johnnyb53..i used to use a CA 640p with my dl-160, and yeah, it didn't sound bad. after reading Hdm's posts about dialing in db gain, i decided to give a phono pre, with adjustable gain and load, a shot. i was able to get a musical surroundings phonomena used for $325 on audiogon. when u dial in gain (44db on the phonomena) the sound becomes more effortless and natural sounding. my system played bright and i loaded it down from 47K to 300 ohms to tone it down. the phonomena also has an adjustment for capacitive loading. when i switched from 100pF(?) to 200pF the background became blacker and i was able to pick up more detail. i don't understand how this happened because, supposedly, MC's should be unaffected by capacitive loading.
anyway, what i'm trying to tell ya, is that your humble dl-160 can sound even better with a not so big bucks change. (u could get at least $140 for the cambridge the last time i looked here at audiogon) and maybe our dl-160's are not so humble at all....if u go over to pink fish media, you'll find that quite a few brits are using them on $2000+ tables!!
anyway, what i'm trying to tell ya, is that your humble dl-160 can sound even better with a not so big bucks change. (u could get at least $140 for the cambridge the last time i looked here at audiogon) and maybe our dl-160's are not so humble at all....if u go over to pink fish media, you'll find that quite a few brits are using them on $2000+ tables!!