn't familiar with Darlington Labs so I checked out the website and their stuff looks pretty cool (although lots of stuff looks cool on a webpage). One thing that caught my eye is it says the phono pre's have a balanced output, what's up with that?

Title: Re: Darlington Labs phono preamp
Post by Geno on 06/21/24 at 04:35:10

I noticed that balanced is an option. Not sure how that is managed. There are no XLR jacks on it. Hell, the thing is very small - no room for them. I had planned to email them about that one, but don’t need to do anything different anyway - everything is right as is. I shit you not. This thing is special.

Title: Re: Darlington Labs phono preamp
Post by Blue360Cuda on 02/25/25 at 02:06:37

I picked up a MP7 a year or two ago - Is the upgrade really that much of a step up? They're products are really nice and a huge step up from stuff like Schiit - which isn't a slouch either!

Title: Re: Darlington Labs phono preamp
Post by Geno on 02/25/25 at 04:00:32

Yes indeed. The upgrade made a big difference! Highly recommended.

Title: Re: Darlington Labs phono preamp
Post by Crazy Bill the Eel Killer on 02/25/25 at 19:25:30

Hey Cuda,
Have you heard the Schiit Skoll yet. FULLY BALANCED in and out, no negative feedback, sound is sublime.

In my Stax system, it outperforms ( though ever so slightly ) my ZP3.

You guys who run your systems balanced should give it a shot.

Cheers, Crazy Bill

Title: Re: Darlington Labs phono preamp
Post by Alan Arkin on 02/26/25 at 14:12:46

I upgraded my MP-7 to the MP-8B, both of which I use with the SU-7 step up. I definitely think the upgrade is worth it. Perhaps the most noticeable change is that the noise floor is much lower in my view. (I used a Schitt Mani 2 while my unit was being upgraded and found it much less capable.)