CH Precision P10 phonostage

[Peterhongkong]

I find current mode with 12dB gain gives the best sound in my system.

What is your best settings for P10?

Good morning, well after several / many hours of listening during the past 10 days I discovered that the sound not only opens up but since 2 days becomes (finally) even more mellow. Everything more gentle without loosing any detail or timing or depth. As a result it is a bit easier to check and adjust the gain and at the moment 21db is the best for me at my system - but I'll try and will continue after some time when the unit has been more and more run in. Keep you posted

 

[ashandger]

In case of interest, Roy Gregory's review of the P10 in now on his website. Link below. Happy reading!

The King Is Dead… - Gy8

Long Live – the CH Precision P10 Phono-stage

gy8.eu

 

[bonzo75]

In case of interest, Roy Gregory's review of the P10 in now on his website. Link below. Happy reading!

The King Is Dead… - Gy8

Long Live – the CH Precision P10 Phono-stage

gy8.eu

13 pages!

 

[Salectric]

I would much rather skim through 13 pages than sit through a 15 minute (or longer) video review.

 

[Peterhongkong]

Good morning, yes I fully agree. And what a (test) report that is .... can 100% confirm.

 

[JackD201]

So as it turns out, Clearaudio is coming out with a new cartridge. My Golf Finger S with its high internal impedance was not well suited for current drive and the P1's I/V conversion lagged way behind the current drive. I will be trading in my GFS for the new top dog and am looking forward to the P10's now much improved I/V stage

 

[Elliot G.]

The P10 Gets It's First Review... ...and it's a corker! - CH Precision

Michael Fremer's Review of the CH Precision P10 Phono Stage in The Absolute Sound is out now. We think it's fair to say that he likes it! "(With the P10)

www.ch-precision.com

 

[JackD201]

Our local audio show starts 10am Saturday, that makes it a few hours from now. We're showing the AF3 PS with a Graham Elite Arm (My SAT stays on my AF1 ) and I opted for the Koetsu Jasper Diamond. The P10 is crazy. I'm pretty jaded or at least I think I am. Before the P1/X1 I was using the EMT JPA 66, still an incredible phonostage. Yet, what can I say? It is the noise floor. With the already incredibly low noise of a TechDAS table where the carts are riding on essentially multi-kilogram LPs when under vacuum and the absurdly low noise floor of the P10, the end result is simply more information, tonal AND timbral. It's shocking to really hear how deeply the styli are tracking when the noise is gone or rather to realize what has been so smothered by noise for as long as one can remember.

The weak spot of MCs has always been, at least for me, that there is this dynamic ceiling. You might want to keep going but there comes a point when you go at it that the low level noise has come up along with the increase in gain that would make me say, alright enough is enough, time to back off and just accept it. The P10 vaporizes the glass ceiling that the P1/X1 breaks. In between the subtleties and the fireworks, the vivid, sweet and rich character of the stone body fills up the canvass. The Rutter Requiem on the ELAC demo LP. OMG.

So yeah, I'm with Roy on this. Happy to be part of the CH Family for sure.

The rest of the components of the show system are the L10, M10 Monos, D1.5, C1.2, Taiko SGM Extreme (Digital powered separately via Stromtank S-2500 that's another story!) Von Schweikert Ultra 7s, All MasterBuilt Ultra and CMS racks and footers.

 

[jbrrp1]

Oh, how I'd love to hear that system! I was rather struck by the VS Ultra 7's at the Munich show last spring as driven by top VAC gear. I really made me want to hear those speakers in front of a CHP 10 system. I bet they work very well togther!

 

[JackD201]

I normally never do youtube videos because there's only so much the tiny mics on my phone or camera can capture but maybe I'll just try some chorale piece so at least the midrange can somehow translate. The really do work together very well. I plan to do a full write up on this show experience because it has been a long time with COVID and our not being able to participate last year. It's tough, it's tiring but the reward of seeing happy show goers who have braved the traffic and struggled with parking is just priceless.

 

[Zeotrope]

SAT CF1-09 is a great arm but AS axiom is much better IMHO. I’m very familiar with both of them. Another great option is Kuzma Safir. I heard it but I haven’t put my hands on it yet to tell if it’s better or not. Surely it’s a great contender. On the other hand Graham is pretty mediocre and I’m very familiar with that too.

Not a fan of detachable headshells as they add another source of resonance and reduce ridgity. I believe a great tonearm should be as simple as possible and get out of the way.

 

[Zeotrope]

I don’t think Nagra HD phono is available yet, have heard Nagra HD pre and power amps many times and is not very impressed. They always sound sterile to me.

What makes CH Precision phono special is the current mode. It senses only the current generated by cartridge and amplifies the signal. Most phonostages use voltage mode of amplification. The difference is obvious.

Funny because I would say Nagra sounds the opposite of sterile! Have never heard that comment before. I would think there was something wrong with the setup of those systems or they were not the right match(synergy) with the speakers.

Fremer once commented (in the Ypsilon review) that it’s actually current amplification which makes phonostages sound sterile. This is actually well known. This is preferable to some and is certainly not “bad”. It’s interesting that we have the opposite view in both cases.

Synergy among components is really important when you get to this level, and it’s nice to have all 3 components voiced by the same team; but I understand few companies offer the complete solution, and many want to ‘mix and match’ as part of the fun! But if it’s not optimal, you get comments like “Nagra sounds sterile” - if anything, Nagra leans to warmth.

 

[mtemur]

Not a fan of detachable headshells as they add another source of resonance and reduce ridgity. I believe a great tonearm should be as simple as possible and get out of the way.

You’re describing SME V

 

[Zeotrope]

You’re describing SME V

Yup. I own a V12.
And the Nagra Tonearm.

 

[TLi]

Funny because I would say Nagra sounds the opposite of sterile! Have never heard that comment before. I would think there was something wrong with the setup of those systems or they were not the right match(synergy) with the speakers.

Fremer once commented (in the Ypsilon review) that it’s actually current amplification which makes phonostages sound sterile. This is actually well known. This is preferable to some and is certainly not “bad”. It’s interesting that we have the opposite view in both cases.

Synergy among components is really important when you get to this level, and it’s nice to have all 3 components voiced by the same team; but I understand few companies offer the complete solution, and many want to ‘mix and match’ as part of the fun! But if it’s not optimal, you get comments like “Nagra sounds sterile” - if anything, Nagra leans to warmth.

Agree with you in most areas. Synergy is the key in vinyl to get a satisfactory sound.

Sterile in sound, to me, means clean and plain, no added colour, but dynamic is a little compressed. That's my impression of Nagra amp. I prefer a little more bass, for example.

The current mode in P10 is not the same as the one in P1. I heard P1 plus or minus X1, both stereo and mono several times. The current mode in P10 is a much improved version. This view is shared by several end users of P10, it is not a personal bias.

 

[Zeotrope]

Agree with you in most areas. Synergy is the key in vinyl to get a satisfactory sound.

Sterile in sound, to me, means clean and plain, no added colour, but dynamic is a little compressed. That's my impression of Nagra amp. I prefer a little more bass, for example.

The current mode in P10 is not the same as the one in P1. I heard P1 plus or minus X1, both stereo and mono several times. The current mode in P10 is a much improved version. This view is shared by several end users of P10, it is not a personal bias.

I have not actually heard the Nagra HD Amp or HD Preamp. I have the Nagra TT/Cartridge/HD Phono which are connected to the DarTZeel 18NS and 108 amp.
Admittedly, I have heard very few other systems. I grew up attending classical concerts, as a parent is a professional musician. So when I judge how a system sounds, it's always against that (perhaps unfair) reference.

It's exciting that we have so many options in this industry, even at the very high end.

 

[Zeotrope]

P10 with SAT CF-1 Ti tonearm and Koetsu Jasper Diamond is the best vinyl playback combo I have ever heard. It is very detailed and dynamic. View attachment 118597

Hi Thomas, is there a way to tuck in the wires coming out of the cartridge into the SAT tonearm? I would think those very thin wires can pickup EMI if they are exposed like that... this always bothered me about the SAT arms. Just a thought.

 

[djsina2]

Not a fan of detachable headshells as they add another source of resonance and reduce ridgity. I believe a great tonearm should be as simple as possible and get out of the way.

I don’t want to judge but don’t you think your flimsy turntable shelf is adding more resonance and reducing rigidity compared to a threaded connection that’s supporting ~30gr over a 2” span? I was a bit surprised seeing that for someone who’s going all out otherwise!

 

[Zeotrope]

I don’t want to judge but don’t you think your flimsy turntable shelf is adding more resonance and reducing rigidity compared to a threaded connection that’s supporting ~30gr over a 2” span? I was a bit surprised seeing that for someone who’s going all out otherwise!

My shelf? It's built into the wall and will be stronger than anything that's still on a floor. It can literally support a car.
Not to mention the TT is floating on a hydraulic/mechanical suspended base.

Has nothing to do with the signal coming from the vinyl groove which needs to get its way into the cartridge. The more joints you have, the more resonance/vibration/noise.

 

[DarrellC]

Hello, this is a question for all who acquired the P10. After living with it for some time, do you have any additional thoughts you can share on your overall perception / satisfaction. Looking forward to hearing.