Mr. D.,
To me GCPH issue is a closed case which is a worse pre-amp for $1000 as I mentioned in my previous message! Thats why I removed it from my system.
The answer to last part of your e-mail was already given in previous messages. It is not an issue of low/high gain...
The sound quality differences between phono preamp W/WO line pre-amp are normal at certain extent! However when I compare sound quality of GCPH with other ones in almost same price range , you may find GCPH is not well placed at all in the ranking ... this is when you realize the sound degradation between GCPH W/Wo extra line preamp is much worse than other phono preamps. That should be something wrong with its circuitry design for this price range ($1000) there is a lack of honesty too! When they dont mention min/max input sensitivity, or make believe you it is made in USA where it is made in china, where there is no any serious product quality check. Two days a go with a friend, I visited a hifi store (turntable guru store) in San Jose having an excellent reputation, during discussions the owner mentioned they used to be ps-audio dealer of GCPH, he got too many complains from customer and he is not caring any more gcph because of that! He was saying even Music Hall phone line ~$150 is better than gcph.
As for Stereophile review that you mentioned, Robert Deutch says it is a preview and not a review he is not an expert for phono stages or turntables related devices he quoted: my listening to LPs is rather sporadic, and not so much for sound quality as for content: much of my LP collection is sufficiently obscure that it has not beenand is unlikely to bereleased on CD, let alone SACD or DVD-Audio. By the end he says it is a good match for ps-audio GCC-100 integrated amp . Actually I wouldnt consider it as a good review Of course for analog components if this was come from Michael Farmer of stereophile I would have given more credit to the review !!! BTW look at Michael Farmer review in ST about AQVOX phono, it is a very good review . Besides other reviews on GCPH, use only integrated amps rather separate devices, which changes the usage context
I dont have any intention to make publicity for any band like AQVOX or any other one! I presented my experiences on GCPH, AQVOX with different systems in order to be shared with other fellows in Audiogon my previous comments would perhaps present a sense of reality in GCPH quality, testing in different circumstances, devices, cables and phono cartridges BTW I dont push the idea that GCPH is the best because I bought it Regarding pricing, there is always a price degradation on second hand devices even demos or used ones, I think there is always a way to find an AQVOX phono as used (~$700-$800 instead of $1250) like the one your gcph that you bought at $750 instead of $1000+tax
I got GCPH (HUGE mistake) as a temporary solution for using with my MC cartridges before moving toward a robust phono line like C2300. This unpleasant experience just motivated me more to move toward a good integrated phono stage If you use CD player and other sources in the system, it seems for a >$25K whole hifi system, it is better to have an integrated phono stage in a preamplifier even with a higher price tag ... other wise one should invest in extra cables, power cables and not having the same sound quality as expected
To me GCPH issue is a closed case which is a worse pre-amp for $1000 as I mentioned in my previous message! Thats why I removed it from my system.
The answer to last part of your e-mail was already given in previous messages. It is not an issue of low/high gain...
The sound quality differences between phono preamp W/WO line pre-amp are normal at certain extent! However when I compare sound quality of GCPH with other ones in almost same price range , you may find GCPH is not well placed at all in the ranking ... this is when you realize the sound degradation between GCPH W/Wo extra line preamp is much worse than other phono preamps. That should be something wrong with its circuitry design for this price range ($1000) there is a lack of honesty too! When they dont mention min/max input sensitivity, or make believe you it is made in USA where it is made in china, where there is no any serious product quality check. Two days a go with a friend, I visited a hifi store (turntable guru store) in San Jose having an excellent reputation, during discussions the owner mentioned they used to be ps-audio dealer of GCPH, he got too many complains from customer and he is not caring any more gcph because of that! He was saying even Music Hall phone line ~$150 is better than gcph.
As for Stereophile review that you mentioned, Robert Deutch says it is a preview and not a review he is not an expert for phono stages or turntables related devices he quoted: my listening to LPs is rather sporadic, and not so much for sound quality as for content: much of my LP collection is sufficiently obscure that it has not beenand is unlikely to bereleased on CD, let alone SACD or DVD-Audio. By the end he says it is a good match for ps-audio GCC-100 integrated amp . Actually I wouldnt consider it as a good review Of course for analog components if this was come from Michael Farmer of stereophile I would have given more credit to the review !!! BTW look at Michael Farmer review in ST about AQVOX phono, it is a very good review . Besides other reviews on GCPH, use only integrated amps rather separate devices, which changes the usage context
I dont have any intention to make publicity for any band like AQVOX or any other one! I presented my experiences on GCPH, AQVOX with different systems in order to be shared with other fellows in Audiogon my previous comments would perhaps present a sense of reality in GCPH quality, testing in different circumstances, devices, cables and phono cartridges BTW I dont push the idea that GCPH is the best because I bought it Regarding pricing, there is always a price degradation on second hand devices even demos or used ones, I think there is always a way to find an AQVOX phono as used (~$700-$800 instead of $1250) like the one your gcph that you bought at $750 instead of $1000+tax
I got GCPH (HUGE mistake) as a temporary solution for using with my MC cartridges before moving toward a robust phono line like C2300. This unpleasant experience just motivated me more to move toward a good integrated phono stage If you use CD player and other sources in the system, it seems for a >$25K whole hifi system, it is better to have an integrated phono stage in a preamplifier even with a higher price tag ... other wise one should invest in extra cables, power cables and not having the same sound quality as expected