Gromit's bake-off-o-matic sun 16th March

[Gromit]

Had an old mate down for the w/e - he and I have pretty much the same tastes in gear and like me he definitely sits on the Flat-Earth side of the fence. Musical communication/repsonse is everything.

So...the gear:

Dynavector P75 Mk2 phonostage vs NVA Phono2 with psu
Amps: Naim NAC72/HiCap/NAP180 vs NVA P90sa/A60

All the other stuff is as per my sig.

I really can't be arsed going into the nitty gritty of what it all really sounded like, but all I will say is the NVA amps are so much better than the Naim rig it wasn't funny. The Naim, whilst not lacking drive and grip, seemed to gloss over important details like inner dynamics (ie musical phrasing/light & shade), on classical (the Shost 10th) the Naim was shut-in, harsh, brash, glary, lacking focus, strident and well...boring. Putting on the NVA all of a sudden the window opened - instruments gained focus, inner melodic lines were easy to follow, rhythmic intensity - the push&pull of cross-beat rhythms were more 'funky' (for want of a better description). It was simply more fun, yet lost none of the Naims' fabled 'PRaT' (whatever that is).

Now, one should weigh up the cost of the gear when new: In this case we reckoned the Naim rig's modern equivalent would be something like £3500. The NVA is about £1150 ie around 1/3 of the Naim's price. I'll leave you good people to work out the logic.

Phonostages? This wasn't as clear-cut. The P75 really does need a few days to loosen up but when it does it's a very clear sounding and fun little unit. The NVA is bigger sounding, less 'pushy' perhaps (it offers a more considered approach) with a wider sonic picture. It's also less grey tonally but its bass could be considered slightly fatter than the Dyna. Upsides are its dynamic shading (all the little inflections which make music more interesting) is better and gives a more realistic amount of tonal colour - it's actually quite valve-like in this respect. It's also very quiet in terms of noise - possibly quieter even than the Dyna, itself a very hiss-free phonostage.

An honourable mention should go to my lovely Spacedeck too - I tend to take the poor thing for granted too much at times, but yesterday once all warmed up and given a good few hours' use, it was weaving some truly glorious sounds. If ever someone tells you the Spacearm is 'flat & undynamic' then send them round to mine to listen to it. The good Mr Fletcher designed this arm to match the Spacedeck perfectly, and it shows.

[Marco]

Nice write-up, Richard.

I must listen to some NVA gear, purely for reference, as I like to recommend good kit to others and you can't do it if you haven't heard it. I do like Mr Dunn's approach to hi-fi - it appeals to my purist sensibilities

The P75 also gets a good rep - again I haven't heard this device, but from your description it sounds like it would appeal to me. Have you ever listened to any of the Graham Slee phono stages around that price? They're pretty good, too.

Marco.

[Gromit]

Have you ever listened to any of the Graham Slee phono stages around that price? They're pretty good, too.

Marco.

Hi Marco - never heard the Slee phonostages unfortunatley. I do have his Solo 'phones amp which is a very good sounding little box. If the phono amps are of a similar performance standard I'd expect them to be very good.

If the NVA, P75, and the Puresound P10 (which I owned until recently) are anything to go by, we've never had it so good for high quality sound at such reasonable cost.

[Marco]

Absolutely. Isn't it strange that in this age of (supposedly) dying interest in traditional hi-fi that there has never been a better selection of quality turntables, cartridges and phono stages - all at reasonable prices?

The Solo interests me very much, and would love to hear one as I'll soon be in the market for a high quality headphone amp. Is yours the top model - the one that the BBC uses?

Marco.

[Gromit]

Absolutely. Isn't it strange that in this age of (supposedly) dying interest in traditional hi-fi that there has never been a better selection of quality turntables, cartridges and phono stages - all at reasonable prices?

Amen to that - definitely something to celebrate.

The Solo interests me very much, and would love to hear one as I'll soon be in the market for a high quality headphone amp. Is yours the top model - the one that the BBC uses?

Marco.

I'm not sure what the Beeb uses but mine is the one with the upgraded psu (PSU1). Was certainly worth the extra few quid over the std one. The Solo does take a long time to run in though, as Graham says.

[JonR]

So you sold the P10 then Richard?

Damn shame!

Where did the NVA score over it?

[Marco]

Richard,

There's the 'Intro' Solo, which is the cheaper one, and the 'Solo PSU1', which is used by the Beeb. You've got the good one!

Marco.

[Gromit]

So you sold the P10 then Richard?

Damn shame!

Where did the NVA score over it?

Hi Jon - sorry!!

Didn't get the chance to compare the P10 with the Phono2, although my sonic memory of it (however (un)reliable that be!) would say there are actually quite a lot of similarities between them. There's a definite sense of musical 'rightness' about them, and plenty of tonal colour - instruments have a decent sense of reality, and don't sound processed; something the P75 can tend to display, especially on acoustic piano.

Both the NVA and P10 allow the music to evolve and grow - when the scoring gets heavy (the Shostakovich was a good example) the Phono2 lets it breathe, not seeming to top out nor get flustered at the amount of information coming through.

Just listening to some Human League on vinyl at the moment - 'The Lebanon' a track which often used to sound noisy...shouty and just too much. Now, it's definitely still a 'big' track with lots going on but it's not hitting the end-stops and losing focus. Better dash....time for side 2.

[griffo104]

An honourable mention should go to my lovely Spacedeck too - I tend to take the poor thing for granted too much at times, but yesterday once all warmed up and given a good few hours' use, it was weaving some truly glorious sounds. If ever someone tells you the Spacearm is 'flat & undynamic' then send them round to mine to listen to it. The good Mr Fletcher designed this arm to match the Spacedeck perfectly, and it shows.

Gromit, never take your front end for granted. It's still the most important bit for me but that's probably my flat-earthiness coming through.

Good to see you're enjoying the new setup, no longer missing the Exposure's then ?

Very surprised you let the P10 go.

[leo]

I've heard the Reflex and Revelation with the Technics SL1210 MKII, sounded excellent IMO

I have a Green Solo headphone amp thats been modified to be used with a PSU1, sounds great with the AKG K701's

Must get myself a TT sometime!