IMO, the major difference between high performance phonostages and lesser devices centers around their ability to communicate, articulate and inform without betraying an electronic presence.
With those properties in mind,in my system, the P-75 has been very comfortable being compared against a number of MC phono preamplifiers in the $1000-1500 retail price range. I suspect that the Dynavector P-75 is capable enuf to be revealing the character of the given system context moreso than betrayings its own particular limitations, which are suprisingly few and forgivable.
I'd describe it as highly detailed and slightly forward in presentation but not in your face.It's tonally colorful but it stays in the "neutral" camp rather than euphonic.Compared to the very best phonostages, its presentation would be considered be a bit light in the bass regions, giving the overall presentation a slightly lean quality tho that bass is very articulate and tuneful. It's primary strength appears to be in getting out of the way ,with an excellent sense of dynamics, pace and timing and is quite lucid & expressive with fine clarity and decent ambience.
In side by side comparison over nearly 3 months of evaluation *in my own systems*, I've preferred the P-75 to my own Roksan ArtaXerxes X /DSU as well as the EAR 834, Naim Stageline,47 Labs Shigaraki Phono, Benz Lucaschek, Lehmann Black Cube and Monolithic PS1/HC1 and have felt it to be roughly comparable in overall performance and often bettering in specific(sometimes personally critical) qualities, the Linn Linto, Exposure XIII, Roksan Caspian Reference,Tom Evans Microgroove, and Audiomat Phono 1.
1) it seems to be very sensitive to the interconnect between it and the preamp,apparently preferring simple stranded copper IC's (like Linn, Naim, Exposure, Cabletalk, etc.)to the more exotic geometries and the best interconnect I've tried to date with it has been Wally Malewicz' "Wallywires".Fortunately, the IC's it prefers are all relatively cheap.So far,most exotic hi-res cables have resulted in a hyperdetailed presentation and undermined the musicality and warmth.
2) In PE mode, there seems to be a link to working best with MC cartridges having a high internal impedance.The cartridges that I've preferred to use in PE mode have all had internal impedances exceeding 16 ohms.
3) It took forever to settle in- While it sounded okay with the initial installation, I still heard subtle improvements after a full month installed in the system and switching modes from standard MC to PE mode added a few weeks more.
With those properties in mind,in my system, the P-75 has been very comfortable being compared against a number of MC phono preamplifiers in the $1000-1500 retail price range. I suspect that the Dynavector P-75 is capable enuf to be revealing the character of the given system context moreso than betrayings its own particular limitations, which are suprisingly few and forgivable.
I'd describe it as highly detailed and slightly forward in presentation but not in your face.It's tonally colorful but it stays in the "neutral" camp rather than euphonic.Compared to the very best phonostages, its presentation would be considered be a bit light in the bass regions, giving the overall presentation a slightly lean quality tho that bass is very articulate and tuneful. It's primary strength appears to be in getting out of the way ,with an excellent sense of dynamics, pace and timing and is quite lucid & expressive with fine clarity and decent ambience.
In side by side comparison over nearly 3 months of evaluation *in my own systems*, I've preferred the P-75 to my own Roksan ArtaXerxes X /DSU as well as the EAR 834, Naim Stageline,47 Labs Shigaraki Phono, Benz Lucaschek, Lehmann Black Cube and Monolithic PS1/HC1 and have felt it to be roughly comparable in overall performance and often bettering in specific(sometimes personally critical) qualities, the Linn Linto, Exposure XIII, Roksan Caspian Reference,Tom Evans Microgroove, and Audiomat Phono 1.
1) it seems to be very sensitive to the interconnect between it and the preamp,apparently preferring simple stranded copper IC's (like Linn, Naim, Exposure, Cabletalk, etc.)to the more exotic geometries and the best interconnect I've tried to date with it has been Wally Malewicz' "Wallywires".Fortunately, the IC's it prefers are all relatively cheap.So far,most exotic hi-res cables have resulted in a hyperdetailed presentation and undermined the musicality and warmth.
2) In PE mode, there seems to be a link to working best with MC cartridges having a high internal impedance.The cartridges that I've preferred to use in PE mode have all had internal impedances exceeding 16 ohms.
3) It took forever to settle in- While it sounded okay with the initial installation, I still heard subtle improvements after a full month installed in the system and switching modes from standard MC to PE mode added a few weeks more.