This month, your favourite hi-fi enthusiast and general music nerd is heading back in time a little, revisiting a key component from earlier in his own hi-fi journey while also exploring where things are headed next. As you’ve probably guessed, this latest chapter focuses firmly on vinyl playback…

The component in question is the phono stage — or phono preamp — and specifically my original Nytech CDP 122. But why revisit it when I already own the excellent Cyrus 40PPA? Well, the reason is simple: Nytech has evolved its old faithful design into an all-new sonic offering, the CDP 132 phono preamp.

So sit back, grab a great cup of coffee, and join me for a little sonic time travelling.

Back to the Beginning

Going back almost five years in my hi-fi timeline, some of you may remember the first major changes I made when I properly began my journey into the wild world of hi-fi and what still feels like the ongoing pursuit of my perfect system. (I’m almost there… I think. Or at least I hope so.)

One of the most important components I bought during that period was my trusty Nytech CDP 122, long before I eventually upgraded to the Cyrus 40PPA. I still remember first meeting Phillip Balaam after joining Audio T and quickly being introduced to the world of Nytech Audio. It didn’t take long to realise just how important the company had been within British hi-fi history.

Of course, history alone means very little without sonic ability to back it up, and Nytech has always had a strong reputation for exactly that.

Before diving into the new CDP 132, though, it’s worth taking a brief look back at the company’s origins and how Nytech found its way back into modern hi-fi.

The Story of Nytech

Before the days of Nytech itself, there was Nytronics, founded in 1977 by Dave Alner and Paul Hamblin, both formerly of Radford Electronics. Like many talented engineers eventually do, they decided it was time to branch out on their own, creating Nytech and bringing the first Nytech CTA tuner to life.

Not long after, in 1978, Richard Hay joined the company and developed the CTA 252XD integrated amplifier from the original CTA 252 tuner platform. That amplifier became hugely important in shaping Nytech’s future reputation within hi-fi circles.

In fact, our original company, Audio Excellence — founded by our operations director Tony Revelle — stocked the CTA 252XD back in the 1980s.

Richard Hay wasn’t the only key addition to the company either. Phillip Balaam joined as an audio test engineer between 1978 and 1982, helping contribute to Nytech’s development during that period. Nytech also partnered with ARC to develop active systems before eventually relocating to Newtown during the mid-1980s, which led to further developments including Ion Systems amplification alongside the Obelisk and Nexus ranges.

Fast forward many years later and Phil Balaam revived Nytech in 2013, introducing products such as the CP202 and CAP402 pre/power amplification combination.

There are new amplifiers on the horizon too, but today isn’t about pre/power amplification. Today is about one of the most important parts of vinyl playback: the phono preamp.

More specifically, it’s about the evolution from the original CDP 122 to the brand-new CDP 132.

Revisiting an Old Favourite

So why revisit my old phono stage now?

As I mentioned earlier, Nytech recently released the CDP 132, a heavily revised and updated version of the original CDP 122 design. Naturally, that immediately grabbed my attention, especially considering how much of an impact the original CDP 122 had on my own system years ago when I upgraded from the internal phono stage inside my Rega Elex-R integrated amplifier.

The original CDP 122 completely changed how I viewed vinyl playback. It opened up more detail, more texture, and more life from records I thought I already knew inside out.

So when the opportunity came to try the new CDP 132, I jumped at the chance.

As many of you already know, I often describe myself as “the world’s worst tone chaser”, constantly looking for those hidden details and subtle improvements, especially when it comes to vinyl playback. With that in mind, it was time to get both Nytech phono stages into my system and hear exactly what had changed.

System Changes Before Listening

Before getting into the listening impressions themselves, I made a couple of subtle changes to my setup beforehand.

The first thing some of you may notice from the pictures is that, purely for demonstration purposes (wink wink, nudge nudge — we all know I’ll probably end up buying one), I swapped my faithful Dynavector 10X5 high-output cartridge for the low-output Dynavector 20X2A cartridge that I wrote about a few months ago.

The reason for this change was simple: a good moving coil cartridge really allows a switchable phono stage to show its true colours and capabilities. In this case, I wanted to use a cartridge whose sound I know extremely well.

As we always say in hi-fi, the source matters enormously, and the cartridge plays a huge role in shaping a turntable’s overall character.

The second change was temporarily removing my Cyrus 40PPA from the system. (Sorry Cyrus — you went straight back in afterwards.)

In its place sat the original CDP 122 and the brand-new CDP 132, ready for a proper listening session.

The Music

Speaking of listening sessions, these were the records I lined up for the evening:

Deep Purple – “When a Blind Man Cries”
Album: Machine Head
Originally released in 1972, although this particular version comes from the 2024 Dweezil Zappa remix.

Van Halen – “Push Comes to Shove”
Album: Fair Warning (1981)

Alice in Chains – “Sludge Factory”
Album: Alice in Chains (1995)

With my trusty Cyrus 40 amplifier warmed up and coffee brewing, it was time to get started.

Listening Impressions – CDP 122

Even though I already know the CDP 122 extremely well, it was genuinely enjoyable reconnecting with its sound again.

Starting with Deep Purple’s When a Blind Man Cries, the CDP 122 delivered an open and spacious presentation, with plenty of air around Ian Gillan’s vocals and excellent detail from Jon Lord’s Hammond B3 organ.

Moving onto the standout track of the evening for me — Van Halen’s Push Comes to Shove — the focus became Eddie Van Halen’s guitar tone. There was fantastic subtle detail surrounding Eddie’s volume pot swells combined with the gain structure from his old 1967 Marshall 100-watt Super Lead head.

The CDP 122 still sounded wonderfully engaging and musical, reminding me exactly why I originally fell for it all those years ago.

Listening Impressions – CDP 132

And now, with the CDP 122 stepping aside, it was time for the new CDP 132.

Revisiting the same tracks immediately revealed improvements.

Deep Purple’s When a Blind Man Cries sounded more alive and more dimensional, with noticeably greater separation between instruments. This is where Phil Balaam’s perfectionist approach really becomes apparent, carefully refining the presentation without losing the musicality that made the original so enjoyable.

The stereo image felt larger and more precise, and I could better hear what Dweezil Zappa was aiming for in the remix, allowing every instrument its own clearly defined space.

Moving back to Van Halen’s Push Comes to Shove, even more low-level detail emerged from Eddie’s Frankenstrat and Michael Anthony’s bass playing. Small details, such as David Lee Roth’s breathing into the microphone, became easier to pick out naturally within the mix rather than being artificially spotlighted.

Finally came the highlight of the evening for me: Alice in Chains’ Sludge Factory.

Layne Staley’s voice sounded absolutely superb through the CDP 132. There was a rawness and texture to his vocals that made the performance feel incredibly immediate, particularly whenever he pushed into the upper registers.

Final Thoughts

I’ve always felt that the phono preamp is one of the most overlooked parts of a hi-fi system, despite being hugely important to the overall character and quality of vinyl playback.

With the CDP 132, Phil Balaam has created something genuinely impressive. Not only does it sound superb, but it also proves you don’t necessarily need to spend enormous amounts of money to achieve truly engaging analogue performance.

Perhaps even better, it’s proudly designed and built in Wales — in fact, it’s made right above our Cardiff store.

Because of that, we always keep them available for demonstration, so if you’re curious, why not come in and hear one for yourself?

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Matt Aaron - Audio T Cardiff

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