Parks Audio Puffin Review (Phono Stage)

[mhardy6647]

I won't lie: the name "Puffin" for this device makes me think of this guy ...

View attachment 108452

It should make you think of these guys.

This is an Atlantic puffin, though (my wife photographed this one in the vicinity of "downeast" Maine) -- all y'all in Washington (state) would see tufted puffins...

 

[restorer-john]

It's not bad with the adapters.

What is that to the left of the Puffin? It looks suspiciously like late 1970s Luxman rosewood wrap. An L-80/1-85v?

 

[cochlea]

So based on preliminary reviews and praises on this and other sites, I ordered one of these because right now I have my tt plugged into the phono pre-amp on my Yamaha A-S501. I thought it might be a significant improvement. Now reading this review I’m wondering if that was a mistake. Should this still out preform my S501, or should I send it back and get the CA Duo?

 

[BDWoody]

What is that to the left of the Puffin? It looks suspiciously like late 1970s Luxman rosewood wrap. An L-80/1-85v?

Quite a good guess.

It's the C-120a

SL-10 with the 310mc on top, although I might mount it on the wall, because I can.

I love the Luxman. All volume knobs should feel like this.

 

[LTig]

@amirm And the RIAA deviation is shocking above 14kHz where it drops like a stone to end up nearly 3dB down at 20kHz.

Not suitable for CD4 (the old discrete 4 channel quadro standard).

 

[Helicopter]

Quite a good guess.

It's the C-120a
View attachment 108622

SL-10 with the 310mc on top, although I might mount it on the wall, because I can.

I love the Luxman. All volume knobs should feel like this.

I see you have the same stylus dust thing as @watchnerd I guess I should order one of those and compare to the Magic Eraser.

Not suitable for CD4 (the old discrete 4 channel quadro standard).

I wonder if the LPF is a setting.

 

[BDWoody]

I see you have the same stylus dust thing as @watchnerd I guess I should order one of those and compare to the Magic Eraser.

I'm always paranoid using brushes... It works great.

 

[Billy Budapest]

So based on preliminary reviews and praises on this and other sites, I ordered one of these because right now I have my tt plugged into the phono pre-amp on my Yamaha A-S501. I thought it might be a significant improvement. Now reading this review I’m wondering if that was a mistake. Should this still out preform my S501, or should I send it back and get the CA Duo?

The RIAA equalization is essentially perfect and the noise level is below that of vinyl playback hardware so that shouldn’t be a deciding factor. The question is whether or not you need all the features the Puffin has.

 

[Dj7675]

Then again, the LP medium has so much distortion that the latter point doesn't make any difference in reality.

What is the measured distortion of the LP Medium? I have one of the better engineered vintage turntables (JVC TT801) and it the specs show S/N ratio of 80dB. But if the Puffin exceeds the medium itself, this wouldn't matter then it would seem.

 

[LTig]

About the EQ: RIAA EQ implemented entirely digitally wouldn't be a very good system design. Far better noise and dynamic range is achievable by implementing the RIAA nominally in the analog front end. It doesn't even need to be hyper accurate (hence "nominally"). The DSP could be used to touch up the response to high accuracy, and to implement any deltas for pre-RIAA equalization curves. This approach would provide better A/D SNR and throw away less bits in the digital domain.

I agree in principle. However not long ago I fed the output of my VdH MC1 special MC cartridge (0.65 mV rated output) directly into the line in input of my RME ADI-2 PRO fs (it has no preamp). I recorded a record with audacity, amplified the recording by 47 dB and used the EQ to do the RIAA deemphasis. I was very astonished about the low noise[1]. I think with some 20 dB linear amplification in front of the ADC the signal should be high enough above the noise floor of the ADC with sufficient headroom left.

[1] I'd like to share a short excerpt of the begin of the recording as MP3 but I could not attached it here. @amirm: is it possible to attach sound files to a posting?

 

[Soniclife]

I'm always paranoid using brushes... It works great.

What is it?
I use the tiny brush that came with my cart sparingly, and very rarely I use one of these.

 

[watchnerd]

What is the measured distortion of the LP Medium? I have one of the better engineered vintage turntables (JVC TT801) and it the specs show S/N ratio of 80dB. But if the Puffin exceeds the medium itself, this wouldn't matter then it would seem.

That SNR is almost certainly the rumble spec.

Mid 70s to low 80s dB were commonly claimed, and still are, among good decks.

Measurement is tricky, though, requiring one of these:

 

[watchnerd]

I agree in principle. However not long ago I fed the output of my VdH MC1 special MC cartridge (0.65 mV rated output) directly into the line in input of my RME ADI-2 PRO fs (it has no preamp). I recorded a record with audacity, amplified the recording by 47 dB and used the EQ to do the RIAA deemphasis. I was very astonished about the low noise[1]. I think with some 20 dB linear amplification in front of the ADC the signal should be high enough above the noise floor of the ADC with sufficient headroom left.

[1] I'd like to share a short excerpt of the begin of the recording as MP3 but I could not attached it here. @amirm: is it possible to attach sound files to a posting?

You can just upload it to a cloud file sharing service.

I used Google Drive in the Puffin vs Devialet rips I referenced upthread.

 

[BDWoody]

What is it?
I use the tiny brush that came with my cart sparingly, and very rarely I use one of these.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ERPWAK2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_OIkeGbF827C1A

That's the version I have, but there are a few out there.

 

[Billy Budapest]

What is the measured distortion of the LP Medium? I have one of the better engineered vintage turntables (JVC TT801) and it the specs show S/N ratio of 80dB. But if the Puffin exceeds the medium itself, this wouldn't matter then it would seem.

It’s not necessarily the SNR of the hardware that is the limiting factor. Rather, the physical playback of vinyl itself introduces groove noise, etc. It’s just not a “high resolution medium,” with inherent noise and limited dynamic range. Now, can vinyl be pleasing to the ear? Certainly. But even the quietest turntables playing the best pressed discs will have some measure of audible noise and distortion.

 

[win]

I haven't heard any issues with headroom but what would I even be looking for? Some of my wax is really nasty, too.

 

[cochlea]

The RIAA equalization is essentially perfect and the noise level is below that of vinyl playback hardware so that shouldn’t be a deciding factor. The question is whether or not you need all the features the Puffin has.

Well, there are “needs” and “wants”. . The Puffin I want gets here Thursday. I guess I’ll check it out and see if it’s what I need. Thanks!

 

[DDF]

I agree in principle. However not long ago I fed the output of my VdH MC1 special MC cartridge (0.65 mV rated output) directly into the line in input of my RME ADI-2 PRO fs (it has no preamp). I recorded a record with audacity, amplified the recording by 47 dB and used the EQ to do the RIAA deemphasis. I was very astonished about the low noise[1]. I think with some 20 dB linear amplification in front of the ADC the signal should be high enough above the noise floor of the ADC with sufficient headroom left.

[1] I'd like to share a short excerpt of the begin of the recording as MP3 but I could not attached it here. @amirm: is it possible to attach sound files to a posting?

Maybe not the best approach with a JBL Active 1 though The ADI has insanely good A/D noise performance so I believe you

BTW, the ADI XLRs will provide switchable input gain, lowest lowest gain is ~ 1.2V clipping

 

[LTig]

Maybe not the best approach with a JBL Active 1 though The ADI has insanely good A/D noise performance so I believe you
View attachment 108627

BTW, the ADI XLRs will provide switchable input gain, lowest lowest gain is ~ 1.2V clipping
View attachment 108628

Which I used, of course. I don't remember whether I used additional 6 dB of digital gain.

 

[noobie1]

I agree. I have some really hot 12" 45s that back in the day, with a high-ish output MM would hit 80mV. That's with no surface irregularites.

If it's overloading at 20mV with ~40dB gain, what hope does it have at MC gains of ~60dB? It's going to be overloading under 2mV.

I am hoping there is something not set correctly that Amir may have missed (it is a complicated little thing) that is causing this, otherwise it is just broken by design. Disappointing.

By the same token, could you avoid any headroom issues if you bypass the gain stage in the Puffin (only apply RIAA) and let a preamp do all or most of the gain? I was thinking my Puffin sounded better when I set the gain at 0 dB and feed it directly to my mic preamp (57 dB gain). But wasn't sure if I was imagining.