i had initially overlooked t tc760 LVC preamp because of its low price. the following will compare both units strengths and weaknesses.
some of the gear i used consisted of denon dl 103 mc cart -> cardas rewired tonearm and recabled with monster carble-> a solid gold 3 way connector joint from radio shack-> and into the mc input of cam640P-> then out of one of the outputes of the 3 way connector via kimber hero wbt 0144-> and into the tc 760LC-> i thien used a 2m kimber hero from eahc of the preamps outputs and into the dual inputs of my Matrix mstage-> denon d7000.
-on great thing about the matrix is that it is a swiss army knife for comparing gear with the flick of a switch, it is a great tool for such comparisons. note the white wire u see in above pic was not used for this comparison, i had it connected when i first hooked them up cause i was lazy and didnt want to take the hero out from my system, but i thought what the hell and did it anyway after pic was taken as you will surely see in the next pics.
in this pic u can clearly see i used both kminber hero for this comparison(not like i could hear a difference!)
also you see some o fthe music i used for this comparison. mainly i used the I smell a rat early black rock n roll LP which I HIGHLY RECOMMEND if you like good music! i also used some iggy pop new values LP as well.
in this pic u can see the radio shack gold 3 way connector i used going first into the cam 640p which i think gives it the advantage in thiis comparison. to the left you see the recabled monster ic going in the top and the hero cable going out the side to the tc 760 LC and you also see the hero cable coming out to the right and going into one of the matrix inputs.
also notice how much smaller and lighter the tc 760 lc is as well.. i actually thought i had ordered a silver one by the pic and so i will be exchanging this model tc 760 for a silver or 2.
the cam 640 p does seem to have a better more solid build quality but that dosen't mean the tc 760 LC is lacking by any means.
and here we see the back of the main LP i used , there is some incredible music hear so do yourself a favor!
a better view of the connectors
Cambridge 640p
-retails for around 180 dollars and is said to be a good competitor to most other small phono preamps around the same price, that was the reason i bought it and chose it over nad , rotel, bellari and otherrs.
- when i had first gotten my 640P i was disappointed but thought it got better with the usual burn.
- the 640P sounds good but is prown to a lot of interference,, my old table had terrible interference with it, and still i get a lot of interference when used around lots of gear, but i am making it sound worse than it really is, once you find a good spot it will shine but still for 180 dollars i expected better.
the 640P sounds a bit neutral and lacks punch and some timbre in my opinion, but it is loads better than any receiver cheap phono.
i had been planning to get a second tube line stage to plug the cam 640p into which i think would sound great. in fac ti think the cam 640P and my Dynaco PAS 2 preamp sound pretty damn good, and the tone control is a huge plus with my virgin pas. i do plan on rewiring it, but iwill never make it a passive preamp, i have lots of fun with tone control:) sorry purists. it also sounds good with my eico hf 85 preamp.
- Nominal output: 300 mV
- Gain @ 1kHz: 39 dB / 55 dB
- Sensitivity for nominal output: 3.35 mV / 0.5 mV
- THD 20 Hz - 20 kHz: <0.007%
- RIAA curve accuracy: <+/-0.3 dB 20 Hz-50 kHz (subsonic filter off)
- Signal to Noise Ratio: >85 dB / 82 dB using Audio Precision RIAA-1 with grounded inputs
- Crosstalk @ 20kHz: >76 dB / 72 dB
- Maximum Power Consumption: 5W
- Dimensions: 8.5" wide, 1.8" high, 5.2" deep
- Weight: 2 lbs.
TC 760 LC
-retails for 80 and is a fair price. the tc 760 give you more option with its front variable gain and front switch between mm/mc, it also sports and impediance switch on the back of unit for 100ohm and 20 ohm. in addiiton it also lets u bridge the 2 inputs which are mm or mc and i guess you can use the mc or mm without unpluggin however i think that this may be its weak point.
- 12 volt DC operation; will work anywhere in the world
- Total harmonic distortion: <0.005%
- RIAA freq response 20hz-20,000hz +/- 0.5dB
- S/N ratio MM 82dB; / MC 75dB; gain MM 38dB / MC 58dB
- Input sensitivity; MC 600uV / MM 3.0mV
- selectable hi range (100 ohm) / lo range (20 ohm) MC input impedance
- CE certified; nice packaging suitable for gifting
- gold plated jacks and black anodized metal casing
- ground wire terminal; click HERE to see why you need this feature
- LED power indicator; free RCA cable and miniplug adaptor included
- includes AC adaptor (110/120VAC or 220/240VAC; go HERE for details)
- Dimensions 180mm x 73mm x 37mm
- One year defective exchange warranty
the build quality of the chassis is solid and compact,, i did thinkt hat the gain pot was a bit cheap and some of the spring loaded buttons were a bit cheap but solid none the less. good push button design.
the cam 640 p win the build section.
listening to the tc 760 was a lot of fun,, at first it was oka nd the variabel gain was fun to play with.
with the gain near maxxed out the tc 760 rally punches and adds timbre or gives you the perceived effect of added timbre and warmth while remaing very detailed. my unit had less than a 40 minutes burn so expect it would sound even better with a full 24-48 hour burn.
at first i thought there was some sybilance with s's and certain vocal, but the cam 640p exherted the same sybilance so it was surely some of the old recordings on the LP i was listening to(which arent bad and sound really good on good vinyl but no 180 gram goodness) just to be sure listtened to some iggy pop which had same exact effect.. i like to double check these things, i always do thorough compares and dont cut corners.( one example i swapped out that cable i explained about above for this reason)
SHOWDOWN
the tc760 has a unfair advantage with the more and variable gain
i could make bothe units sound exactly the same when i put the tc760 gain at about 7.5
when i maxed out 760 gain, it puched harder had more rich fullness, all the while remaing just as detailed as the 640P
note, i did not test either of the mm outputs on both units.
when the gain is matched on both units they are almost identical although i lean toward the 760 but honestly there was little difference
tc 760 is defintiley more fun and lively and at half the price it is a no brainer imo.
FURTHER ANalysis- yielded interesting reults, i thought that since the tc 760 gain was variable it was unfair, so i then used the matirix gain in conjunction with the 640P to even out the gain and make things more fair.
what id od with matirx is listen to the tc 760 with gain maxed, then i turn volume down super fast so that i am left with a good solid image of what that sound is in my mind, i have the matrix on its side ofr easy access to it gain underneath for this quick test.
so then i immediatley flick the gain switches underneath the matrix and immedaitley flick that input switch and quickly turn volume up to the specific db.
i compared each one of the matrix +10,+18, and +20 db gain, and guess what,, each time i prefered the tc 760 with gain maxed out and thought it sounded better thicker and more fun all while remaing clear and detailed.
- so i drew a few conclusions, Either when gain is implemented closest to the source it sounds best, that would be a no brainer, and is what i think or there may be other reasons for this, may subpar components in matrix, i am not sure, let me know your opinion.
In conclusion,
i am getting 2 tc 760 one for my main rig and one for the bedroom rig and may have to sell the cam 640 P
yup,, but i may keep it for the office.
- my next rif will consist of the tc760 and a jolida JD 5T linestag, unless you all have any better connections
- my next headamp will absolutley be the decware csp2 +, i made this desicion when i found out that it had 2 inputs like matrix (so it could also be used as a swiss army knife for comparing gear) and also to use as a preamp for my bed rig.
i also really liekt eh cary 308 preamp or the cary aes djh preamp, all of whcih like the jolida donot have built in phono stages which is super annoying and i suspect in some cases so there companys can sell more equipment, that dont fly with me cause i hate large gear.
so if you have any good ideas for a tubed line stage which would have better synergy with the TC760 LC than those mentioned please let me know, as the tc 760 LC is a keeper in my book for sure.
and thanks for reading my phono preamp review, hopefully this has helped, if not surely saved some cash.
-time to flip the lp
tally ho
