Greetings,
The title says it all.
My main source is my turntable so I’m looking for a bit of an upgrade. The table is a LP 12 with a Dynavector XX-2 MKII going into a DV P75 mk2. The amp is a Supernait (original). All in all I’ve been very happy but I have the itch. Price range is a round $1,500 usd give or take. I have thought about the new DV P75 mk4 .I’m not sure how much of an improvement that would be and I have no way to check one out as there is not a DV dealer near me.
Also on the list is the Rega Aria MK3 that I can take home and get to know it. I think that would be the top of my budget.
Has anyone played with the new P75? Any other thoughts?
Sitting here listening to LP12 / DV20x2 / Supernait 2 and DV p75 mk4… a match made in heaven.
Had a Stageline before and my dealer said the DV was better suited than the Aria and let me take one home for trial, didn’t need much of a trial my good lady said well that’s not going back after 30 seconds of the first album we played.
Spent most of the next week trying different cables my dealer had kindly lent me, settled on a Naim Lavender RCA to Din.
Your good lady sounds just like mine.
A few years ago (before my retirement and money was tighter) we went to buy a new phono stage with a budget of £500.
The chosen group (Heed, Avid etc) were all eliminated for one reason or another.
We were then treated to the “Mystery” option.
It was no mystery to me as I guessed before it was introduced (undercover) that it was the Cyrus I now own.
Mrs QS fell in love with it immediately and ignored me when I told her it was out of the price range by more than double. We had the PSXr2 as well, which made a total joke of the budget🤷🏻♂️
She’s good at spending my money on HiFi…
Not sure where you are located? If you are UK based then I would certainly take look at a Tron Convergence at your price point. I have owned an earlier P-75 and the Convergence and was clearly a big step up imo…
I guess I’m wondering how much of an improvement the mkIV is over the older mkII. It seems like a good value but is it a sideways move? That said just because the Rega costs more does not mean it better or better suited for my cartridge.
I have the preamp out connected with a Chord Clearway. I tried a Shawline it seemed a bit dark. So I settled on the Clearway.
I have a Superline powered from 52 is the main system- it’s great. However, I also have a DV P75 mark 4 for Tasmania and plugged it into the 52/ 300DR to see how it compared.
The DV is not quite as good with Krystal or Kleos into 52 imho. However, it is surprisingly close, and I prefer it to Aria and other significantly more expensive phono stages - and it is considerably better than the older P75. For VFM, it’s a real bargain.
It also works fine with its standard power supply, and it is small and easy to position. The SL would need a Hicap, and that is less good than powering it from 52/252 or Supercap. All more pluses for the DV 75 mk4.
Ok- I think Tron has a distributor here in the States. Worth a Google search imo.
I also think that Sutherland phono stages are worth a look-they do come up SH as people move up the range. If you email Sutherland they are very receptive to helping you with questions.
Unfortunately, you may need to boost your price point a bit to get the jump in performance that you deserve. Dynavectors work well with transimpedence design- the P75 “Dr T mode”. A Sutherland Little Loco would be a nice step
OTOH, if you can source a Tron, that is a really great VFM phono stage.
Thanks for the confirmation! It still looks like the used price is about 1k more than is budgeted. But not completely out of the question. Having said that 1k does buys a lot of vinyl.
Something is holding my LP12 back and I’m almost certain it’s the Linn Linto phono stage. I had it serviced a few years ago, it’s decades old and has always sounded rather harsh to me compared to the NAC 72 with MM/MC boards. I may be wrong, but it was darned expensive on release and I have no idea where to look for a newer better phono stage which won’t break the bank.
It’s a really tricky problem and I think you have to demo options if you can.
