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Bob - what's the rest of your system?

Regards,

Lindsay

I made that very change, many years ago, and couldn't tell any difference. I'd stick with the lovely 32.5, if only for the fact that it matches the amplifier and has that little toggle switch for mute, rather than a twisty button. 

Unless the 72 is recently serviced I'd be inclined to agree with HH as I also did something similar many moons ago. Maybe consider getting your 32.5 and 250 serviced if they are due and bit of love and attention, that will certainly revitalise things. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

I made that very change, many years ago, and couldn't tell any difference. I'd stick with the lovely 32.5, if only for the fact that it matches the amplifier and has that little toggle switch for mute, rather than a twisty button. 

And a rather handy mono switch too - you don't get that with the NAC72.  It's pretty much essential if you listen to vinyl LPs from the mono era.

Thanks to all for advice. I will stick with the 32.5. 

To reply to Lindsay the rest of the system is Hicap, Rega planar 3 with goldring 1012, Nac A5 cable, Meridian 507 CD player, Wharfedale Pacific Pi40 speakers. I did try Tannoy Balmorals but the Bass was to boomy. I think they boost the Bass on modern recordings so smaller speakers sound better.

Regards Bob

Richard Dane posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

I made that very change, many years ago, and couldn't tell any difference. I'd stick with the lovely 32.5, if only for the fact that it matches the amplifier and has that little toggle switch for mute, rather than a twisty button. 

And a rather handy mono switch too - you don't get that with the NAC72.  It's pretty much essential if you listen to vinyl LPs from the mono era.

Why so? Isn't the signal already in mono? i.e. Left and Right signals more-or-less identical from the cartridge.

My understanding (based on a very limited experience of mono recordings) is that a stereo system playing a mono piece projects an image to a single point, half way between the speakers. Hitting the mono button, if you have one, opens the sound out into a wider soundstage. 

The use of the mono button is that it dramatically cuts the noise you get when you play a mono cut LP with a stereo cartridge. It effectively removes the contribution of the cartridge stylus tracing the vertical part of the vinyl groove, which is only used for stereo.

Richard Dane posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

I made that very change, many years ago, and couldn't tell any difference. I'd stick with the lovely 32.5, if only for the fact that it matches the amplifier and has that little toggle switch for mute, rather than a twisty button. 

And a rather handy mono switch too - you don't get that with the NAC72.  It's pretty much essential if you listen to vinyl LPs from the mono era.

Richard, I don't understand this. My 72 has a mono switch, well rotary dial. Mute one way, neutral in the middle, mono the other.

Bob59 posted:

I am using an old chrome bumper Nap250 with a Nac 32.5 would there be any improvement in using an Olive Nac72 or would it be better to stick with the original Nac32.5?

 

Stick with the original, and even consider a service refresh. 

A fortune needs to be spent to improve it in any meaningful way, in my humble opinion of course.

ATB from George

..... unless of course Mon stands for monitor and not mono.....

As in “tape monitor?"

ATB from George

Yep

Richard Dane posted:

The use of the mono button is that it dramatically cuts the noise you get when you play a mono cut LP with a stereo cartridge. It effectively removes the contribution of the cartridge stylus tracing the vertical part of the vinyl groove, which is only used for stereo.

I have no idea what actually goes on when you hit the mono button, but my post above was what I perceived on the odd occasion that I listened to a mono LP, mainly with an A&R A60 that I used to have. To my ears, the effect I described, of widening the soundstage, was very noticeable. I concede that this does seem to be rather different from your (no doubt more technically correct) explanation!