Leaving Paradise -new phono stage
- Thread starter slawekt
- Start date
Last changes to Paradise , silver input/output wiring , naked foil RIAA resistors and capacitors in the RIAA matched within 1pF /channel . I hope I have bit of time before my week off to compare it against Vida .
Quick frequency response test , bit lazy attempt with soundcard but shows both stages are very close with Vida having couple of dB more gain - Vida /yellow, Paradise/red
Quick frequency response test , bit lazy attempt with soundcard but shows both stages are very close with Vida having couple of dB more gain - Vida /yellow, Paradise/red
I.D.C.
pfm Member
Have owned all sorts of amps over the years pre-amps and up too four power amps. Now I have a 10 watt Pathos Remix amp the best sounding amp I have owned at a fraction of what I paid for multiple amps.Pathos In The Groove
The Chronicals
Disruptor
I presume you mean the original Inpol Remix as you mentioned 10w? I have the Mk2, such fine sounding amplifiers.
I.D.C.
pfm Member
That's correct. It amazes me the wee amp powers my zingali speakers which have two 10inch drivers. No crossovers in these speakers very easy to drive.
The Chronicals
Disruptor
Yes I agree! Mine has slightly more power at 25w, but it drives me relatively low efficiency speakers (Q Acoustics Concept 300) like a thorough bred.The Inpol technology really works...and sounds sublime.
It sounds very good , not sure if better than before as it's been a while since I heard it , bass definition seems to got better , as I said before both stages sound very similar but .... Paradise has been permanently banished from the living room ,I really didn't see it coming but it's a sort of relief as I really like Vida and cannot fault it in any respect .
My wife's disapproval took me by surprise to the point where I didn't enjoy my little listening session as there is no challenge anymore , I will listen some more when she isn't home and decide what to do with Paradise , thanks for all comments and advice guys ,I thoroughly enjoyed building/testing Paradise , little shoot outs against Vida and tbh I am really happy with what I ended up with , thanks again.
I've done some more testing and Paradise looks incredibly good ,
A-weighted S/N - Vida test close to 75dBA while Paradise 84dBA with 2.1dB gain difference , I am left speechless
THD - Vida just above 0.01% , Paradise - 0.007%
RIAA curve looks to be almost matched , with 0.3dB difference @20Hz which might be down to input signal matching
I'm not making it easy for myself am I
A-weighted S/N - Vida test close to 75dBA while Paradise 84dBA with 2.1dB gain difference , I am left speechless
THD - Vida just above 0.01% , Paradise - 0.007%
RIAA curve looks to be almost matched , with 0.3dB difference @20Hz which might be down to input signal matching
I'm not making it easy for myself am I
To be determined , more testing requiredNot really understood the point of this thread. Which came 1st the Paradise or the wife?
sq225917
Bit of this, bit of that
Your preaching to the converted here...
84db is pretty good, what's your earthing setup? Do you have the - commoned on the chassis? You can squeeze 86db out of them if you're anal with the grounding and don't common the signal - with the chassis. I run a 4 pin psu plug with the 4th pin used for a separate chassis return from each main board chassis with a DDRC fitted. I don't know of a quieter phonostage. Generally speaking the external tonearm cable is a greater source of noise than the Paradise.
What values did you end up with in the riaa, Joachim's house values or Salas' values?
84db is pretty good, what's your earthing setup? Do you have the - commoned on the chassis? You can squeeze 86db out of them if you're anal with the grounding and don't common the signal - with the chassis. I run a 4 pin psu plug with the 4th pin used for a separate chassis return from each main board chassis with a DDRC fitted. I don't know of a quieter phonostage. Generally speaking the external tonearm cable is a greater source of noise than the Paradise.
What values did you end up with in the riaa, Joachim's house values or Salas' values?
What level of crosstalk you measured?
Progmeister
The Progmeister
Why has your missus taken such a dislike to a piece of hifi equipment? I do agree with comments elsewhere here that the power supplies could be successfully concealed leaving only the main box on the rack. Are you spending more time with the Paradise than you are with her ha ha? I have been lucky enough to hear three Paradise phono stages all of them amazing and without doubt better than everything i have heard commercially. The cost prevents me from buying yours as i can't afford it. Buy or make some longer cables and get then power supplies hidden away this i would say is more than a reasonable marital compromise. One thing is for sure, It's a bloody jungle out there as far as Phono stages are concernes as there are so many to chose from at so many different price points.
rn82497
pfm Member
Really interesting thread.
Given so much hand tuning of the Paradise has taken place by dedicated/knowledgeable enthusiasts - it is interesting that the VIDA is holding up so well! I think my current short list must VIDA v.s. Rega Aura Reference (given I have Isis/Osiris) - looking to replace a Naim Prefix. Though open to other suggestions.
Given so much hand tuning of the Paradise has taken place by dedicated/knowledgeable enthusiasts - it is interesting that the VIDA is holding up so well! I think my current short list must VIDA v.s. Rega Aura Reference (given I have Isis/Osiris) - looking to replace a Naim Prefix. Though open to other suggestions.
sq225917
Bit of this, bit of that
Slav, crosstalk?
It's a full dual mono build with no shared wiring between channels, all earths lifted and all no common signal 0v. The crosstalk will be whatever the BenzLP can manage, an unusually high better than 35db quoted in the specs. An Ortofon A90 is 28db for comparisson.
It's a full dual mono build with no shared wiring between channels, all earths lifted and all no common signal 0v. The crosstalk will be whatever the BenzLP can manage, an unusually high better than 35db quoted in the specs. An Ortofon A90 is 28db for comparisson.
Where are you based , if anywhere near Essex you are welcome to visit and have a listen to Vida/Paradise. Vida is really good , definitely Paradise level sound wise , as I said before few times I caught myself wondering which stage am actually listening to .