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In Reply to: Phono Stage for c£1000 / $2000 - JLTi / Sutherland ? posted by michaelmickj7 on May 7, 2007 at 09:22:11:
I have a GyroSE / Moerch UP-4 / Lyra Helikon set-up with a Vacuum State SVP pre-amp. This is a full function pre-amp with an excellent built-in phono stage and works very well for me. If the JLTi is anything like this stage, you can't go wrong.You can ask Allen Wright himself, he frequents the AA Amp/Pre-amp and Hi-Rez forums, and you can email him through the Vacuum State web site.
As for the Gyro, I use a packet of white-tak (about 1 oz. in total) under the 2 'ears' of the chassis (the arm-board and motor collar areas). This helps to reduce some brightness, but the key here is less is better than more. You don't to dampen the life out of it.
Cheers Brian
Follow Ups:
Hi thanks for your reply Brian.
How would you describe the sound of the JLTi with the gyrodec.I'm especially interested in your opinion as you have the same combination as I potentially would.
I'm using the GSP Era gold at the moment and I'd like something with just a touch less prominence in the HF department,something with a touch more body in the lows and lower mids.
The bass on the era gold is excellent and I listen to a fair amount of reggae and Brit pop, which sometimes aren't the best recordings.
Basically something with excellent bass, smooth mids, and a not too prominent treble(not over emphasised).
thanks again Brian
regards,
Mick.
Hello Mick,"How would you describe the sound of the JLTi with the gyrodec."
You ask a tough question ...
Bear in mind, there is a difference in build quality between a UP-4 and a Schroeder 2, and we are using different carts. Although I prefer running LOMC's with 47k ohm loading, and the Helikon is perfect for this.
Also, I'm not familiar with the GSP Era gold, so cannot give you a much of a comparison.
The SVP, and I presume the JLTi (but check with Allen Wright about this), are based on 6922/6DJ8 tubes. These are generally not known for being particularly 'tubey' in character. In other words, the SVP, both phono and line sections, do not have mid-range bloom or HF roll-off.
Having said that, you can tube-roll the 6922 family and adjust aspects of frequency presentation, detail, sound stage, linearity, etc. However, the range of possible variations would not be as great as with a 12ax7 based stage, for example.
For me, the lows and lower-mids are much more difficult to asses at the pre-amp or phono stage level, since this depends so much on downstream kit, speaker placement, and the room.
All I can say is I don't sense any bottlenecks or unnaturalness at the phono or line stages of the SVP.
I would like to add a comment on the build quality of Vacuum State. This is very high quality kit. I also have a Vacuum State JTLi SACD/CD player that works very well.
Not sure if this helps you very much. If you need more info, I do suggest contacting Allen Wright directly. He's very helpful.
Cheers Brian
Thanks for the detailed reply Brian, I'm torn between getting the JLTi which is solid by the way, and one by Paul Hynes Design who is supposed to be a bit of a genuius with valves. I thought I may add a little warmth to the Gyrodec, but I don't want it to be overpowering as my listening room is fairly small.One thing I want to avoid is a prominent top end.When I hear live music the treble is a lot less pronounced that I seem to get, maybe it's the mix on some recordings, my room, the gyrodec or the phono stage.You're a lucky fella to have the SVP by all accounts.It's well out of my league. Speaking of which I noticed you are a Leeds fan so commiserations on your relegation,I'm sure you'll be back one of these days.
I know what you mean about 'warming up the Gyro', I went through the very same thing. I have a very bright room, and had Magnepan 2.5R speakers (with ribbon tweeters) and all SS kit. With this system and room, any HF issues were right in my face.However I wanted to maintain the dynamics of SS with the linearity of tubes, but without HF roll-off or unnatural mids. I searched for over a year for a tubed, full-function pre-amp that could do this. I checked Vacuum State, and Allen Wright had just brought out the SVP. He explained the SVP was designed to do what I was looking for. Yep, it was pricey, but figured it would be an investment over the long run.
Then, a blown tweeter forced me to replace the maggie's. I found a pair of demo JMR Offrandes a shop in Brussels was clearing out. Since I didn't need my high-current, high output SS amps any longer, I went with tube mono-blocks for the more efficient and warmer Offrands.
This is how I brought in warmth, and rolling power tubes lets me adjust low and mid-low presentation.
Thanks for the Leeds comment. The past 3-4 years have been a nightmare, and it's not over yet. For most people, Leeds is club you either like or hate, so it's been interesting to see the reaction in the press, and from other club supporters.
Cheers Brian
Thanks again Brian, I'm sure some billionaire will buy Leeds out eventually as they have loads of potenetial and could be had on the cheap.
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