Trichord made its name with the clock upgrades for CD players in the early nineties, raising awareness of the insidious digital distortion called 'jitter' in the process. Since then, it has effectively taken over the electronics that formerly went under the Michell (of turntable fame) banner. Which makes the Dino the natural successor to the highly successful Michell Iso which, oddly enough was designed by a former partner in Trichord. As hi-fi circles go, that's about as complete as they get.
Connections aside, the Dino is a different beast to the Iso. It has a broad range of adjustments for both moving magnet and moving coil cartridges, though the latter are better catered for, with four levels of load resistance and three degrees of gain. This makes he Dino one of the easiest stages to tailor to the requirements of a range of cartridges. So whatever needle you use now and whichever you upgrade to, the Dino will cope.
In standard form the Dino costs £329.00 and comes with a basic power supply in the lead, but for an additional £219.00 you can add the Dino+ power supply. This comes in a matching case with a separate connecting lead and mains inlet, rather than a captive lead. Its claim to fame is an 80VA toroidal transformer and soft recovery rectification designed to minimise radio frequency interference (RFI).
Getting to the Dino's sonic character proved less than straightforward: it's a pretty transparent device and any limitations are simply because they've been omitted. Compared to its peers, its balance is midway between the focus of the Naim Stageline and the energy of the Microgroove. It's smooth and revealing of dynamics, imaging, timing and tone, without emphasising any of these elements. It doesn't have the bass power of the Microgroove, or the timing of the Stageline, but it's more than able to resolve the low-level detail crucial to building a credible sonic picture. If there's scale on the record it makes the most of it, and the way the soundstage on Symphonic Dances expands when you go from the 33rpm to the 45rpm cut can be fully appreciated.
This is a subtle yet very fine stage that disappears into the mix, leaving the music to shine through. It's not as demonstrative as some of its peers, but there's a lot to be said for audio components that become sonically invisible. After all, you want to hear the music, not the kit.
Joni Mitchell's Hejira is a very fine album, argueably her best, and with a great cartridge and turntable driving through the Dino and Dino+ combo, you will find it hard to argue - Pastorius' exquisite bass and layered guitars create a lush backdrop to Joni's songs of the road and the sky. I'm not sure if this album is still available on vinyl, but if i's not it should be. This stage responds to its energy and inventiveness with panache; you know the music sounds great, but struggle to hear the phono stage. An excellent all-round buy.
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