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I am not a big fun of Dvorak 9th under Ancerl. I’m not big fun nether the orchestra’s balance nor the recording quality.  Anyhow…

I do not think that that you need to worry PH-77’s accuracy of curves or the comfort to switch them. It looks like the took care about this part. I do not think that any review would help you as well. My only concern is that in this remote control that flip the curves it looks like it will not be an absolute phase switch. One might argue that the phase switch must by on preamp but how many of us have a fully balanced preamps? I do not and I would love to have it in phonostage.

I think the biggest question about the PH-77 shall be how it sounds itself with no respect to curves. Obviously in order to accommodate the curves flexibility specific topological decision were made, the decision that probably would not be made if the corrector survey just one curve.  How it affects the sound and what the corrector own default sound – that is the key. The Boulder 2008 that has adjustable curves sound very-very nice; however Boulder it is not adjustable but has plug-in modules. As far as I know the PH-77 is the first attempt to attach the problem, at which level it is implanted sonically is not known yet. If they did it at the level of other phonostages with price tag of €8K (there are a dozen of them) then it will be good for them and I then foresee a bright future for this phonocorrector. For whatever it worth the PH-77 it has provision for 3 arm and for some people it might be God sent…

I just a bit afraid that marketing-wise to release the PH-77 for €8K was incorrect move. I instead would like to see PH-77 “Regular” and PH-77 “Universal”. The “Regular” version might have one RIAA curve and one arm and it go for €8K. The “Universal” version has a provision for 3 arms, all multi-curve functionality and would go for let say €15K. The reason I say so because I know that audio peoples are idiots and they feel that not expensive price is an evidence of sonic inferiority. I remember 10 years ago the shitty sounding Karma 2.5 was trying to put itself for $6.5K and no one wanted it. People lately trashed this piece of crap and dealers use Karma to cut fish on them in back rooms. As soon the canny dealers juts totally for fun increased the price for this crap from $6.5K to $21K then suddenly the deaf idiots begin to buy it and the industry whores and pimps of all calibers begins to hangs their stupid medals on this poor speaker. I just a bit afraid that for €8K the Moron might not take it seriously.  I think that AMR need to come up with some kind of alibi to handle this issue. If I work for AMR then I would leak some kind of BS story like this: “we can keep out price very low as the UNESKO financed International Sound Archives Foundation give to us a huge grant to develop PH-77 phonostage with objective to preserve and to advance the legacy of recording history.”

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