Results 1 to 22 of 22
  1. #1
    Retro Modernist 02audionoob's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Posts
    2,908

    Question Any knowledge of this PS Audio unit?

    Can anyone tell me anything about this phono preamp? I'm new to this idea of a separate phono stage. I've been using the ones built-in on my preamps or my old Marantz receiver. I'm in a change mood, so stuff is going up on eBay and other stuff is coming in. I'm not thrilled with the phono stage on my Adcom, which surprised the heck out of me. I might be going too thrifty considering units like this, but I'm thinking maybe my first step into the world of the phono stage could be somewhat disposable...something I could put on eBay and get my money back. But then again....If I get comfortable with what to look for and maybe get a chance to audition one of these things, I'll probably look around in +/- $300 range...like I was discussing in my thread on the hissing Adcom GFP-565.



    PS2


    PS

    Last edited by 02audionoob; 08-24-2008 at 09:15 PM.

  2. #2
    Super Moderator Site Moderator JohnMichael's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Central Ohio
    Posts
    6,307
    Run, run away fast. I have no knowledge of that phono pre-amp nor would I want any. There is a company called PS Audio that makes excellent products. That product pictured has no relation to the legit company.

    http://www.audioadvisor.com/products.asp?dept=74


    This link will take you to a number of phono pre-amps that would be worth owning. The least expensive ones are for moving magnet cartridges only. Others will allow you to use moving coil cartridges. The Cambridge Audio 640P is a quiet smooth sounding phono pre-amp that I am currently using. My only complaint is a change is sound quality using the subsonic filter. As you look at the phono pre-amps you will see one actually made by PS Audio. It is an excellent $1,000 product.

    Good luck.
    Last edited by JohnMichael; 08-25-2008 at 02:32 PM.
    JohnMichael
    Vinyl Rega Planar 2, Incognito rewire, Deepgroove subplatter, ceramic bearing, Michell Technoweight, Rega 24V motor, TTPSU, FunkFirm Achroplat platter, Michael Lim top and bottom braces, 2 Rega feet and one RDC cones. Grado Sonata, Moon 110 LP phono.
    Digital
    Sony SCD-XA5400ES SACD/cd SID mat, Marantz SA 8001
    Int. Amp Krell S-300i
    Speaker
    Monitor Audio RS6
    Cables
    AQ SPKR and AQ XLR and IC

  3. #3
    Aging Smartass
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Moore, SC
    Posts
    1,003
    My experience with outboard phono preamps (now called "phono stages") is limited to the Parasound PPH-100 I purchased as the PLD-1100 preamp I had purchased prior didn't have a phono input, and I didn't know that at the time. I'm very satisfied with the overall performance, so I guess that's a "thumb's up" for Parasound.

    Insofar as you not being particularly pleased with the phono stage of your Adcom GP-565, that raises a flag. I own one, but use it for a 2-channel system my HDTV is connected to. When it was new and tested by Stereophile, the mag compared its phono section to an Audio Research preamp costing 10 times that of the Adcom, and actually preferred the Adcom's phono stage.

    So, as you've already posted a problem with an annoying hiss coming from the preamp, it may be that the entire unit is faulty in one way or another. If the phono stage is working properly, you might be surprised that the addition of an outboard phono stage may not give you the improvement you're looking for. Then again, the GFP-565 is about 15 years old, so there may be a huge difference. I'll be interested to hear which unit you buy, and what your observations are.

  4. #4
    AR Newbie Registered Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Posts
    1

    that is a VERY early PS phono unit

    Yes that home made looking products is a very early PS product- might even be the one that got the ball rolling! While good at the time and a good value (PS hallmark), I would imagine the phono section in your Adcom is superior. The current PS GCPH, as someone mentioned, is a superb phono section with many usable features. I work at PS so can't rave about it...There are a number of good choices out there these days..If you wanted to keep the cost down, the Bellari is very very good unit, imho.
    Happy listening!
    Mike

  5. #5
    Super Moderator Site Moderator JohnMichael's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Central Ohio
    Posts
    6,307
    Thanks PS_Mike for correcting me. Compared to the beautiful products being made today I thought it might be a company trying to use PS Audio's good name. I did see one in the scrapbook section. I obviously was not aware of the early days of PS Audio.

    Thanks again,
    JohnMichael
    Vinyl Rega Planar 2, Incognito rewire, Deepgroove subplatter, ceramic bearing, Michell Technoweight, Rega 24V motor, TTPSU, FunkFirm Achroplat platter, Michael Lim top and bottom braces, 2 Rega feet and one RDC cones. Grado Sonata, Moon 110 LP phono.
    Digital
    Sony SCD-XA5400ES SACD/cd SID mat, Marantz SA 8001
    Int. Amp Krell S-300i
    Speaker
    Monitor Audio RS6
    Cables
    AQ SPKR and AQ XLR and IC

  6. #6
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    St. Louis, MO, USA
    Posts
    10,176
    I found the Creek OBH-8 a very good budget phono stage. You didn't mention your budget but from your posts it sounded like you might be looking for a bargain. I had an OBH-8 at one point and had to spend significantly more money to get enough improvement to make the upgrade worth while to me.

  7. #7
    Retro Modernist 02audionoob's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Posts
    2,908
    I was just hoping it was perhaps a decent unit somehow ahead of its time...a hidden treasure. It was a long shot. But like I said...new to this whole idea. I'm just exploring options, like replacing the Adcom GFP-565 with an SLC-505...a non-powered controller. Then perhaps something like the Creek phono stage looks attractive...and there seemed to be many good options on that needledoctor page Glen_B linked in my GFP-565 thread. As for budget, I was planning to look in the $300 range, if it turned out that that's reasonable. I guess I'm pleasantly surprised that there's some good ones available for that.

    All that said, I might also start stepping up to better quality, newer equipment...so items that can be keepers even if I step up are preferable.

  8. #8
    Forum Regular hifitommy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    sylmar, ca. in beautiful so cal earthquake country
    Posts
    1,442

    Stop The Presses

    after reading the entire thread, i see that the PS has been recognized for what it is, the original ps. it was advertised in AUDIO magazine as a replacement phono section that would sound better than the one in your receiver. and YES, it does.

    i would like to have one just because it was their original product. at any rate, the stereophile review of the adcom gfp565 is BS. i have been there and DONE that. the arc sp3a1 si so much better on all counts that it hurts.

    i am not sorry i bought the 565/555II pair but the 565 certainly doesnt live up to the crap that gary galo wrote in that review. the 555II has turned out to be a great amp and proves to me that the cries of brightness by some on this board and the asylum, and others are cries if ignorance. a bunch of parrots that never heard the adcom amps.

    bottom line-i would not hesitate to make the ps the heart of my system if i was in need. the creeks are ok but not spectacular.
    ...regards...tr

  9. #9
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    St. Louis, MO, USA
    Posts
    10,176
    My first Adcom amp was the 5400 and used the gtp-450 preamp, with an older Denon CD player it was a bit bright but nothing turning the treble down some couldn't cure. Adding an outboard CJ DAC helped but when I went to the 5500 power amp no more out of bounds brightness. I was also surprised the two amps had such a difference in sound quality. Treble back to "0" and the 5500 was better balanced with a quieter background. I think people could get the wrong impression of Adcom amps if no experimenting or other experiences with them.

    My first outboard phono stage was the OBH-8. There wasn't much in my area to bring home for audition when I got ready to upgrade. I put it up against a $800.00 Primare though and the OBH-8 was much better. I have to say the Primare didn't sound like it was priced either. Built like it, but not sound. So it looked like I was going to have to buy online. I did a lot of research and tried the AcousTech and found it to be satisfying. So after all that I always thought of the OBH-8 being a "giant killer" for no more than it costs. A lot of it may have to do with cartridge and other system synergy though. The Creek seems to do well with Rega.

    Good to see you stopping by Tommy

  10. #10
    Forum Regular hifitommy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    sylmar, ca. in beautiful so cal earthquake country
    Posts
    1,442

    thanx for the salutation

    i guess i have had some great phono sections in the nad 3020, quatre bod1-c, arc Sp3a1, and the bellari. having tried the creek pre, i wasnt moved but it was certainly good.

    i too have heard the 5500 amp and 5800, and 5400. all good, all on my friend's ML reQuest speakers which would have revealed ANY brightness (they didnt). its good to hear from someone who has ears rather than a parrot.

    right now, i am enjoying my quatre pre while the arc may go in for some distortion correction. i must say that the quatre is quite respectable for a ss unit.
    ...regards...tr

  11. #11
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    St. Louis, MO, USA
    Posts
    10,176
    The fact that a 5400 or 5800 can drive ReQuests says a lot for them. Anyone wanting to get started on better than average can't beat the Adcom's on the used market for value.

    Don't mean to hijack but the thread isn't exactly hopping any way.

  12. #12
    Forum Regular hifitommy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    sylmar, ca. in beautiful so cal earthquake country
    Posts
    1,442

    i appreciate the comment

    on the adcoms. what burns me are the parrots i referred to. squawking about sound theyve NEVER heard. and those adcoms are quite weighty. the 5400 seems like a much more powerful amp. the 5500 almost sounds dangerous.

    i cant see where you could call that hijacking.
    ...regards...tr

  13. #13
    Retro Modernist 02audionoob's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Posts
    2,908
    Speaking of the Adcoms...Now that I'm the proud owner of a GFA-545II and GFP-565, I actually sort of miss my GFA-535 and GFP-555, especially the amp. Maybe it's only what I was used to. With the GFA-545II, I just can't seem to find a comfortable listening volume. I had not heard the cries of brightness, but I do now often turn down the treble...much more often than I did with the GFA-535.

  14. #14
    Music Junkie E-Stat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    5,462
    Quote Originally Posted by hifitommy
    i guess i have had some great phono sections in the nad 3020, quatre bod1-c, arc Sp3a1, and the bellari. having tried the creek pre, i wasnt moved but it was certainly good.
    As I've said before, I vividly remember the first time I heard an SP-3a in my own system. While that was more than thirty years ago, I also recall the piece of music I played first and my impression! That is truly a classic design and the reason I bought my first ARC pre back in '81. Quatre brings back some fond memories as well. The shop I worked for in college sold them. Don't remember the pre very well, but their amp was darn good as compared with the more-than-twice-the-price Thresholds we also sold.

    I use the modest Bellari VP-129 in my vintage system. While not spectacular, it is quite decent and quite a deal for $250. Aside from a high sensitivity to RFI, I find its sins are ones of omission, despite the fact it is primarily an op amp design. Sometimes when I'm wearing my cell phone and am a couple of feet away from the unit, there is significant RFI break through.

    rw

  15. #15
    Forum Regular hifitommy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    sylmar, ca. in beautiful so cal earthquake country
    Posts
    1,442

    hi ralph

    one often wonders what the hubbub about ARC equipment is until you try one in your own system. the sp3a1 deflated the balloon of tube expectations in the most positive way imaginable.

    you know, the soft/warm/billowy stereotype. wow, bandwidth dc to daylight, dynamics beyond reproach, and tonal colors RIGHT ON the money. all from a few 12ax7s. it made the gfp565 sound crude in comparison.

    the quatre pre is very good, and quiet as well. the designer of the amp went on to a company called audire i believe. i heard that amp through some soundlab A1 stats and it was fantastic.

    i have no issue with rf with my bellari and it served me well. i AM looking forward to getting the arc fixed (distortion on loud passages). ive already tried replacing the tubes.
    ...regards...tr

  16. #16
    Music Junkie E-Stat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    5,462
    Quote Originally Posted by hifitommy
    the designer of the amp went on to a company called audire i believe. i heard that amp through some soundlab A1 stats and it was fantastic.
    Hi! Different guys. Specifically, the Quatre was designed by Guy Hickey and the Audire products were designed by Julius Siknius. I used the original Audire amp back in '76 with a Jensen FET-5 (Frank Van Alstine modified Dyna PAT-5) driving Magnepan MG-IIs. It was a nice amp. That was the era of the Double Dyna 400 with the external power supply so I rigged a similar booster to the Audire. I added something like 80,000 uF capacitance and fitted a 20 amp bridge. That improved its dynamic character and allowed the unit to play for about thirty seconds after shutdown.

    rw

  17. #17
    Forum Regular hifitommy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    sylmar, ca. in beautiful so cal earthquake country
    Posts
    1,442

    hi again

    i am not so sure that GH designed the amp. of course i could be wrong but just because he owned quatre doesnt mean he did all the design work.

    it started out as a speaker company, and if i remember correctly, it was computer aided. maybe one of the first.

    he had a store on van nuys blvd in the sf valley where he refused to play the dyna a35s for me. later, at his house, he turned me on to falla's 3 cornered hat on columbia. nice music.

    i also seem to remember that his later amps used 'gain cell' technology. does that ring a bell?
    ...regards...tr

  18. #18
    Music Junkie E-Stat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    5,462
    Quote Originally Posted by hifitommy
    i am not so sure that GH designed the amp...it started out as a speaker company...i also seem to remember that his later amps used 'gain cell' technology. does that ring a bell?
    I wasn't aware that the company made speakers at all. When Julian picked up the product, all we had was the Gain Cell amp. The earliest units suffered some reliability issues, but were later resolved. Since it was thirty years ago, my memory is only of the one person who we ever worked with. I am not positive.

    Another product of the day we supported was the AGI 511 preamp. My recollection is that AGI was like Audire and other fledgling companies of the day where you essentially had a one man band - engineer, sales rep, accounting guy. As an aside, before Threshold came along, we sold an amp that was capable of driving the Dayton-Wright electrostats - The Dunlap-Clarke. We learned of the product through the rep who worked with both products. You may recognize his name: Dan D'Agostino.

    rw

  19. #19
    Forum Regular hifitommy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    sylmar, ca. in beautiful so cal earthquake country
    Posts
    1,442

    its funny

    had i been into high end at the time i lived in buffalo new york, i would have been rubbing elbows with dan in that environment. i had gone to a stereo shop then and they were demonstrating at stupid loud levels and i just left. i moved to california shortly thereafter.

    today, i would have waited that out and perhaps learned something. it was years later when i went to pacific stereo and lucked out with a really good salesman who sold me dynaco a25s over ar4Xs. he went on to become an area rep in no-cal for infinity.

    those were the days of 2000As and early servos. pre monitor Is. walsh tweeters didnt exist yet. stereo review and audio magazine were THE authorities then.
    ...regards...tr

  20. #20
    AR Newbie Registered Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Posts
    1

    Quatre

    Quote Originally Posted by E-Stat
    Hi! Different guys. Specifically, the Quatre was designed by Guy Hickey and the Audire products were designed by Julius Siknius.rw
    I believe the first Quatre amp - the DLH100 was designed by Siknius - who took the same (or similar) design to the Audire (which looked the same). However, Hickey said the "design" was "straight out of the Motorola handbook".

    The speaker - aka the Quatre 8000 - was designed using a 26 variable parametric computer optimization program. The program was design by a high energy physicist from Cal Tech named Gordon Culp.

    The BOD 1 preamp was designed by Dr. Bob Odell (an internist) who later went on to design for Harman Kardon and I believe PS Audio. Not sure where he want after that.

    Quatre also produced a preamp and amplifier that used something called "Gain Cell" technology. This amp was designed by Dave Gore (the DG in DG250).

    I used to work at the company when they were in Chatsworth.

  21. #21
    Forum Regular hifitommy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    sylmar, ca. in beautiful so cal earthquake country
    Posts
    1,442

    i am currently using a quatre pre-amp

    the bod 1 c. not too shabby! D.E.D. quiet which is great for my mc cart. the gain is mostly at the bottom of the travel of the slider which seems not to have audio taper. still, i like it a lot.
    ...regards...tr

  22. #22
    Forum Regular hifitommy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    sylmar, ca. in beautiful so cal earthquake country
    Posts
    1,442

    thanks for the insight launer..

    i had heard the audire amp at sound center on soundlab As and it was a great sounding amp.. it had that arc honesty to tonal colors and hit with a great deal of authority. that was late in sound center's existence when the new back room was opened.
    ...regards...tr

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •