Graham Slee Accession MC Phono Preamp
I noticed several things almost immediately when opening the box of the Graham Slee Accession MC Phono Preamp. Its diminutive size & weight and the four toggles/knob on the front fascia. More on these somewhat rare recording curve and playback options later.
Though small, it’s a handsome piece and is priced at $1949, including the upgraded PSU1 Enigma power supply. Knock off a couple of hundred bucks with the standard PSU1. My Accession was the moving coil version. Slee manufactures a moving magnet version with the standard power supply for $1299. It’s been my experience phono stage quality takes bucks, more than any other high end component. My only lengthy experience with one approaching the Accession’s price point was the excellent Rega Aria Phono Stage.
I’d like to thank Warren Lavender of distributor Audioarcan for shipping the unit to the island.
Excellent fit & finish. In silver or black.
My Use
Setup was simple and took only a few steps. Choose max on the volume pot to get a full 62dB of gain (Outputs were set to ‘Fixed’ not ‘Variable’ as I was using a line preamplifier. Select Variable to use the unit as a volume control with an amplifier), set loading via dip switches on the rear (100 pF—75, 300 & 500 also available), choose your curve (RIAA), and finally mono or stereo toggle. A ground screw is on the rear if needed. Plug in the Enigma PSU and you’re ready for action. The unit is intended to be left on 24/7. The umbilical is long enough to leave good separation between PSU and unit.
Slee suggests a two week break in is required to hear the unit at its best. Wishful thinking, especially with busy reviewers with many pieces of kit in the cue. Yet, father knows best, so I gave it 25 hours before I put my listening ears on.
Fresh out of the box and as cold as a Montreal January morning, it was a little scrawny and imbalanced. I was a little surprised. I mentioned in a recent review many new pieces with only bench hours are sounding much better out of the gate. But, these are primarily tube devices. Only a few hours in, the Accession was much happier in its presentation and by the 25 hour mark was playing at or near its full game.
Slee has very specific ideas and theories about vinyl playback. The small, information-filled manual is a dizzying array of technical evaluations on why this or that sounds this way or another. Makes for good bedtime reading for the passionate vinylphile. I’m not sure I understood or agreed with Slee’s every thought, but the man has definite opinions. Those opinions and theories are echoed in Slee’s owner’s forum, full of equally passionate vinyl fans.
The manual also explains the technical aspects of the unit’s playback options, which include a ‘flat’ setting for ripping your vinyl to digital, EQ settings for early British and American curves (British: Decca FFRR and pre 1953 English Columbia; American: pre-1953 American pressed LPs) and the standard RIAA equalization, which will be the toggle of choice for 99% of your collection. FYI, I switched to the British curve for a 1952 HMV Furtwängler/Eroica mono with little or no effect. YMMV. The mono toggle, however, was wonderfully effective with my extensive vintage mono collection. And an option I wish would appear on every high end phono stage.
The Accession MC with Enigma PS is the top of the Graham Slee range. Cash strapped and wanting to improve your budding vinyl game? Slee offers the Gram Amp 3 Fanfare - MC Phono Preamp, a full feature phono suitable for low output MCs for $475.
It’s remarkable how great phono stage designers like Kang Su Park, Ron Sutherland, Eve Anna Manley, Roy Gandy, John Curl, Keith Herron and others in their class can pinpoint a price for parts/build/sound ratio so perfectly. Graham Slee has priced his Accession MC just about right. If you want to pay a little less, go for Accession MC’s standard power supply. Moving Magnet peeps have it even better with Slee’s cheaper, highly regarded Accession MM.
I used the Accession with my mono and stereo setups. Mono—Pure Fidelity Encore Turntable with Acoustic Signature TA-1000 tonearm and Miyajima Labs Infinity Monaural Cartridge (1.0mm conical). Stereo—Bergmann Audio Magne Turntable & Tonearm with Phasemation PP-2000 MC Phono Cart.
As a reviewer of many low output MC cartridges, I like it when a phono stage offers gain up to 68dB. Many phono stages I’ve reviewed/owned go up to 72dB. The 62dB was enough juice for my low output Phasemation (0.3mV) & Miyajima (0.4mV)—I did have to pump the gain a little more than my ‘normal’ on the Allnic Audio L-8000 Preamplifier ($24,500; review forthcoming) when using either stereo or mono rigs.
Specifications
Input and output connectors: 360° shielded RCA/phono sockets, hard gold plated
Input sensitivity range: 0.125mV to 0.84mV (recommended)
Output range (for above inputs): 145mV to 975mV
Maximum input: 4.2mV rms
Maximum output: 4.876V rms
Output impedance (driving impedance): 750 Ohm fixed OP/ 470 Ohm variable OP (will drive ≥10k Ohms)
Noise at output-65dB A wtd. 20Hz to 20kHz 0dBu out
Distortion typically 0.02% 20Hz to 20kHz
RIAA accuracy± 0.3dB (sampled)
Frequency response: 20Hz - 100kHz (±0,−1dB normalised)
Channel balance: 0.2dB
Channel separation: 60dB
Size: W: 107 x H: 50 x D: 195 (mm)
Sound
After the run in, I found Slee’s mini box a bit of a mini wonder. Unlike my reference Allnic Audio H-7000 LCR Phono Stage, for over eight times the price, the Accession MC has a mono switch and never needs turning off. What price, convenience? Let’s put to bed the giant killer stuff first. In no way did this excellent phono stage come close to replicating vinyl the way the very expensive H-7000 does. But, for less than 2K, you’ll be buying far more than convenience.
First, the unit is dead quiet, as you’ll find with most well-designed, solid state phono stages. Also, I would posit that if you were in need of all the options included, you’d be the vinyl nerd from the Discogs lagoon. The audience for the Accession MC is the vinyl enthusiast who wants to up his/her game and knows the musical value of using a quality phono stage. Many vinyl enthusiasts cheap out on the phono stage, a partner delivering equal measure to the turntable, arm and cartridge.
Using the KAB site calculator, the the Accession’s 62dB gain was spot on for the Phasemation and a little more than I needed for the Miyajima. So, although I turned up the Allnic volume a little, there was no sense of strain as I’ve heard from more expensive, highly regarded phono stages.
As such, the splendid Accession will fit into all but the most esoteric analogue setups. In fact, it won’t shy away from playing with setups matched to my listening room (Preamplifier, TT, arm and cart approaching $50,000). As for its mono switch? It played with joy and abandon on my more reasonably priced mono setup (about $8000 for TT/arm & cart).
Often, relatively inexpensive phonos stages come a cropper limiting dynamic headroom. The dreaded soundstage implosion. This was not the case with the Accession MC, where insanely dynamic records such as Arcana (LA Phil/Mehta/Decca) or The Firebird (Dorati/LSO/Mercury) which max out the demands for power and strength, seem to be handled with ease; no huffing & puffing. Where the massive phono stage money goes is for gains in translucence, layering and timbral purity. The extra 12.5 K needed to buy the Allnic LCR beast is heard immediately in the most subtle musical information, imaging and soundstage. Beware, once heard, it’s impossible to forget. God knows what the 40K phono preamps bring to the musical party. I’m not sure I want to know.
Back to reality. So, how does the $1949 bring you further to the absolute sound?
The treble is extended, the bass is deep and effective and the midrange expresses itself in musical ways. The Accession MC will give vinyl fans what they covet when upgrading from phono cards and onboard modules in receivers and inexpensive integrateds. My aural memory does not serve you to compare my experience with another overachiever, the Rega Aria ($1500); I don’t think you can go wrong with either if that’s where your budget is. However, I would choose Slee’s phono over the equally tiny and similarly priced Benz-Micro Lukaschek PP-1 Phono Stage, much loved in some circles, and the very popular and cheaper Lehmann Black Cube. As such, investing 2K into a going concern headed by a designer as passionate as Slee with as many followers and fans can’t be a bad thing in this very fickle, flavour-of-the-month industry.
Conclusion
For $1949, the Accession MC takes up little rack space, you turn it on and forget it, sounds excellent, performs above its 2K price point, and curves most LPs past or present. And, it has a mono switch. Highly recommended.
Further information: Graham Slee
