I decided to test out my new 3806 phono stage this evening to see if it was up to the task of going it alone. The test setup consisted of the following equipment:
turntable: VPI HW-19 Mark IV with SAMA (stand alone motor assembly)
tonearm: SME model 309
cartridge: Grado Reference Platinum (wood body MM)
external amp: Dynaco ST400 Series II SS power amp ( 205 w/ch @ 8 ohms, 350 WPC @ 4 ohms)
speakers; Dynaudio Aries 2 way towers (D260 Esotec tweeters, 20W75 Esotec mid-woofers, sealed box tower with internal Variovent)
cables: SME phono interconnects, Radio Shack 12 ga. speaker wire, RS coax interconnects between the Dynaco and the 3806)
Source material:
1. CSN (1st album) Classic Records 45 RPM special pressing)
2. Fleetwood Mac (MFSL 1-012 JVC Super Vinyl first pressing)
3. Gentle Giant-Three Friends (Vertigo 6360-070 swirl label first pressing)
4. Crosby/Nash-Wind on the Water-ABC Records ABCD-902 white label promo)
5. Golden Earring-Moontan (Polydor 2310-288 Germany first pressing)
6. Listener Enhancements: Husch Anderson Valley Reserve Pinot Noir 2002 vintage, Padron Maduro Churchill, Baba Pizza pepperoni and mushroom thin-crust pizza
Impressions (no test equipment-too many listener enhancements!)
1. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the sound from the 3806 phono stage-it was as detailed and smooth as my Adcom GFP-565 preamp outputs through the same power amp and speakers. I am planning to open up the 3806 to take a look at the circuit components to see if I can assess Denon's design approach. I also have a Bellari VP129 tube phono stage preamp enroute that I plan to compare with the 3806 internal phono stage to attempt to do an A-B comparison of the sound.
2. The 3806 noise level was extremely low, even lower than my 565-I had a bit of hum from the SAMA at very high gain levels, which was somewhat lower on the Adcom when I was using its phono stage, so it must be a SAMA issue.
3. The CSN 45 RPM special pressing was a revelation, although I think it would have been a sonic delight with almost any setup.
4. The Fleetwood Mac MFSL was spectacular-Crystal and Landslide got me to pull out my Martin D35 to play along.
5. Separation on all LPs was superb, better than I recall from the Adcom (which makes no sense since the separation is probably determined by the cartridge)-this is probably a case of operator error.
Those are my impressions so far-now back to your regularly scheduled program. I will followup with a comparison with the Bellari phono stage after it arrives.
