Cornet 3 : Kickstarter project from Jim Hagerman

[Asit]

Jim Hagerman makes quality audio products and sells his designs as kits. Take a look at his website: Hagerman Technology LLC.

The name of Jim Hagerman was brought to my attention by our gracious moderator GerorgeO when I started looking for a suitable phono pre for my Scheu TT. Being me, I took my own sweet time and till now did not get a decent phono pre. I was awakened from my slumber when FM arj visited me and made the comment that my digital rig was performing way above my analog rig (mostly TT).

I was almost set to get the Pass DIY Pearl 2 and started exchanging e-mails with FM omishra when suddenly one day recently I visited Jim's webpage and there I found his new project Cornet 3 which is a tube based phono pre. The original Cornet and Cornet 2 were highly acclaimed phono stage, and even his beginner level bugle and bugle 2 phono stages have been highly successful.

Obviously I became very interested in Cornet3 and finally became a backer of his kickstarter project. You can find all about the project by going to his webpage and clicking on the kickstarter link on top of that page. I have pledged USD 410 in support of the project, and in return I will receive a fully assembled and tested Cornet3 tube phono stage shipped to me. The Cornet 2 kit itself cost much more than that amount, and according to Jim Hagerman, this new phono stage will compete in the USD 2000 bracket.

Our moderator GeorgeO knows about Hagerman's products and himself is an user.

Unfortunately, the project is alive on kickstarter only for 7 more days. The project is already oversubscribed by almost three times the amount initially targeted.

Regards.

 

[GeorgeO]

Hi Asit

I had picked up one of his kits for a close friend, who is a very happy user for these past few years. Jim is a nice guy whose products are both value for money and well reviewed. Im sure you wont be disappointed.

Good luck.

George

 

[gobble]

After I went to that site, I ended up ordering two half kits of HagClock - one to upgrade my cdplayer clock (just for kicks and some A/B fun) and one for any future project like a DIY DAC.

The cornet3 looks good, but how come a newer upgraded design over the cornet2 costs half as much? The cornet2 costs $750 for a half kit and all its parts. Whats in the design that costs less but sounds better?

G0bble

 

[Asit]

Thanks George for the encouragement.

Good going Gobble. The lower price (called a pledge in the kickstarter project), I believe, is only for this kickstarter project duration which ends in 7 days. When the Cornet 3 will be available in the website as a product, it will be much costlier than what one has to pay now. But, there will be also some price cut for Cornet 3 kit as compared to that of Cornet 2, I'd tend to think, because as Jim explains at the top of his kickstarter project page, he found cheaper solution for the cabinet and the power supply without compromising the audio quality. Because of these the Cornet 3 will be considerably smaller in size and lighter than the Cornet 2 which was sizable for a phono pre, I'd presume, although the actual dimensions are not known to me at this point of time.

In the last 4-5 years, this is the 3rd product I am going to get without auditioning. First the Leben amp, then the Scheu TT and now the Cornet 3. Although I have not fully maximized the capabilities of the Scheu because of the lack of a good phono pre so far, all the products have been exemplary. Of late I have made a habit of buying stuff without auditioning which I have never done before. But I don't see any other way being here in India, especially in Kolkata and the kind of products I want to buy which are not the mainstream. The only component I bought recently with extensive auditioning (that too in my own home with the rest of my rig) is the Line magnetic CDP I got several months ago.

Regards.

 

[GeorgeO]

Asit

Whats the status on the Comet?

 

[Asit]

Hi George,

I have not logged on for ages. I see that my PM box is filled with lots of messages. I am sorry to all for not replying in time. I will slowly catch up and reply.

Now to answer your question on the status of the Cornet3 from Jim Hagerman, I just received mine yesterday. For some reason, I could not play my TT yesterday. Today I have hooked it all up with the new phono stage and there is sound coming out.

It's been about an hour of listening so far. The Cornet3 with stock tubes (2 Mullard 12AX7 and 1 Electro Harmonix 12AU7, all new production tubes) has sounded very clean and quiet, and overall very musical. The soundstage is wide with good separation, as a result the sound already has quite a bit of microdynamics. This is a very good product, George, especially for the money I spent.

I will reserve my final comments until I hear more. Of course, I will do tube rolling and try my Psvanes and NOS Telefunkens, but for the moment I will stay with the stock tubes and let them burn in. Jim says, the design is very amenable to tube rolling, and one can change any one of the tubes at a time.

BTW, Jim mailed the package on 19 July by First class international post of USPS. Since I did not get it even after a month, I started going to postoffices in Kolkata to find out. Altogether I went to 5 postoffices including the main one called GPO, and the one at the airport with a huge automated sorting device, and one called the Foreign Post Office. In the process I have found out quite a bit about how postal service works in India and how it collaborates with other postal services around the world. Since mine was only a first class international, it could not be tracked within India. Next time, I will make sure it's at least an EMS service that can be tracked, and that's what I would suggest to everybody.

Regards.

 

[Asit]

This is an update after running in the phono-stage for more than 25 hours.

As reported in my previous post, I was quite happy with it initially. I kept on playing my TT through this new phono at an average of 10 hours a week. The sound gradually started improving. After the first week, I changed the stock tubes and replaced them with NOS Telefunken ribbed plates (two 12AX7) and Psvane T series (one 12AU7) for an overall improvement of the sound that was noticeable immediately.

Now the sonics have reached a stage when I can say definitely that I am very happy with this new phono. Most remarkably, the sound is very open and flowing, a typical trait of a reasonable TT set-up. The bass to start with is remarkably good. The highs initially were a little reserved, but now has opened up considerably, but does not bite the ears. The mids have improved too. Overall musicality is very very good, for lack of a better expression. Every time now I play the TT, usually at late night, there is this feeling of 'one more record'.

Instruments and voices are very nicely separated in space. The sound is coming from about a foot behind the front surface of the speakers and is clearly 3D with some depth. The soundstage is quite huge giving the feeling of a live performance on a stage. All this with a hugely defective room, where one side of the set-up has a full-wall bookcase with glass on wooden framed doors (up to ceiling). At the same time, there is a feeling of immediacy to the music, especially the vocalists. Microdynamic detail is there very much.

As I have already remarked in the previous post, the phono is very very quiet. With full volume, and with ears just next to the drivers, I could not hear anything when one turns on the phono (I should mention here, for the benefit of the newcomers, the source equipment should always be powered up first before giving power to the amp with volume knob at zero. The reverse should be followed while switching off.)

The gain is quite adequate. With my Ortofon Super OM 30 cart and the Cornet3 phono, I do not usually have to go above 10 O'clock position of the amp volume knob, usually at 9 O'clock. I have also noticed that the sonics do not degrade at all when the volume is pushed up to quite loud levels.

There is no comparison with my budget phono stage (CA 640p). It is that much better. The biggest difference is in the clean musical and true tonality with no rough edges, there is improvement in every conceivable department. I can vaguely remember the sound with Pratim's Nighthawk in my system (although it was quite a bit in the past, and therefore may be an unfair comparison), and on the same records, the sound seems better, in terms of clarity, soundstage and a few other things. But I like to make this comparison afresh.

Just to give you some of the details of my TT set-up now: I use an Oyaide BR-1 butyl rubber mat on top of the platter of my TT. This I have been using for quite some time, and improves bass and the overall body of the sound. I also use a center-weight (685 gms) made by magma of Soundfoundations to exact specifications of a Scheu center-weight. The weight makes the sound better defined, don't know how to describe this better in words. The effect of the mat and the weight on the sonics can be clearly heard by everybody, one does not need to have magic ears for them.

Overall, it is unimaginable how much difference does a good phono-stage make to the sound of a TT, unless one hears the comparison. It is also hard to think of the amount of information out of the grooves, an average to good MM cart can extract, which I can hear now.

Regards.

 

[GeorgeO]

Asit

Great review, thanks. Taking the risk looks to have paid off for you. I am glad that people find out about non mainstream products and that sometimes these turn out better than expected.

 

[Asit]

Yes, George, I have taken quite a few chances, although well-researched, in the last few years, and all of those have paid off handsomely.

I'd say one more thing. My TT (Scheu from Germany) and the Cornet3 phono both are results of DIY efforts. Thomas Scheu used to make TT kits for DIYers, then finally one day he decided to fully assemble his own TT as a brand, and now ten years after his death (in a car accident) this brand has a cult value in Germany. His wife Ulla Scheu now runs the company. Last year I had some interaction with her when I sought her advice on bearing oil, and she suggested not to use any other oil and then promptly sent a small bottle free of cost. Similarly Jim Hagerman is also a DIY guy, and his Cornet3 is certainly worth much more than what one pays (btw, his top-of-the-line Trumpet phono is a Stereophile Class A recommended product).

This is the beauty of DIY. Value for money quotient is very high.

 

[kuruvilajacob]

Asit,
Wonderful reviews about the Cornet 3 phono stage. There is something special in some of these DIY phono stages. There is a charm in using phono stages where tubes can be rolled. There is a breadth of expectancy when you try new tubes and each will have it's own character.

 

[Gibkel]

I have a chance at buying an original Hagerman Cornet. It is actually more expensive than the new Cornet 3 by a 150$. Is this a better sounding phonostage than the original one or is the original, which was hand made, a better phono stage. Im not astute enough to know the differences. Ive been researching phono stages and they are a rabbit hole with no outs. The most consistent post put Hagerman as the front contender for tube phono stages. The caveat Ive read is that the Hagerman has 47 db- is that a bit hot for an MM cartridge. Is this just picking hairs? Would love to know the differences but most importantly, what sounds better, the original Cornet(built by Will Vincent) or a new cornet3. Would love any input -Thankyou