The release of the Rega Naia means the P10 isn’t longer TOTL so there are some nice discounts to be had. I could not resist. I want to upgrade my phono preamp and @NickofWimbledon suggested the Dynavector P75 mk IV as low cost option. I should of course use a Rega Aura but given the cost of the P10 I don’t have EUR 5,500 for such a phono stage and I picked up the Dynavector second hand for a fraction of this so I have nothing to lose. But - I now see on other blogs that people refer to “early models” of the P75 IV not being so good. Does anyone have an idea if this is true and how to spot an “early model”.
It is not going to be as good as an Aura, a Naim Superline or equivalents imho, but I stand by the view that it is good sound per £. I suspect that comments about the early versions mean that the mk1 and mk2 were a lot more pedestrian. If that is not what was meant, my apologies.
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Honestly, who’d be a hi-fi designer? You toil all day at the forefront of semiconductors and power supplies. You release new models, all the while with incremental improvements. You pay the bills. And then you get people on the internet telling you that you did your best work twenty years ago. 
I’d be happy to just stick with the Mk IV.
C.
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Many thanks for your comments and suggestions. Having paid EUR 450 for the Dynavector, I am happy to give it a try and agree it is great value for money. I also have a PT One with a Dynavector HOMC cartridge so it will come in useful one way or another. I need to think very hard about paying 12 times as much. Not sure a Rega Aria will bring so much more but a SuperLine could certainly make sense and would complement my Naim gear. I think could power it off my 282. These will come up second hand.
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I contemplated adding a phono stage for quite some time, as my dealer suggested that I would have to pay quite a bit to better the boards in my 32.5. Also I couldn’t justify the expense of the likes of a Superline or Aura. I have a Dynavector 20X2L so a P75 made logical sense to me, as it should bring out the best of a DV cartridge, to my mind anyway.
I came across a mk3 P75 from a reputable dealer and thought for the money (£350) it was definitely worth a try. Well, I am astonished with the difference it has made and it is without doubt the best value upgrade I have ever had!
I hope you have a similar experience with yours 
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I rate the Superline very highly. I now have a 552 (!) preamp and no desire to try beating the Superline. The only fly in the ointment is that (as @Richard.Dane pointed out) they can still be repaired if they have a problem but can’t be seviced/ recapped. The bad news is that makes a really old one a less strong s/h purchase. The good news is that that and the price of the NC replacement mean more Superline bargains are on the way…
I’d also agree with @Martin.M that the standard phono cards were always pretty good, but the DV is an inexpensive (and ultra-adaptable) way of upgrading.
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Well it just arrived and set it up. It is early days but I am not sure that it is much better than the Arcam rPhono it is replacing. Need to listen more and wait until the deck is properly worn in.
I have read that this phono stage works best in PE mode. Don’t know if that is relevant to your set up?
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Indeed, I need to try PE mode and see if that is better
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I found PE to sound a little artificial and noisy, standard mode was better…but others might not agree. The phono stage itself is good value in terms of its SQ.
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I can say the Planar 10 sounds amazing through to a OC 282 DR and 250 DR system. Amazing turntable. I will enjoy with the rPhono or P75 !
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My original P75 in PE mode with my P9/Lyra Delos combo was superb.
As @Collywobbles says, it needs to be set correctly for your cartridge. When I bought mine the guy in the shop offered to set it for my cartridge so I just had to plug and play.
For me the difference was quite startling, it made me wonder if there was something wrong my old 32.5 or the Naim boards! I hope it works for you.
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I saw a review of the P75 IV and the reviewer was using a P10 with the Apheta 3 and tested the PE mode and thought it was the best option. So that woke me into action and set it all up and…the left channel did not work. The right channel sounded great and the left is dead. I have sent Dynavector an email - let’s see if they can help. Oh well !
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Obvious I know but have you double checked you’ve set the jumpers correctly?
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Hi Jay - yes, indeed. Checked and rechecked. But the obvious thing that could be wrong.
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I can’t remember if there are spare jumpers but it might be worth swapping them around. Low possibility, the jumper may be broken.
Hi Jay - I had tested them all with a multimeter and they are all zero resistance as you would expect. Does not look great
I had one and it I think it outperforms its price. I used mine with a Dynavector xx2 and could live with it. Try used there are some bargains to be had I found