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In Reply to: RE: new PS Audio GCPH - a bit bright / harsh posted by JeffO on March 12, 2012 at 09:45:08:
Hi, Jeff,
I'm going to say from the beginning that I've never used a GCPH and so my comments are not specific to your question but based on my experiences with a different component mix; I do own a Musical Fidelity integrated amp and I had a 20XL for some time.
If you still have plenty of volume attenuation left on your integrated amp you might try using a lower gain setting on the GCPH and turning up the amp volume. It's not likely to make much of a difference but it might help. I've found that cartridges can sometimes sound better if the signal isn't amplified as much in the phono stage. All system dependent of course.
As Opus mentioned, sometimes the 20XL likes to be loaded down a bit with a lower impedance. I've found that to be true when the cartridge (or other component) is relatively new or with certain system configurations and room acoustics. Since your GCPH is limited to 100 Ohms loading you don't have that option.
So you're probably going to have to allow for some "burn-in" time, making some changes in room acoustics, and trying different SRA/VTF combinations to find the sweet spot in stylus angle and cantilever/generator position. ("Tail down" isn't always the answer to a bright sounding cartridge.) These aren't going to drastically change the character of the sound but additively they can make for a noticeable improvement.
If, after listening for a time and experimenting a bit you still don't like the sound, you could try something like a Piccolo head-amp with custom resistor values or build some passive resistor plug-ins. I wouldn't go in that direction until after you've given it some time and tried some other things first.
Regards,
Tom
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Follow Ups
- RE: new PS Audio GCPH - a bit bright / harsh - tketcham 12:21:57 03/12/12 (0)