ADCOM GFP-750 need advice for Phono preamp

trans am

I just scored a GFP-750 to replace my GFP-565 however there is no phono stage on the 750. anyone have any recomendations? 99% of my listening is on vinyl.

Toolfan66

Jolida JD9 is great and easy to upgrade..

trans am

thanks for the advice. I also saw some thread about the Cambridge 640P. any thoughts?

leroyjr1

trans am wrote: »

99% of my listening is on vinyl.

Why did you buy that pre then?

Obsession18

I recently acquired a Pro-Ject Tube Box DS, WOW this thing is sweet, huge soundstage and very dynamic, vocals will make you cry. For reference I was using an Art DJ Pre II prior to the Tube Box so the improvement was expected. I must add though for $40 the ART bats way above its price point, I've read threads where people preferred the Art to the Cambridge 640P.

I would say that if your budget is $200 or less you may want to consider the Art.

decal

ProJect Tube Box II with some nice NOS 12AX7s

Obsession18

decal wrote: »

ProJect Tube Box II with some nice NOS 12AX7s

I'm eyeing some NOS Telefunken's from AudioTubes.com.

Dawgfish

Toolfan66 wrote: »

Jolida JD9 is great and easy to upgrade..

+1 on the JD-9. They sound great stock, but as Larry eluded to, they are easily upgradeble and can obtain very high levels of performance. They are also one of the most versatile and adjustable phono pres you can buy in their price range.

tonyb

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/ele/3543649393.html

60 bucks.....won't do better for that price.

naturallight

Would you like to sell the 565? It is as far as Adcom goes the best for Phono. Not as good as an out board phono pre, i'm sure..but still pretty good. Far better then my 400...LOL

PolkMaster1

Vinyl all the way!!!
I can recommend the PS-Audio GCPH Phono Preamp with upgrades by Underwood HiFi/Underwood Mods. The level of detail it gives is 3-Dimensional. It is the best sounding component in my audio system!

trans am

thanks for the recommendations guys. I will check them out tonight. I bought the 565 pre on ebay a few months ago. I bought it because I lost a GFP-750 auction so I got the 565 as the next best thing.
It has a blue board and is very clean inside and out. I do not have the 750 yet. The seller just shipped it.
Should I expect to be blown away by the sound? I cant wait to hear it and compare it to the 565.

bthogan

Well, I just replaced my old GFP-565 with a blue-board GFP-750, and I would say the difference is quite noticeable. Not necessarily "blown away", but...bigger soundstage, more depth, more details...in general, a more controlled, confident presentation. I use passive; active seems to add some brightness and smearing/blurriness along with gain (but not much). YMMV.

It does appear to reveal limitations in sources and recordings a bit more than the 565.

TSWisla

I second the GCPH, excellent sound, very flexible, remote control. Excellent phono pre at any price. I may have one for sale really soon...

TSWisla

BTW, I used the GCPH with a GFP-750 for a while and ended up getting rid of the 750 and using the GCPH directly into my amplifier. I think that it sounded much better

PolkMaster1

TSWisla wrote: »

BTW, I used the GCPH with a GFP-750 for a while and ended up getting rid of the 750 and using the GCPH directly into my amplifier. I think that it sounded much better

You may want to think about modding it instead of selling it. The mods will take it to the next level.

Toolfan66

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Why did you buy that pre then?

I'm running the 750 with a phono Pre !! The 750 is hard to beat for the money!!

PolkMaster1

TF - If we lived closer, I would love to drop by with my 1200-MK2 and play it on your Adcom and have you listen to your 1200-MK2 with my PS-Audio GCPH Mod-Phono Preamp.

leroyjr1

Toolfan66 wrote: »

I'm running the 750 with a phono Pre !! The 750 is hard to beat for the money!!

My question was why would he buy a pre without a phono section if all he listens to is vinyl. He stated 99% vinyl.

PolkMaster1

leroyjr1 wrote: »

My question was why would he buy a pre without a phono section if that's all he listens too?

Preamps now-a-days eliminate the Phono-Preamp input. The sound generated from an outboard phono-preamp is much better than the internal phono preamp in a preamp/integrated amp/receiver.

tonyb

Eh, not always the case. Lots of pre's have phono's built in....and some darn good ones to boot. Will all external phonos be an improvement ? Nope....just like all external dacs may or may not be an improvement over an AVR. Lots of variables.

trans am

I found a sweet deal on a Pro-Ject Tube Box SE II with upgraded tubes for $400. Should I go for it? my budget is between 400-600.
Also how do I set it up? Do I go from the turntable to the phono pre to the adcom tape input or AUX1/2? or do I need a switchable box to go straight into the power amp? I got the 750 and about to hook it up to my NAD and listen to some SACD. I have steely's gaucho and Dire straits brothers in arms on SACD. I have plenty of cds to listen to until I get the phono preamp. I cant believe how heavy the 750 is. It makes the 650 feel like a feather. This thing is f$#% amazing!

**********edit***
I just hooked it up and I am truly blown away by this thing! The 750 was worth every penny! Now I just need your help with the vinyl part. Should I go for the Pro-Ject Tube Box SE II ???

also should I have passive on or off on the 750? I dont have xlr cables. Im using the signal ic's from the unbalanced outs to the 545II

trans am

as far as I know the 565 has the best integrated phono pre of the adcoms but I read threads of others that have gone to stand alone phono preamps like the JD-9 or Pro-ject phono preamps and experienced better sound. Tony your guy in chicago already sold that on craigs list. thanks again buddy. I think I bought my 500 pre and 545ii from you years ago on this forum. I have the 500 and the 565 available if anyone wants to buy some adcom gear.

Obsession18

I just got the Pro-Ject Tube Box DS which is the latest version of the Pro-Ject Tube Box SE II, I paid $700, so I'm thinking $400 is a fair price. The other thing is tubes - oh how wonderful they are, and you can try different brands and of course NOS tubes to see what you like. My Tube Box DS is leaving a huge grin on my face every time I fire it up, very expansive soundstage with plenty of detail and the dynamics can be startling - drums are in the room! I'm using a VPI Traveler with a Ortofon 2M Blue cart, running the Tube Box DS to one of my Cambridge Audio 840E pre-amp inputs.

Here is a review/comparison of the original Tube Box (the model before the SE II):

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1104/phonostage.htm

trans am

I didnt win the tube box SE II. I bid 501. and it went for 510.
So I bid on a tube box II for 250 and the guy ended it early. I ended up doing some research on the Jolida JD9. apparently there is one from china and one made in maryland USA. I called this guy in naples FL and he has the china one for $429.00
then I called the direct maryland Jolida and they have a JD9 ver. II that just came out. He told me the differences between the 3.
Jd9
China: cheap tubes, and shoddy soldering and twisted cables and basically a cheap jd9.
USA MARYLAND, better tubes, and quality soldering and better overall build quality/components over the china ver.

JD9 II
USA MARYLAND only. I called them and they explained they revamped the internal power supply and used better quality caps and opamps. He basically said they are no longer selling the JD9 and all new 2013 JD9 from maryland USA are JD9 II. The main change is much lower noise from the power supply. After all this I ended up buying the USA MADE JD9 II in black to match the rest of my adcom gear. The chinese one was $429. the usa jd9 was 500 and the jd9 II was 529.

I'll post pics and share my results when i get it. I called frank from signal cables and got another set of ics for the new phono preaamp. In the meantime the 750 has been amazing! it sounds incredible.
I got some mullard repros and some telefunkens to play with on the new rig. Thanks for all the suggestions, There is not much about the jd9 II so i will post my results.

Dawgfish

Congrats on your new JD-9! I've been extremely happy with mine. I tried Telefunkens on my JD-9 at first and they were not a good match with the rest of my gear. They were kind of clinical and cold sounding. Of course they may very well end up being the cat's meow in yours. You never really know until you try. I like the RCA Blackplate 12AX7s the best in my JD-9 fwiw.

Obsession18

You made the right choice buying from Jolida USA, I bought a JD-100 CD player from Jolida China that failed after 18 months and I was not able to get any service or email's returned from Jolida China. Luckily Jolida USA agreed to repair it for me and they indicated the unit had numerous cold solder joints.

trans am

Dawgfish wrote: »

Congrats on your new JD-9! I've been extremely happy with mine. I tried Telefunkens on my JD-9 at first and they were not a good match with the rest of my gear. They were kind of clinical and cold sounding. Of course they may very well end up being the cat's meow in yours. You never really know until you try. I like the RCA Blackplate 12AX7s the best in my JD-9 fwiw.

I'll have to check those RCA tubes out.

trans am

I got the new Jolida JD9II installed. Man this thing sounds amazing! its way better than the 565 sounded. my only question is the switches in the back. If I have a ortofon 2M red cartridge. how would I match it in the back?

deronb1

trans am wrote: »

I got the new Jolida JD9II installed. Man this thing sounds amazing! its way better than the 565 sounded. my only question is the switches in the back. If I have a ortofon 2M red cartridge. how would I match it in the back?

What did you not like in the 565 phono stage?

Dawgfish

trans am wrote: »

I got the new Jolida JD9II installed. Man this thing sounds amazing! its way better than the 565 sounded. my only question is the switches in the back. If I have a ortofon 2M red cartridge. how would I match it in the back?

The Ortofon Red is MM cartridge with an output of 5.5 mv, which is pretty high. I would leave all of the switches in the off positions except for the 47 kohm loading switches (theres one for the left and right). I believe those are the number 4 switches, but check your manual to make sure. Switch those to on, leave all of the other switches in the off position, and connect your output IC to the low output jacks on the back of the Jolida. That should put you in business.