Description
Audio Research phonostage PH8 valve phonostage Audio Research PH8 phono stage Straight from the box, Audio Research warn that a long burn-in period is required before new equipment sounds at its best. Our review PH8 already had a few miles on the clock, and proved to be immediately impressive. In typical ARC style, the PH8 produces a big, rich, deep sound that has massive scale and depth. It’s a very solid tactile sort of presentation – there’s nothing ‘small’ or effete about the sound. The music sounds focused and very ‘present’. The PH8 has a fixed gain of 58dB. Overload point is a massive 70mV at 1kHz, making it suitable for virtually any pickup on the market - fixed or moving coil. We used a Koetsu Urushi Sky Blue; a medium/high output MC pickup. There was plenty of level, and background noise was very low. Those with ARC preamps (like the LS-27) would be able to vary the gain of the line input stage to create a comfortable listening volume. In order to tailor the phono stage to your cartridge, the PH8 offers variable input impedance. When using fixed-coil (MM) cartridges, you’d need to set the impedance to 47k Ohms. But MC cartridges can be used at any impedance. Frisky The 47k Ohms setting should deliver the brightest liveliest sound, but if the top-end is a bit too frisky selecting a lower impedance should help, meaning you can fine-tune things to get the best results from your chosen pickup. A stereo/mono switch is provided – very important for those who play old mono LPs. Switching to mono cancels output caused by vertical motion of the stylus, and has the effect of significantly reducing pressing rumble and noise. The PH8 is very revealing, yet not in a destructive manner. It always makes the most of whatever signal you feed it with, so you hear what’s right with your recordings, rather than having the bad things emphasised. Here’s an example… While comparing a couple of high-end turntables using another phono stage, we noticed that one of the decks clearly revealed that two guitars were playing at a certain point in a track. With the other (lesser) turntable, this detail wasn’t quite so obvious. However, with the PH8 in the driving seat, you could clearly hear two guitars being used with both turntables. In a sense, the PH8 almost reduced the difference between the two decks, making both sound utterly fabulous. For years now, we’ve had it drummed into us that the source component is dominant, holding the key to superior sound quality. Yet the extra ‘something’ delivered by the PH8 almost made the absolute quality of the turntable seem less crucial. Audio Research phonostage PH8 valve phonostage Audio Research PH8 phono stage Straight from the box, Audio Research warn that a long burn-in period is required before new equipment sounds at its best. Our review PH8 already had a few miles on the clock, and proved to be immediately impressive. In typical ARC style, the PH8 produces a big, rich, deep sound that has massive scale and depth. It’s a very solid tactile sort of presentation – there’s nothing ‘small’ or effete about the sound. The music sounds focused and very ‘present’. The PH8 has a fixed gain of 58dB. Overload point is a massive 70mV at 1kHz, making it suitable for virtually any pickup on the market - fixed or moving coil. We used a Koetsu Urushi Sky Blue; a medium/high output MC pickup. There was plenty of level, and background noise was very low. Those with ARC preamps (like the LS-27) would be able to vary the gain of the line input stage to create a comfortable listening volume. In order to tailor the phono stage to your cartridge, the PH8 offers variable input impedance. When using fixed-coil (MM) cartridges, you’d need to set the impedance to 47k Ohms. But MC cartridges can be used at any impedance. Frisky The 47k Ohms setting should deliver the brightest liveliest sound, but if the top-end is a bit too frisky selecting a lower impedance should help, meaning you can fine-tune things to get the best results from your chosen pickup. A stereo/mono switch is provided – very important for those who play old mono LPs. Switching to mono cancels output caused by vertical motion of the stylus, and has the effect of significantly reducing pressing rumble and noise. The PH8 is very revealing, yet not in a destructive manner. It always makes the most of whatever signal you feed it with, so you hear what’s right with your recordings, rather than having the bad things emphasised. Here’s an example… While comparing a couple of high-end turntables using another phono stage, we noticed that one of the decks clearly revealed that two guitars were playing at a certain point in a track. With the other (lesser) turntable, this detail wasn’t quite so obvious. However, with the PH8 in the driving seat, you could clearly hear two guitars being used with both turntables. In a sense, the PH8 almost reduced the difference between the two decks, making both sound utterly fabulous. For years now, we’ve had it drummed into us that the source component is dominant, holding the key to superior sound quality. Yet the extra ‘something’ delivered by the PH8 almost made the absolute quality of the turntable seem less crucial. Images sell! Get Supersized Images & Free Image Hosting Attention Sellers - Get Templates Image Hosting, Scheduling at Auctiva.com.
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