Conrad Johnson PV-7 phono stage any good?


I just acquired a very nice CJ PV-7 preamp. It sounds really nice, but I am a little confused about the phono stage. I am using a MM cartridge with an output of 5.2 mV. I need to turn the volume up to about 1-2 o'clock to achieve a normal listening level, which isn't earth shaking by any means. In comparison, my CD player commands only about 10-11 o'clock on the volume knob to reach the same listening level. There is no noise or distortion of any sort when listening to the phono, it just seems a little odd that I need to turn up the volume that much. Will this cause any damage to the preamp? Is this normal for a tube phono stage? Has anyone experienced a similar phenomenon? One other oddity is that the volume knob and listening level were at about the same position (1-2 o'clock) with a 3.0mV and a 5.2mV output cartridge. I thought the higher output cartridge would play a bit louder. Does the preamp have some circuit that makes the phono output the same no matter what the cartridge output is? Will different tubes make a difference. I'm not sure what is in there now, they have no brand, they just say made in west Germany.
Thanks for any help,
The skipper
skipper320

Showing 1 response by mofimadness

The volume control setting being different for high level (CD) and low level (phono) are correct and nothing to worry about.

Almost every preamp I've ever owned has worked this way. I really think your PV7 is working fine.