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
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz OP
13,381 posts
 
I have to report that the ph10 is a much better match with the Ayre than it was with the 2170 to my ears.
It definitely has a more analog, warmer, fuller feel to it.
Been flipping vinyl all day.
One nice thing that is likely helping is the gain in the Ayre on the balanced input I am running the ph10 into seems fairly high. This allowed me to reduce the gain of the ph10 to -3db again which helped reduce the background hiss considerably.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Ok, I paid less than 1k Euro for Gold Note PH-10 including express delivery. Every Italian shop will be happy to sell you one without charging VAT is you're not in EU (the reason the total is so low for brand new unit). My PH-10 shipped yesterday from Italy.  
rsf507
2,350 posts
 
@chakster 1k Euro is around $1150 +/- $50 USD. I paid $1250 from Sounds Of Silence for my PH-10 and have full warranty from them. I had contacted Gold Note in Italy initally and they informed me they would not honor updates/warranty if any Gold Note products are bought from outside a Country from where it was purchased not that I've heard of any issues with their products. Just seems an unnecessary risk for a $100 IMO.
Enjoy your PH10 it's a wonderful phono stage.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
@rsf507 well, depends where you live, in my area the price difference is huge and shipping from USA is not an option (expensive). I also have full warranty from the Italian high-end shop for my brand new unit which was about 900 euro. Anyway we will see how good or bad this Italian PH-10 phono stage compared to my belowed JLTi from Australia (which is even cheaper).
rsf507
2,350 posts
 
@chakster sorry I thought you lived in the US.
Keep us posted on your thoughts on the PH-10 but give it at least 100 hrs of break-in to open up.
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