Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: DYNAVECTOR P-75 Phono Preamp by Jeff Maxson Welcome Licorice Pizza (LP) lovers! Setup guides and Vinyl FAQ.

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Model:	P-75
Category:	Phono Preamp
Suggested Retail Price:	$599
Description:	Dynavector P-75 Phono Pre-amplifier and Phono Enhancer
Manufacturer URL:	DYNAVECTOR
Model Picture:	View

Review by Jeff Maxson ( A ) on February 24, 2005 at 17:01:55 IP Address: 65.38.242.132

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After reading about the 47 Labs and other current-gain phono pre’s, I wanted to check one out. The P-75 has gotten a lot of good press on VA and review sites. Bought it used, so break-in was not an issue. Using it with a Denon DL-103R on a HW Jr/modded RB250. Current pre is a Counterpoint SA1000, a tube-ss hybrid (tube-only phono/tube-MOSFET line). I’m using a pair of JAN-Phillips 5751s in the phono stage, plus a Denon AU-320 step-up with captive cable replaced by a silver one from Vantage Audio. Can’t really see spending a whole lot more on my analog chain, but I did think this $600 stage ought to give the AU-320/SA-1000 some competition.

I started out with the P-75 in Phono Enhancer (current gain) mode, selected via internal jumpers, as was the impedance setting. For this second setting, the manual gives you a choice of Low, Medium or High Resistance Coil, though it doesn’t specify the range for these categories. I chose Medium to match the 16 Ohm internal resistance of the 103R. I also tried a DH Labs BL-1 interconnect between the P-75 and pre at one point, but it lost in the bass department next to the .5 m Coincident CST I used for the duration.

One more preliminary: my musical preferences are almost exclusively rock/pop, and female vocalists (Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones) are who I do my critical listening on.

So, first off, there was less hum than my step-up/tube combination, which is noticeable between cuts with the volume setting at 12 o’clock (which it isn’t all that often). Also, I noticed that surface noise was reduced. In general, the presentation was drier—more dispassionate. What was most remarkable was less emphasis on the midrange. Vocalists were no longer spotlighted, but seemed more of a whole with the rest of the musical presentation.

Looking for more drama, I switched to the Low Resistance Coil setting (still in PE mode). This gave me more gain and dynamics (also brought back the surface noise), but still not the rich vocals I have come to expect out of the step up/tube combo. For instance on the opening of “Timer” off Laura Nyro’s Eli and the 13th Confession, there’s a glissando that’s like an octave and a half. My old setup gives goose bumps. The P-75 didn’t.

Third, I reconfigured the jumpers for low-output MC input, with 100 Ohm loading, as the Denon manual recommends. Here I noticed more bass on my US “Instant Karma” 45, but found it more bloated than the tube/trafo combination. Transients and dynamics were better, but the former setup just has more liquidity in the vocals. It’s like the attack of the vocal notes contains the grit of their emotional message that the Dynavector just doesn’t convey. I’d think it was marvelously detailed if I didn’t have the earlier setup to compare it to.

The P-75 is more like CD in this respect. The other day I read a thread comparing SACD and vinyl on the HiRez forum, with this post by Joe Harley, producer of Audioquest recordings:
“Here's what I think: SACD and the original laquer sounds most like the master tape. Vinyl sounds better. Confusing, eh? If you play a master tape and then play the LP of the same material, you will hear that the LP has more bloom and sense of "air". Some of this is actually a distortion. But it is a distortion we love! I include myself, I LOVE the sound of LPs.....by far my favorite playback medium in my own home rig.
SACD, the original laquer and the master tape all sound much "tighter" than the final LP. If you ever want to hear how LPs veer away from reality, listen to a cutting laquer compared to the LP stamped from it. You will be shocked.
But when I'm home and want to get lost in the music, I pull out the LP. It's a beautiful, seductive lie. But a lie that I love.
There it is. The dirty little secret.”

This is a similar contrast I’d make with the P-75 vs. tube/tranny—it may not be as accurate, but the inaccuracy is magic.

So, I don’t know what is going on here. Some have said that it’s carts with higher internal impedance that the Dyna works best with, especially Dyna’s own carts. Likewise, there may be some great synergy going on between the 103R and the Denon step-up.

Maybe I’ll have to move up to the Nibiru to see what current gain can do, but that upgrade would be out of synch with the quality of the rest of my components. Maybe my next move should be to get some good NOS 5751s and maybe a Lundahl step-up from K&K, tho that may be a lateral move if the Denon synergy theory is right.

I wanted to love the Dyna, but I already love the 103R, and am not ready to go out and buy a 20X just to see if the P-75 beats my current system. Guess I’ve learned something about how green the grass is on my side of the hill.

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Product Weakness:	Missing midrange magic
Product Strengths:	Detail, dynamics

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Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Decware SE84Bs (monoblocked pair)
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Counterpoint SA-1000
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Njoe Toeb 4000/upsampler; Philips SACD-1000
Speakers:	Coincident Conquest
Cables/Interconnects:	DH Labs T-14 (double run)/Coincident CST
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	60s/70s female vocalists
Room Size (LxWxH):	15 x 12 x 7.5
Room Comments/Treatments:	books/records on walls
Time Period/Length of Audition:	2 weeks
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Monster HTS-1000
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

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