Hi
Is there much difference in performance between the 32.5 and 72 when the 821 boards are fitted?
Cheers
Sean
My experience is a bit different.
What Zener and JEZF1000 each say about the clear magnitude of increased fidelity with a 32.5 / 72 with 821 boards is also my experience. But personally, I have prefered the 32.5 to the 72.
System is high quality digital & analog sources / 32.5 / 821a / Avondale APX2 / Avondale 260z / big Tannoy Studio Monitors.
About 8 months ago I sold my Naim 202 pre and picked up a stock 32.5 to hold me over until a Grad 1 arrived. I was quite surprised by how good the 32.5 sounded -- not as good overall as a 202, but was 1/8th the price! Of course, much had to do with the quality APX2 power supply.
While waiting, Les W sent me a pair of 821 boards to tide me over. I was astonished at the improvement. To me it created a pre-amp that bettered my memory of the Naim 202. About the the same time, a 72 became available, which I picked up. And, for the next few months I was able to try out various permutations of the 72/821/729 or 72/821/324 or 32.5/821/324 or 32.5/821/729 or 32.5/821/jumper, etc.
I found the 32.5 to be more musically satisfying in the long run than the 72. That opinion is not a widely shared around here. And there were "audiophile" aspects of the 72 sound that I quite enjoyed, but the overall presentation of the 32.5/821 combination won me over. It was an easy choice to sell the 72. This all occurred prvious to my acquiring the uprated 821a boards.
Then, approximately 10 weeks ago, Zener landed me a pair of the upgraded 821a boards, and I was once again astonished! They took a couple of weeks to sort out and perhaps a month to really settle. Characteristics include greater "air", tonality, extension, and overall realism. Dynamics are improved. Ambient information retreival & transparency is notable. Current combo 32.5 / 821a / jumper / APX2 is certainly a preamplifier of the first order.
I have plans. First up is Avondale's TPX2. Next step is to bypass balance and mono switches and replace 32.5 pot with a Noble 50K...Mr. Tibbs is rather enthusiastic about this step.
WTS