One cool feature is you can setup your Azimuth with the Puffin. I feel it is good value for money as long as you are not a purist. I own a Fozgometer to setup azimuth and I have a decent analog rig therefore I would not have this in my main system. In a second system like Bayliner said. All day long. It’s very versatile and I would have no issues someone buying this for their first phono stage. If you have a MC cartridge you might spend the money on a used Stepup transformer instead which would run you same if not less money and have better sound. I hope this helped.
Wonder product?
I certainly don't claim to keep up to date with all new products introduced. But here is a company and phono stage I never heard of. Parks Audio -
http://www.parksaudiollc.com/puffin.html
Their claims for the Puffin and Waxwing sound pretty ambitious. Do any of you know about these units?
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@baylinor 1+ I have the capability to do all that the puffin does and more with my preamp/processor and having this kind of capability is amazing, but my preamp is now up to $15,000 and I am sure the Puffin is a lot less expensive. The only thing I do not see in the literature is a signal to noise ratio. I am also not fond of electronic azimuth setting. the stylus has to be 90 degrees to the record surface and this is easy to see on a mirrored surface. I am also concerned about the ADCs and DACs in the unit. Those in the MiniDSP SHD are not satisfactory for a high end system. The SHD Studio with outboard DACs is a much better deal. Park mentions a digital output which would allow use of an outboard DAC. |
Thanks for the replies. I called it a wonder product not second-guessing the audio quality but because both units seem so versatile. I'm truing to imagine how it adjusts azimuth for example. It can't be a matter of gain between channels since a simple balance control does that. As you can see, I'm not great with electronics knowledge.
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And even extreme azimuth angles off 90 degrees does not have much effect on channel balance. (I’ve measured this.) More likely the Puffin can be set to operate like a Fozgometer. But I agree with Mijostyn, after years of trying to adjust azimuth electronically for best crosstalk numbers, I now just set the cartridge so the stylus fits symmetrically in the grooves, which is usually 90 degrees of azimuth or darn close to it. Anything other than 90 degrees with respect to the stylus tip causes aberrant stylus and LP wear and probably forms of distortion that have nothing to do with crosstalk. IOW, the cure for unequal crosstalk is worse than the disease, in my opinion. |
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