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I have a brand new PS Audio GCPH and wanted to see if what I am experiencing is expected and will soon alleviate itself with break in.
System:
Rega RP3
Dynavector DV20xL
Musical Fidelity A300
Vandersteen 2CE
The GCPH replaced a Pro-ject Tube Box SE MkII. Although the tube box was good, it was to me lacking in the high end detail.
I have had the GCPH for two weeks, having received brand new and powered on for one week prior to use. I have since used for about 20 hours.
The sound is a bit harsh and strident, with maybe a bit less bass then I had expected.
The tonearm rides slightly tail down as I use a 2mm spacer on the RP3, so that should not be the issue.
My question is, will the GCPH ultimately even out in sound or is this a bad match for my system?
Thanks
Follow Ups:
i had the chance to hear one of those in my system. i thought it was good, but not as good as other options that i had. i do not remember it as bright and harsh, but a little uninvolving compared to other choices. i would not make any judgments on any electronic equipment until you have 100 hours on it. my experience has been that it will usually change over time. let us know how it turns out. one last thing i just thought of - no tubes, you were probably used to the tube sound. this will never sound as rich, but should not be harsh ultimately.
Tom Collins
You had the preamp powered on but did you have any input signal to it? Just turning it on does not count as breaking in, you must supply a signal.
Hi, Jeff,
What settings (gain, impedance) are you using on the GCPH with the DV20XL?
Tom
Hey Tom,
60dB gain
100 Ohm Load
Step control set about 1PM
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
and the 37.5 Ohm tap on my CineMag SUT sounds best to me.
Opus 104
The lowest setting is 100 ohm.
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