I was wondering if any of you guys know what spacer is necessary to install a Grado platinum to my P5? I'm also looking into upgrading my phono section as I will be using the one on my Brio3 for now. I was looking at Creek Audio, Pro-Ject, or Rega as options. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Joe, is that Grado going on the stock arm? Does your table use the 250 or the 300 arm, and is the arm mounted with the new 3 hole mount or the older unimount? The Brio has a fair phono going for it, the pro-ject stuff is kind of sideways, the Rega is good stuff, if you want to pony up to seperate power supplies.
If you want balanced phono, maybe look at PS Audio and their line of phono stages. I am looking at them right now.
I'm pretty sure the seperate Rega phono stage (Fono Box) is the same thing that's in your Brio. Having its own power supply potentially cuts down on noise and gives better channel seperation. I'm not sure how much though.
I think this and the others you listed are going to be more of lateral moves or maybe a small step up. No revelations in the long run.
Personally, I'd look further up for a solid improvement. The top of the line Creek with upgraded power supply may be a good starting point. The Dynavector P75 is outstanding.
I think you're right that a 2mm spacer will suffice for the Grado. I hope someone invents a proper 3-point VTA adjuster since these spacers are OK but not much better than that.
Both the Rega Fono and Mini are more of the same from Rega. Obviously they;'re good value and do what Rega do with respect to pace and timing. however, if you want to give your cartridge more space and time to breathe you may want to consider alternatives.
You mention Pro-Ject. I know of one person who really enjoys his top of the line Pro-Ject phono stage (the one with the tubes in it) and preferred it over the Dynavector P75 and Tom Evans Microgroove that I demoed to him. he appreciated the demo but just didn't really get on with the stages I suggested, so perhaps the Pro-Ject is a sensible option to consider.
Tom Evans' Microgroove is a great little box for a litle less than the P75. If you have intentions of going MC at some stage, then don't go for the Microgroove since it is strictly MM or MC but not both in the same box.
The P75MkII is a fine alternative. A bit more expensive than the Microgroove and a little bit better with better balance and control. It's also more flexible since you can run it in three modes - MC, MM or drT, the latter being unique to the Dynavector phono stages and works exceedingly well, particularly with Dynavector cartridges. All that said, the MkII is different to the MkI in one important aspect. When it's cold it's ok but no great shakes, but leave it on for some hours and it opens up dramatically. I wouldn't be surprised if a whole heap of MkIIs have been discounted because they were tested cold.
Another option is the Trichord Research Diablo. I heard this phono stage some months ago on a day-long excursion to Michell. It was in a Sugden/ProAc system and I was well impressed with its speed, consistency and vibrancy.
I'm using a Simaudio lp.3 phono preamp with my P5/ Dynavector 10x5 setup. Sounds great. Let me add another thing to the mix. What about keeping your phono preamp and adding the Rega psu power supply unit? I got one at the same time as my P5 so I have not compared the sound of playing it with the psu as opposed to playing out of the system. To the others is this discussions, what is the general suggestion- upgrading the phono preamp or adding the external psu first (assuming the costs are similar)?