Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Graham Slee Projects GSP Reflex M with PSU1 Phono Preamp by esande

Model:	GSP Reflex M with PSU1
Category:	Phono Preamp
Suggested Retail Price:	US$1225
Description:	MM/MI/HOMC phono stage
Manufacturer URL:	Graham Slee Projects

Review by esande on April 27, 2011 at 21:32:02
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for the GSP Reflex M with PSU1

The Graham Slee Projects Reflex M is GSP's current top of the line moving magnet phono stage. It's an unpretentious looking silver aluminum box with the various GSP logos and model name on the front panel, as well as a green LED power indicator. The rear panel has gold-plated input and output RCA connectors, a grounding screw, and a barrel connector for the external PSU1 or alternative "green" wall wart power supplies. This unit included the more expensive PSU1, which is either available shipped or as a upgrade. There are no external controls on the unit or the power supply, so it is designed to be "always on." The unit should be ordered with corresponding locally compatible voltage and mains plug configurations.

Build quality appears above average, but truly there's not much to excite the senses as far as appearance is concerned, this is a workmanlike little unit but let's face it, it's a phono stage.

A 41.5 dB gain, MM phono stage at that, input impedance 47k Ohms, 220 pF. Output impedance is 1K Ohm.

You could say that about a lot of phono stages, but here I was comparing it to my Rogue Audio Metis phono stage, which is advertised as 35dB gain, 47K Ohms, and 150 pF, as integrated into the Metis itself.

My Metis has been slightly upgraded by replacing the original (Chinese made) Rogue-branded 6SN7s with vintage Raytheon 6SN7WGTs, which to my ears improve the linestage to a degree, not night and day, but smoother in the midrange and treble.

I ran the Reflex M into the AUX 2 input of the Metis using a pretty average Radio Shack 1 meter interconnect pair with gold-plated RCAs.

Connection from the cartridge to the Reflex M was via the stock interconnects on my SL-1210 Mk 5 Technics table, unmodified.

Cartridge used was a vintage Shure V-15 Mk5 VMR, with a recent but fully broken in Jico SAS stylus, a combination that I've found to be quite enjoyable with the retubed Metis's stock SS phono stage.

Now, you never necessarily know what to expect from new equipment, and GSP products are said to require quite a long break-in period. I can pretty much confirm the latter observation, and I can confirm that the Reflex M sounds better after five weeks of use than it did out of the box. Mind you, it was always on for the five weeks. Out of the box it was clearly superior to the Metis's stage in frequency response, channel balance, and channel separation.

That would be to be expected from a phono stage that basically cost about the same as the whole base preamp, and boasts a frequency response of 20Hz-200kHZ (that's not a typo, GSP is very strongly of the opinion that a wide frequency response is very desirable).

Channel balance is said to be within 0.2dB, that's most likely true and better than the cartridge is capable of although I was not able to measure this parameter directly.

Channel separation is said to be 60dB, again probably better than the cartridge is capable of although the Reflex M delivered a much better defined and wider apparent presentation than the stock Metis phono stage.

Listening after the break-in period was extremely satisfying. With well recorded material this unit is probably well above my system as a whole. Steely Dan's "Aja" (30th Anniversary Cisco pressing) was absolutely amazing, I absolutely know this LP like, well, let's just say I know it. It never sounded better in terms of frequency response and soundstage.

I won't say that the Reflex M is capable of getting information out of an LP that isn't there to begin with, but I can say that it obscures nothing. If it's there and the cartridge/stylus can track it, you will hear it.

The downside of that of course is that if it's a poor recording or setup you will hear that too.

It made an absolutely ironclad case that Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs" is a very compressed and, indeed, clipped recording. But let's not think about that.

Let's instead just revisit some of the great LPs of our past and hope for better things in the future.

This IS a great phono stage. If you're a MM guy, this is a very worthy addition if you don't already own a superior phono stage. If you do, this little unit may pleasantly surprise you.

Product Weakness:	Price, maybe.
Product Strengths:	Well, none really.

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Bryston 4BSST pro
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Rogue Audio Metis
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Technics SL-1210 Mk5 w/Shure V-15 VMR and Jico SAS stylus
Speakers: Magnestand 1.6QRs
Cables/Interconnects: Generic
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Rock, alternative
Time Period/Length of Audition: 2 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): None
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	Bryston 4BSST pro
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Rogue Audio Metis
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Technics SL-1210 Mk5 w/Shure V-15 VMR and Jico SAS stylus
Speakers:	Magnestand 1.6QRs
Cables/Interconnects:	Generic
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Rock, alternative
Time Period/Length of Audition:	2 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	None
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner