Before upgrading my Reduction I had the opportunity to compare it to a couple of solid state phono preamps.
I've owned a Cambridge Audio 640P for around 4 years and felt like it was a pretty decent piece for the money. (I think I paid $180 back in 2010) Prior to this I used the optional phono preamp built into my Bryston B60 from 1999. I thought the B60's phono was pretty solid.
A friend was kind enough to loan me his Musical Fidelity VLPS for comparison as well. Both the 640P and the VLPS were powered by their respective wall warts.
Source is Rega P25 with Shure V15VxMR. Preamp is my Bottlehead Quickie. Amp is my modified Dynaco ST35. Speakers are AV123 X-Statik.
After living with the Reduction in stock form for about a month I felt like it had settled down enough to compare. I would play a track and then swap cables to the other device and then play the track again. Switching time was about 8-10 seconds.
Here are the notes I took:
Reduction sound seems limited to the width of my rack (centered between the speakers). Vocals have a nice liveliness but everything else seems a bit constricted. Still, not unpleasant.
VLPS has a bigger and bolder sound that stretched to the walls. Deeper bass. Good separation of instruments.
640P has a flatter presentation with little depth although the soundstage stretched out to the width of my speakers. In comparison the 640P seemed a bit boring.
In the next test I wanted to make sure volume levels were matched for each device as they didn't seem matched.
Reduction bass doesn't go as deep as the others but seems tighter and better defined. Soundstage is more laid back behind my rack which I favor. Trying different tracks also allowed the stage to move wider to the speakers.
VLPS is more forward sounding in comparison with some vocals right up in my face. Still, excellent bass.
The Reduction and 640P are closer in performance. The trade-offs are better depth from the Reduction and better bass from the 640P. Vocals seemed slightly better through the reduction vs the 640P. Of the two I preferred the Reduction.
Out of the three the VLPS was the clear winner. From top to bottom it brought a great energy and verve to the music with excellent bass. I didn't care for the more forward presentation but that's the only quibble I have.
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I recently installed the C4S upgrade (not including Shunt Regulator) and will be making some additional comparisons sometime soon. So far I like what I'm hearing. It seems a bit clearer than stock. Separation of instruments seems better as does overall width of image. The bottom end still seems a bit weak but it could've been recording dependent. It's not a dramatic difference but as the night went on I found myself pulled into a song several times. It seems a bit more infectious.
More to come!
