How is the EV-1 Phono preamp For Holographic Sound?

[retrosonic]

Team,

I am trying to improve the "3d", "Holographic" sound of my Rega Elex-R.

I am debating buying a used Conrad Johnson Ev-1 phono preamp to try to achieve this goal.

Would the Ev-1 achieve this goal?

Thanks for any comments.

[Big Dog RJ]

Yes, it definitely would.

The CJ phonostages are superb, extraordinary in every way. You'll get another level from your vinyl collection, and once you've experienced the level of resolution and fine detail, you'll be after more!

Cheers, have a good one.
RJ

[AnotherJohnson]

I looked up the Rega Elex-R on the Rega UK site.

They call the resident phono section “high specification,” but give no details. It appears to be a typical moving magnet compatible with 220 pF of capacitive cartridge loading and the standard 47 kOhm resistive load. I could not find a gain spec, although it did identify the sensitivity as 1.7mV, which would be considered in the MM or HOMC territory.

The EV-1 should be a significant upgrade based on parts quality and design simplicity, although it too is at the MM/HOMC end of the gain spectrum at 49 dB.

Other issues in your system and room are equally, and perhaps even more important, factors in your quest for a holographic sound stage.

Some of these are:

Room treatment to reduce the smearing of the reverberant field, but not so much as to kill all reverberation.

Speaker placement away from walls and corners to the extent possible, with proper toe in for the design. This gives you the best possible direct field from the speakers.

Decent interconnects from the source to the Rega Elex-R. Decent speaker cables.

Decent deck and cartridge. Rega Planar 3 and higher, with a mid line, properly set up MM cartridge from AT, Rega, Ortofon, or others.

Of course you knew all this.

The EV-1, if it is up to its OEM specs, should be substantially better than the resident phono section in your integrated amp. Some of the EV-1s are over 20 years old at this point, so recapping may be in the offing if it’s not already in play.

[admin]

I think Rega makes some great equipment and I owned a Planar 3 turntable for many years.

I think the overall sound would benefit from an EV-1 as it would take the phono preamp section to a completely different level.

As AJ mentioned above, there are so many factors that play into the over acoustic presentation and they can't be ignored.

[AnotherJohnson]

The Rega Planar 3 and it’s OEM arm (RB300?) are sort of the minimum price of admission to decent vinyl reproduction. They really facilitate “getting into the tune” and “engaging with the music.” They are a gateway drug to the Turntable High End.

Of course we don’t know the OP’s actual set up. I have a Technics SLQL1 with highest Ortophon P-Mount HOMC here that really sounds like a 3 head cassette tape deck … which is not a compliment for those who don’t remember. I have a Dual record changer running a large radius spherical Shure for playing 78s. No 3-D joy here either.

So, while the phono section is important, the source is important too. I can run a Lyra Delos on an Ittok with mid spec LP12, into a Rega or NAD solid state high gain phono preamp, and get a decent sound stage.

But I don’t. You get spoiled as you go up. But love of the music, helps you stay grounded.

At one point neither Roy Gandy nor Ivor Tiefenbrun believed there was such a thing as a sound stage. At least Ivor eventually is reported to have acknowledged it.

But the truth is that, except for live performances captured from one microphone position, what we call sound stage is created in the mixing, with headphones and small direct field monitor.

I think this is why the unraveling of the musical threads is such an important capability for the successful system. In unraveling, what you are really doing is separating the mixing layers, except in the single microphone position case.

[Truth71]

Agree that you'd get a SIGNIFICANT upgrade with the EV-1...and if you wanted to run a Lo Output MC Cartridge, you could do so by adding a SUT to the EV-1. I can recommend Rothwell in the UK for Step Up Transformers. Excellent quality at a variety of price points, great service etc.

[AnotherJohnson]

One of the great things about an SUT is that it takes the MC cartridge loading out of the equation. There are several very nice ones available as stand alone devices, but they’re mostly $1000 and up.

The other option for more gain is a head amp. CJ made one at one time.

The TEA1 can be equipped with built in SUTs on one input channel. It gives a LOT of gain. Too much for cartridges with more than about .3 mV at the 5 cm/sec groove modulation. A .5 mV cartridge is too much for the built in SUT in my experience. The built in for the TEA1 is a $3000 option at retail.

Obviously vinyl is complicated. It’s no wonder so many people prefer digital. It is cheaper to get into a good game with digital.

As for Rothwell, I agree that they are a legitimate modestly priced option.