Gram Amp 2se / Reflex M
Printed From: Graham Slee Hifi System Components
Category: Turntable Audio
Forum Name: Write A Review
Forum Description: Satisfied with your Graham Slee phono preamp? - share your experiences here
URL: https://www.hifisystemcomponents.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1140
Printed Date: 27 Mar 2026 at 6:08am
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Topic: Gram Amp 2se / Reflex M
Posted By: musicdude
Subject: Gram Amp 2se / Reflex M
Date Posted: 24 Jul 2011 at 4:52pm
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Hi everybody, I'm new in this forum and like to get your opinion. Since 2004 I use the GA 2 SE and my ears are telling me it's time to get something more sophisticated.  I'm leaning towards the Reflex M. What can I expect? Thank you musicdude |
Replies:
Posted By: tg [RIP]
Date Posted: 24 Jul 2011 at 5:40pm
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Welcome to the forum, without knowing anything about your system, musical tastes or what you feel to be the shortcomings of your present setup, it is rather difficult to offer you any helpful answer. The best that I can suggest is, that since you seem to have been happy with the G2SE for 7 years, you will pretty certainly be very happy with the Reflex. What differences you will notice may range from noticeable to profound, depending on the rest of your equipment and your own listening preferences (and perceptions). I have owned a Reflex for a number of years and before that the Era Gold V, I felt that the Reflex was an improvement on the EGV, by extension (and recent trial) I consider it to better the G2SE (as might reasonably be expected). The better your cartridge and TT (and the rest of your equipment) the more difference you may expect to notice. Perhaps this will help a little. |
Posted By: musicdude
Date Posted: 24 Jul 2011 at 6:37pm
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Ok, here is my current setup. It's a mix of brands, new and used equipment but my ears like it and it is, imo the best bang for the buck, except the speakers... Amplifier: Korsun V8i, Speaker cables: MIT AVt bw1, Speakers: Revel F52, Turntable: Pioneer PLC 590 with SME 3009 s2 arm, Pickup: Grado Reference Sonata 1 and the G2SE which I power via two motorcycle 12Volt batteries in series. I heard improvements in sound after upgrading to the F52's than again with the MIT's and the last improvement I got with the batteries powering the G2SE. This system evolved over the course of ~10 years when I lived in New York. I bet you never had such a system setup.... What are your thought's? |
Posted By: tg [RIP]
Date Posted: 25 Jul 2011 at 3:04am
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For the little it is worth, I doubt your deck and cartridge will limit your experience of the improvements brought by the Reflex should you choose to upgrade. Rather nice looking and seems a well regarded, if somewhat uncommon, deck. What I was trying to say was that, your expectations will be unique to yourself and no-one can say with any certainty that they will be met. The Reflex is definitely superior to the G2SE and your system seems sufficient to benefit from the qualities it will bring. I have also never had a setup like that of Mikey F. (and doubt I ever will), he has probably heard more phono stages than I have had hot dinners and he was rather taken with the predecessor of the Reflex. Check the response of another poster to the C version http://www.gspaudio-community.activeboards.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=1058 - http://www.gspaudio-community.activeboards.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=1058 for an indication of the capabilities of this unit, the sonic qualities will be the same, only the gain is different. I would doubt that you would be disappointed. Whether the batteries will prove superior to the PSU1 is something that many might be interested to hear, should you make the comparison in time to come. |
Posted By: musicdude
Date Posted: 25 Jul 2011 at 6:03pm
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Thanks tg for your statements. It gives me the confidence that I'm on the right track towards vinyl heaven. That the Reflex will be better than the G2SE I believe without a doubt! If the batteries will be better than the PSU1 I would answer as a definitive yes. When amplifying such a weak signal from the cartridge, you want the cleanest of DC you can get and that is from a battery. There is no alternating current from the power grid being converted to direct current, and then filtered to remove the 50/60Hz pulses and the pulses that come from the rectifier circuit. Clean power equals into clean music. The difference I have heard since the G2SE is powered by batteries is just astonishing! I belief the Reflex will also benefit from it. Using the batteries with the Reflex should equal into as having a $3000 phono amp! (an educated guess) Hi-End on a budget! I think I go for the Reflex.  Btw: Who is Mikey F? I just remembered, it's got to be Michael Fremer from Stereophile. |
Posted By: musicdude
Date Posted: 09 Sep 2011 at 3:44pm
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Here is my
review for the Reflex M. I’ll say one word …… superb! I have been
listening with the Reflex M for a month now and I have to say the improvements
are very noticeable. What strikes me is that never before heard instruments, I
can hear now! The sound stage is now much deeper and wider and instruments
can now be exactly located. It’s like having a curtain of “gloom” lifted in front
of the speakers. Vocals are
very natural and clean, it’s like having the singer standing in front of you. Guitars,
violins or the bass sound incredibly lifelike. Violins used to sound annoying at
times but with the Reflex M it’s a joy to listen to it. If you like classical
or jazz, this is the phono amp to get! Highs are
clear as crystal and without any glare or edginess. The middle is accurate and
makes vocals sound so lifelike. For example when listening to the duet with
Neal Diamond and Barbra Streisand in “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” (CBS 85844,
1982) it gives me a shiver down the spine! That’s how real it sounds! Doesn’t
happen with CD. This is also in part due to the Grado Reference Sonata 1 which
presents vocals very well.The bass is
deep, powerful, precise and never muddy. Just like CD’s ….
If you have
speakers that are very revealing, the Reflex M will “open” your ears even
further.I don’t
have the PSU1, I use my batteries as power source. I have seen the benefit
before and it sure benefits the Reflex M.
After one
month listening to the Reflex M, I can wholeheartedly recommend it to all vinyl
lovers who don’t want to spend thousands on a MC setup but want the musicality
a MM can deliver. Hi-End does not have to cost a fortune.
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Posted By: Fatmangolf
Date Posted: 09 Sep 2011 at 7:50pm
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That's a very helpful review musicdude, and has made me think that I need to buy a Reflex M. tg has encouraged me to do so before now, your review has tipped me into acting. Thank you! ------------- Jon Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |
Posted By: tg [RIP]
Date Posted: 10 Sep 2011 at 3:00am
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Thanks for coming back and sharing the joy. You now know for yourself what we could only hint at. My only additional comment would be that it is not restricted to classical or jazz - if you like music this is the phono stage to have |
Posted By: musicdude
Date Posted: 11 Sep 2011 at 7:22pm
Hey Jon your very welcome! I saw on your member profile that you like guitars, well I can tell you that the Reflex is just amazing in reproducing guitars. You will be delighted with the Reflex. Your hard earned money is very well spent. For me the search is over!  |
Posted By: Fatmangolf
Date Posted: 12 Sep 2011 at 8:21pm
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Thanks musicdude. ------------- Jon Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |
Posted By: Fatmangolf
Date Posted: 04 Oct 2011 at 9:00pm
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I have now had a Reflex M and PSU1 burning in for 24 hours and it is as good as you all wrote. A rich and detailed sound, very musical and involving and it is great on guitars of all kinds. This preamp made good acoustic guitars on vinyl sound more real and makes amplified electrics much better than before.
In overall terms I was really impressed with how the different instruments and tracks can be heard but the whole song works together. That is a great achievement and gives me listening pleasure.
It is already getting things from my Musicmaker III that I haven't heard before like subtle ambience around me. From what I have read and my own listening to the Genera and Solo, I think the sound of the Reflex M will get better still as it burns in.
The Reflex M is even clearer than the very good Genera (which I have raved about elsewhere) and its noise floor is very low. Low enough that I had to drop the volume when I heard how loud the surface noise was on a recently cleaned record. Good thing I did!
In short: top end hi-fi at a reasonable price. ------------- Jon Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |
Posted By: Fatmangolf
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2011 at 10:00pm
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The Reflex M is quite remarkable. I haven't just got my records out, I am trying different turntable and cartridge options. My Music maker III is currently in the SL1210 and I can hear the difference a mod to its servo circuit makes. A change in the VTA (and adjusting the VTF after) is audible. Wow!
Next I will try my modified Rega arm on the SL1210. Perhaps some more music first...
------------- Jon Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |
Posted By: Paperweight
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2011 at 1:47am
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I just got my Reflex M today. This thing is the best purchase I've made in vinyl playback gear so far. I was almost tempted to change my Rega Exact cartridge out for a Dynavector 20X2 for more detail. I had been using a home built copy of Graham's Genera which is pretty darn good in it's own right. The Reflex M wrings out everything the Exact cartridge can give and delivers this rich, highly detailed sound I never thought was possible with vinyl. I bet I would have never upgraded from a Goldring GR2 turntable to a Rega P5 if I had bought the Reflex or Reflex M last year. If you love vinyl, you'll be extremely happy with the Reflex M. I dare say it's one of the best values in high-end audio.
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Posted By: oldagetraveller
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2011 at 3:46pm
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It'll only get better too! I've had mine close on a week now, replacing an Era Gold V. Even straight out of the box it was excellent but to me sounded, as expected, a bit bright and "thin". After the week it's become much better with a "fuller" sound. Yes, the detail it conveys is quite amazing. It's like listening to a new collection of vinyl all over again and very addictive! ------------- Peter P T- LPT/RB300/G1042, Pink Triangle Tarantella/Nima/Ortofon 2M Black, SL1210II, Naim CD5, NAC112, NAP150, Flatcap2, Proac SC1, GS SoloUL,GS Accession , Senn HD250 & HD540. |
Posted By: Fatmangolf
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2011 at 5:10pm
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Well put both of you! The Reflex M is wonderful and I found Graham's comparison of the musical characteristics of negative feedback and ultralinear very insightful.
------------- Jon Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |
Posted By: suede
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2012 at 5:10pm
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I just got the Reflex M the other day and I must say I was mighty impressed with it straight out of the box! I played a few records and they all sounded really great although the performance varied a bit with the natural burn-in process. I can't wait for it to finish burning in! I then hooked it up with a reversed RIAA stage I got from member Suggs to play digital music through it but with an inverted RIAA curve to match the phono stage's and a 40 db drop in volume. Doing this to burn it in quicker and not having to turn discs every 20 minutes. The strange thing is that those loud and slightly compressed CD's suddenly sounded a lot better being run through the Reflex. It did away with some of the usual treble harshness and made standard redbook 16 bit 44.1 khz material sound more wholesome and nice with a wide and pleasant soundstage. Almost like it were a HDCD or SACD of 24 bit 96 khz resolution instead. Now since the signal makes quite a detour it naturally takes away some of the sparkle too, I don't know how hifi the reverse RIAA stage is but still. I do prefer this setup with a lot of CD's. I don't know if it is the lowering of the volume and then letting a quality "amp" like the Reflex build it up again or if scrambling the frequency curve and letting it fix that too has something to do with it as well but it's a fun thing I noticed. Maybe Graham could make a CD enhancing contraption in the future To help the poor CD generation in their desperate situation, if this is not just a cheap EQ effect that is  Johan |
Posted By: Graham Slee
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2012 at 7:25pm
I have often thought about such a device. One in particular introduced a phase shift without introducing a level shift (its called an all pass filter in electronics circles) and IMO, corrected for phase displacement due to the sharp sampling frequency filters employed. I built one and felt I could just about hear a difference, but to me, it wasn't a day and night difference. I sent it to dvv (once a member here and ex-TNT reviewer) who reckoned it made some of his CDs sound better, and some no difference. After lots of research I discovered around 12 possible variations of phase shift which would require the user to "guess" which one was most appropriate. Yes, that's an effects unit in my book! Like tone controls but possibly much less obvious - a bit like selling rainbow foil to improve ones listening room I felt... I then learned that the US patents office had granted a patent for an all pass filter (which seeing it already existed shouldn't have been granted with a patent...) which mixed the phase "adjusted" signal with the original signal, thus canceling certain frequencies, a bit like a "comb filter" (another item of prior knowledge), and concluded this was yet another elaborate musical effect.  Because of slight differences in curve matching between the RIAA emphasis input filter and the Reflex RIAA de-emphasis filter the combination may be producing a similar effect. It would be much better if modern DACs allowed a current output (which sadly 99.9999% don't) and then I'd be at least able to get to the signal before it was totally corrupted - then I could do something about it. ------------- That none should be able to park up and enjoy the view without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps |
suede wrote:Posted By: suede
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2012 at 8:26pm
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The CD's I found to be improved was mainly those a bit on the loud side. Maybe lowering the volume and numbing them down a notch was the trick? But I can almost swear I heard some of the musicality from the Reflex mixing in too. Really nicely stroking guitars and a wide warm sound all in all. Anyway I guess you can't polish a plain rock into a diamond, even though that would be nice. It's just sad that they made the digital audio media standard so poor when they invented the CD.  But I guess it was impressive still 30 years ago. Lasers and all! |
Posted By: Fatmangolf
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2012 at 10:10pm
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I think you are right that it makes a fault in the source recording less noticeable. Overcompressed and limited CD's often have a harsh quality as do enhanced/excited (high energy) mixes and it's not a nice combination with a steep filter in the CD player.
It's not just hi-fi that has these esoteric add-ons. There is a much discussed device that I won't name, which many Line 6 Pod owners swear by for its positive effect on the sound. It is passive (i.e. no gain stage and power supply needed), hand built with a big block of epoxy resin inside hiding the parts. Needless to say there was always a lot of speculation about the circuit... It was about $200 to buy last time I read about it. I haven't heard one so wouldn't criticise it.
------------- Jon Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |