Anyone else "into" vinyl? NOT the kind you wear -- such as 1970's disco pants :>) -- but rather, the kind you spin for music. In other words, LPs!
One nice feature of the RDC-7, which you won't find in many competing models, is the built-in phono stage. Given the superb quality of the RDC-7's FM tuner -- rivalling some very expensive stand-alone tuners I've auditioned -- I had high hopes for this. Potentially, it could save the need for another box in the equipment rack and another set of pricey interconnects.
So I tried it with my Rega Planar 3 and Grado Reference Platinum cartridge. Playback via the RDC-7's built-in phono stage sounded better than the same recordings via the built-in phono stage of the Yamaha DSP-A3090 I had been using prior to buying the RDC-7. However, by comparison, it isn't as good as the Lehmann Black Cube, a high end external phono stage, which I had bought earlier to move beyond the Yamaha's phono capabilities without springing for a whole new pre/pro. (And facing the possibility that a replacement pre/pro might not even have a phono stage.)
But it sure is better than what you'd fine on most receivers (that even have this feature any more) that most of us stepped up from. And it is convenient. For casual listening on an infrequent basis, it would serve just fine. In fact, I'd bet that most users could be satisfied with it for longer term critical listening.
Anyone else try it yet? What did you think? Are you going to keep using it, or are you looking for an external unit to supplement the RDC-7 in this area?
Burke
One nice feature of the RDC-7, which you won't find in many competing models, is the built-in phono stage. Given the superb quality of the RDC-7's FM tuner -- rivalling some very expensive stand-alone tuners I've auditioned -- I had high hopes for this. Potentially, it could save the need for another box in the equipment rack and another set of pricey interconnects.
So I tried it with my Rega Planar 3 and Grado Reference Platinum cartridge. Playback via the RDC-7's built-in phono stage sounded better than the same recordings via the built-in phono stage of the Yamaha DSP-A3090 I had been using prior to buying the RDC-7. However, by comparison, it isn't as good as the Lehmann Black Cube, a high end external phono stage, which I had bought earlier to move beyond the Yamaha's phono capabilities without springing for a whole new pre/pro. (And facing the possibility that a replacement pre/pro might not even have a phono stage.)
But it sure is better than what you'd fine on most receivers (that even have this feature any more) that most of us stepped up from. And it is convenient. For casual listening on an infrequent basis, it would serve just fine. In fact, I'd bet that most users could be satisfied with it for longer term critical listening.
Anyone else try it yet? What did you think? Are you going to keep using it, or are you looking for an external unit to supplement the RDC-7 in this area?
Burke
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