P50sa initial impressions and questions...
Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 2:40 pm
Got a new P50sa through the post last week and thought I'd give my initial thoughts. (I've bought a lot of NVA stuff recently, and try to report back on it all at some point when I've got used to it)
I really like the case size. I knew it would be the same size as my Phono 3 and the power supply box, but when it replaced the full size AP70 that was doing pre-amp duty it was a big change. The source select and volume control switches have a good weight to them without feeling like you're going to move the whole case around.
The stepped attenuator is a big step up from the regular volume control on my AP70. Even without running in, it was immediately more open and revealing. I look forward to it improving as it burns in.
Going from 6 inputs down to 4 isn't a problem for me, but the choice of labels was slightly annoying! The 2 input labels that are missing are VIDEO and DISC. I have 3 inputs connected, and was using DISC for my record player, VIDEO for the tv, and CD for my digital. Not a big deal, but I would have thought that DISC would be more likely to be useful to people than TUNER?
Questions:
Direct input: I understand that this bypasses the selector switch and leaves that input always connected. If the other inputs are silent, is it ok to connect either my Phono 3 or DAC to the Direct input, or could connecting the outputs of the different inputs cause a problem?
Active / Passive Pre-amp: My DAC has a volume control which I guess makes it an active preamp. I could bypass the stepped attenuator and change the volume on the DAC, or run it at full volume and use the stepped attenuator. I've always run it at full volume and used the amp volume controls in the past. Is it case of trying both and assessing it, or will it always be better one way or another?
I really like the case size. I knew it would be the same size as my Phono 3 and the power supply box, but when it replaced the full size AP70 that was doing pre-amp duty it was a big change. The source select and volume control switches have a good weight to them without feeling like you're going to move the whole case around.
The stepped attenuator is a big step up from the regular volume control on my AP70. Even without running in, it was immediately more open and revealing. I look forward to it improving as it burns in.
Going from 6 inputs down to 4 isn't a problem for me, but the choice of labels was slightly annoying! The 2 input labels that are missing are VIDEO and DISC. I have 3 inputs connected, and was using DISC for my record player, VIDEO for the tv, and CD for my digital. Not a big deal, but I would have thought that DISC would be more likely to be useful to people than TUNER?
Questions:
Direct input: I understand that this bypasses the selector switch and leaves that input always connected. If the other inputs are silent, is it ok to connect either my Phono 3 or DAC to the Direct input, or could connecting the outputs of the different inputs cause a problem?
Active / Passive Pre-amp: My DAC has a volume control which I guess makes it an active preamp. I could bypass the stepped attenuator and change the volume on the DAC, or run it at full volume and use the stepped attenuator. I've always run it at full volume and used the amp volume controls in the past. Is it case of trying both and assessing it, or will it always be better one way or another?