CJ PV10A phono section: Repair or buy separate?


I have a Conrad Johnson PV10A that I like quite a bit with some effort invested in improving the caps, diode bridge and power connection to remedy the complaints against the stock PV10A. However Stereophiles complaint of phono section noise I could never fix and over the last year 1 channel is now badly noisy. Right now I can play LP's on the phono section of the Prima Luna integrated but that's unsatisfying compared to the CJ even with a noisy channel.

So my question is this; does it make sense to seek repair of the CJ phono section or would I be better off investing in something like the Vincent PHO-8? The cartridge I use is Grado reference platinum, may replace with a Dynavector high output MC.
128x128davide256
IMHO you should repair the PV10 - it is an excellent sounding unit and noise should not be a problem with a high output cartridge. Since the problem only exists in one channel most probably it is due to tubes or a faulty resistor in the noisy channel - the power supply is shared between channels, if it was a power supply problem it would affect both channels. It should be easy to repair.
I concur with Microstrip. My PV11A is as satisfying as anything new I've heard up to several times what it's worth.

Other possible culprits include a dirty/worn tube socket or a bad solder joint. Start by swapping the phono stage tubes and see if the noise changes sides. If you're lucky...
Since you like it you should get it repaired. Why take a chance and get something you might not like!
Maybe repair and upgrade! i have found that upgrades are cheaper and yield more satisfying results than spending thousands for minimal improvementsÂ…

http://www.audio-horizons.com/pages/preamp.html

peace.