2. analog
  3. 135066-90127

Ugraditus is calling....again. Phono stage?

There is likely nothing wrong at all with present phono stage but you know how it is.

Present analog front end consists of.

Nottingham Analog Spacedeck with Spacearm.
Shelter 501 mk3 cartridge with maybe 250 hours on it, regularly treated with Lyra.
Dynavector P75 mk3 phono stage.
Feeds into Lyngdorf 2170 via Nordost Red Dawn RCA cables.

My thoughts were that possibly the Dynavector is the weakest link and would pay most dividend on an upgrade but.....

What do I perceive I am lacking right now?
Really hard to say as this is highest quality analog front end ever owned.
Possibly lacking a little in sheer scale and dynamics? Bass is very very good, instruments are well separated and defined.
Just as an overall presentation I feel it lacks that final wow factor as a whole.
Not sure if that makes any sense?
Please comment honestly especially if you feel it is another area that may reap larger benefits. Or if should just leave well alone....lol.

Oh btw I am fairly sure it is setup correctly in regards to vta etc, at least to the best of my abilities right now. And yes setting it up correctly from initial purchase did make considerable gains in sq.
128x128uberwaltz
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
P.S: Although I doubt it would happen, it’s possible that running your Shelter cartridge with the PH-10’s gain set to 71 db might result in distortion on musical peaks, due to an overload condition in either its circuitry or in the circuitry in the 2170 that precedes its volume control mechanism. If that were to happen, though, the resulting distortion should be pretty obvious, and would be present even at relatively low settings of the volume control. As I said I doubt that would occur, but if it does you could perform the experiment just with the 65 and/or 68 db settings instead.

Best regards,
-- Al

uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz OP
13,381 posts
 
May just put a new cartridge on hold for a while.
Just added a SR Blue fuse to the Gold Note and I definitely can hear a sq improvement, very tight and more focused.
Actually very very enjoyable so I am not in the mood to upset the apple cart right now.
I know there are a lot of fuse haters and doubters out there but I am not one of them!
robelvick's avatar
robelvick
619 posts
 
Uberwaltz,

I’m with you on fuses. If the listener can hear a difference/improvement - that’s all that matters.

Still waiting for the PSU to be released, I will definitely purchase one when available.

Happy to hear you're enjoying the PH-10 too!
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz OP
13,381 posts
 
Robert
I was truly so enthralled by the SQ last night I was flipping vinyl until 1.30am...lol.

Another nice aspect of the lyngdorf 2170 and the goldnote, nottingham combo is I can reduce my listening level for these very late night sessions and not really lose anything much at all in dynamics or details.
Definitely not something that has always been the case with prior incarnations of gear in my setup.
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz OP
13,381 posts
 
Still pondering on a change of cartridge just because!

Looking at the ART9, various ZYX models and a Transfiguration Axia.

Choices, choices!
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