Whest ps.30r

I have to say that I am highly skeptical of these claims that using a MAC HC power cord makes a "huge difference" in the performance of a Whest phono stage. I have a Whest PS.30RDT. Folks, this is a 20W appliance. I find it hard to believe that really you need 10 guage wire to supply power to such a low power device. I have my unit configured at 60dB gain to output about 0.6V to the pre-amplifier.

Other than that, I agree with the comments about the Whest PS.30RDT. I don't know about the sound relative to the Whest PS.30, but the Whest PS.30RDT produces a nice 3-dimensional soundstage, reproduces considerable detail, good bass reproduction and produces a clear, if not somewhat "sweet" sound (at least to my ears).

I would caution you on "audiophile" reviews because these days they are generally not impartial reviews. One problem with evaluating phono stages (and equipment in general) is that you rarely get an apples-to-apples comparison. When it comes to phono stages, there are differences in gain and load resistance levels among different models that can result in slightly different sound perceptions. So while I personally like the Whest unit that I own, I hesitate to make claims that it sounds better than other units because in reality things are often so close (in terms of sound) and the ability to make truly scientific comparisons is so limited that if you find a unit that sounds good to you, then you are most (if not practically all) of the way there.

To Crystalref:

Could you provide some insights into how the operation of the PS.30RDT SE differs from that of the PS.30RDT? The statements on the Whest website don't really help me understand what is different about the operation of the PS.30rdt se that explains the 70% increase in audio reproduction relative to the ps.30rdt that is claimed on the Whest website (in fact, I really don't understand how that improvement figure was arrived at).

The photographs that you posted of the PS.30RDT SE circuit board were helpful. What was apparent is that the opamp circuits on the PS.30RDT board was replaced by these black boxes (which I presume are the discrete circuitry modules). I also appeared that the input capacitors in the PS.30RDT circuit board are replaced with large Clarity Cap capacitors.

Does the PS.30RDT SE provide more high end gain than does the PS.30RDT? In your case, 65 dB for a 0.3mv cartridge looks to me to be about right, but for a low output cartridge (for example 0.1mv), while 72 dB gain is adequate, I think that a gain level of more like 75 dB would be better.

Crystalref

With regard to my earlier question about the gain levels produced by the Whest PS.30RDT SE, I found the answer by looking at the photos that you posted on the Internet. In the PS.30RDT SE, the gain and resistance load levels are printed on the back panel. The high gain level remains at 72 dB but in the PS.30RDT SE, the low gain level is increased from 40 dB to 43 dB (which means that the Whest PS.30RDT SE will probably work a little better with lower output MM cartridges). It is also worth noting that the load resistance levels listed on the back panel of the PS.30RDT SE are correct, where the user manual has an error.

What do you think about having the access panel to the DIP switches on the underside of the case in the Whest PS.30RDT SE? I appreciate that Whest was responding to complaints about having to open the lid to set the switches, but what I don't like about the underside access scheme is that you have to turn the entire unit over to set the switches. I especially don't like having to handle the case because the casework is very prone to being smudged by fingerprints.

On the difference between the PS.30RDT and the PS.30RDT SE, my hypothesis is this (and it is just a guess): the PS.30RDT SE uses an opamp where the PS.30RDT SE uses a discrete bipolar module. So my guess is that the PS.30RDT uses negative feedback. Negative feedback designs are pretty controversial with some audiophiles; especially those who extoll the virtues of tube designs. I'm old enough to remember the transistion from tubes to transistors so in my mind I wonder: "why would anyone want to go back to that (tubes, that is)???"

My guess is that the discrete bipolar module is some kind of non-tube, non-negative feedback design.

As to the comment about preferring the access panel in the PS.30RDT SE, I see your point. I have my phono stage on the top shelf of a media cabinet so I can access the top lid of the phono stage without having to move it. I'm a bit of an inveterate tinker-er, so what I did was experiment with various gain and resistor combinations. I eventually closed the unit up, but eventually, I will reopen it and play around with additional resistor combinations just to see how they affect the sound. One thing that I like about the Whest phono stage is that the resistor values are moderately spaced so you can play with different combinations in parallel to "trim" the resistor value without having to go to the "user" resistor option. So, in my situation, top lid access works better because once I remove the lid, I can rifle through different combinations of switch settings.

I'm aware that you can use WD40 oil to clean the case but if you touch the case later, you'll get new smudges. I've taken to wearing latex gloves or using a towel to keep having oil from my fingers from staining the case.

I think that the James' statement is true; any time you go through a switch, *some* amount of noise is likely to be introduced. My suspicion is that the actual amount of noise is rather small. As I recall reading in your blog thread, someone recommended that you should have your resistor selection "hard wired". This would probably be your lowest noise option. However, the sound of your phono stage is influenced by the resistance load selection, so I would say that the greater concern is to select the resistive load value that sounds the best to you. In general, if the resistive load value is too high, the sound can be somewhat bright and exaggerated but if the resistive load value is too low, the sound can be a bit dull. In my case, I am using a Lyra Delos cartridge for which the recommended resistor range is 390 ohms (preferred) to 200 ohms. So by putting the 470 ohm and 1.6k ohm resistors in parallel, I get about 363 ohms.

Dcarol:

I would say that it would be very useful if you would revisit your comments in a few months. Right now, there seems to be a lot of emotion in your comments (which is understandable with the excitement of a new component). But in a few months, after the excitement has waned, I would be interested in your comments at that time.

Dcarol:

Thank you for the review. As you noted, the PS.30RDT is a pretty good phono stage, so your comments are quite interesting. Just out of curiosity, what gain level are you using?

10-09-10: Dcarol
The reviewers are 'paid' by manufacturers so how on earth can you get an unbiased review.

in the past, you could get good, critical reviews of audio equipment. today, i find them to be suspect because the reviewers frequently have conflicts of interest that are typically not disclosed to the readers. that is why i look for reviews to provide not only the subjective opinions of the reviewer, but objective data that provides some degree of support for the subjective opinions.

what i need to see with regard to the whest ps.30rdt se is some quantitative data. if the ps.30rdt se is that much better than the ps.30rdt, there must be some data that reflects that improvement. this stuff isn't magic; when mr. henriot designed the special edition there had to be the objectively measurable data that guided him in the design process that allowed him to the end product. granted, the final product was the result of actual listening, but he presumably didn't end up with the special edition by pure luck. so the questions in my mind (that i would like to see answered in reviews) is what is it that the special edition does better? does it have improved RIAA accuracy? it the snr improved? is the channel sepeartion improved? is the frequency response improved? is distortion reduced? is phase accuracy improved?

it's easy to say: just listen and "trust your ears" but from my perspective, there is a lot of equipment out there and i can't possible listen to all of it, or even a lot of it. so i need data to cut down the number of candidates. in the past, you got plenty of data and reviewers who would actually criticize equipment; today you get relatively sparce data and a lot more marketing hype. i suppose the way the high end audio market works today reflects much of the customer base for these products so it is what it is, but it makes it difficult for those of us who don't like to believe that the way this stuff works is all "magic".