Phono Stages
Finding good phono stages can be a real nightmare as they are one of the hardest components to get right within a system. Many designs so beloved by the press are able to capture much of the detail within recordings, but few find the passion that great musicians are able to put into their work. We feel the mid market to hi end designs we offer allow you to get closer to both the performance and the performers than many other stages.
Project Phono Box MM
The Phono Box MM is a moving magnet only phono stage from Project. It’s housed in a very small metal case which provides good shielding, and has an external wall wart type power supply, both of which help keep noise to a minimum. Inside it uses surface mount components (see picture below) to keep the signal paths very short and a dual mono layout for good channel separation.
Rega Phono Box MM phono stage: £59.99
Edwards Audio Apprentice Phono stage
The Apprentice is the new entry level phono stage from Edwards Audio which combines quite remarkable performance and very a affordable price tag. Designed and manufactured entirely in the UK this diminutive box contains an exceptionally short signal path (thanks to the surface mount design) and an external power supply to keep noise to a minimum.. Much like its larger and dearer brothers (detailed below) it has a sound that is very well resolved but never tiring or difficult to listen to, and has quickly established itself as our reference phono stage for under a hundred pounds.
Edwards Audio Apprentice MM phono stage: £89.95
The Fono Mini A2D is the latest version of the classic Rega budget phono stage and is ideal for all budget turntables. This new design incorporates an analogue to digital convertor and USB output (pictured below), so it can be used directly into your computer for making recordings, or conventionally into your hifi system via the phono sockets. Unlike many other USB phono stages a level control is provided so you can set the optimum output level for making the best of your LP recordings.
It comes in a nicely extruded aluminium case and is very well made in the UK as you’d expect from this vinyl specialist company. Power comes from an external mains supply (included) to ensure noise is kept low and the main unit measures a diminutive 11cm x 10cm x 3cm.
Rega Fono Mini A2D phono stage £85.00
Project Phono Box MkII
The Phono Box II is a classic budget phono stage, perfect for use with budget turntables and systems. Unusually for this type of design it can be used with both MM and MC cartridges via an internal adjustment. It is power by an external plug top power supply (included) to help reduce noise and is available with either silver or black front panels.
Project Phono Box MkII MM & MC phono stage: £89
Rega Fono
The brilliantly named Fono is a small high quality stand alone phono stage that is just 18cm wide (just over 7”). Two versions are available, one for MM and one for MC cartridges. They both have an external power supply for low noise, and the audio circuit itself is enclosed within an Aluminium box which is available in either Black or Silver.
Rega Fono MM £170
Rega Fono MC £230
Edwards Audio MM1
The MM1 is a fantastic moving magnet phono stage, and whilst its set at a very reasonable price it contains design elements you wouldn’t normally see at this price, including features such as a dual rail power supply. The sound is very musical and enjoyable and ranks as one of our all time favourite budget phono stages. It is also one of the most stylish looking stages we’ve seen and quite diminutive at just 11.5cms wide.
-
Edwards Audio MM1+
The MM1+ is based on the MM1 featured above and includes adjustable load (resistance and capacitance) and gain settings via internal jumpers. This allows fine tuning for getting the best from both MM cartridges and High Output MC (HOMC) designs.
Edwards Audio MM1+ phono stage £229.95
Project Phono Box SE mkII
The Phono Box SE II is a switchable MM and MC phono stage that provides adjustable cartridge loading. It comes with an external power supply for low noise and is available with either a black or silver fascia.
Project Phono Box SE mkII phono stage: £205
The MC1 is a superb sounding upgradeable MM and MC switchable phono stage. It uses a gold plated circuit board (pictured below) and a very novel active/passive eq stage for the RIAA correction which gives an accuracy of 0.5dB throughout the audio band.
It can be upgraded with the addition of the PSU1 external power supply which takes the sound to another level, and frankly one that competes with some of the best transistors phono stages I’ve heard. Unlike many transistor designs which have a habit of stripping the sound of texture and concentrate solely on resolution, the MC1 strikes a wonderful balance of tonal substance and detail retrieval. The power supply brings effortless dynamics and a completely strain free sound that remains exciting and involving to listen to.
New for 2012 is a range of excitingly colourful fascias for both the MC1 and PSU1. The range is shown below, including classic white and black finishes (the latter available with black rather than silver aluminium enclosure), as well as the more vibrant Blue, Green and Red.
-
-
-
Edwards Audio MC1PLUS
The MC1PLUS is based on the MC1 featured above and includes adjustable load (resistance and capacitance) and gain settings via internal jumpers. This allows fine tuning for getting the best from both MM cartridges and High Output MC (HOMC) designs. Like the standard MC1 it can also be used with the option PSU1 power supply for even greater results.
Edwards Audio MC1+ phono stage £349.95
Edwards Audio MC1+ & PSU1 phono stage and power supply package price £599.95
Project Tube Box MkII: £310
Neat valve MM & MC valve phono stage, includes switchable subsonic filter and external power supply. More details and photos coming soon.
Project Tube Box SE mkII
The Tube Box SE is a compact valve phono stage with inputs for both MM and MC cartridges that is very reasonably priced.
The audio stage uses a pair of ECC83 valves and there’s an external 16V power supply to ensure noise is kept as low as possible.
When used as an MC stage it offers adjustable loading via links mounted on the rear, allowing it to work with a wide range of cartridges.
The sound quality is very impressive for the money. Auditioned with moving magnet cartridges the sound stage is expansive with good detailing and transparency. The bass may be a little rounded in character but this will be only noticeable with wide bandwidth speakers whose price is likely to be way beyond the level of this humble box.
Our experiments with the MC input have so far been not quite as impressive -
The solution is to use a good external step up transformer to raise the MC cartridges output up to the level of a MM design, and whilst this sounds great it does dramatically increase the cost.
So in conclusion this is box is quite superb value for money, but stick to using it with MM cartridges (unless you can afford a good transformer) to hear it at its finest.
Project Tube Box SE mkII phono stage: £435.00
Croft Acoustics RIAA phono stage
The Croft Acoustics RIAA is a valve phono stage that uses two ECC83 dual triodes
hard wired and hand made in the UK. More details will follow shortly.
Croft Acoustics RIAA phono stage: £500
Pure Sound P10
The P10 is a superb MM valve phono stage (for Moving Coil use it in conjunction with a Step Up transformer). It uses a completely hard wired purist circuit with passive equalisation and no feedback. It is cleverly made with internal divisions to shield the noisy parts of the power supply from the audio stage and features very short signal paths. It produces an effortless sound with great tonality and is very highly recommended.
Pure Sound P10 phono stage: £659.95
The Edwards Audio MC2 builds upon the excellent MC1 (featured above) and features advances including additional gain (making it suitable for use with passive pre amplifiers), improved power rails and transconductance input stage. This design can work with MM and MC cartridges by moving internally adjustable jumpers, a 7Hz warp filter can also be enabled if required.
This very flexible design offers sound far greater than its compact dimensions would suggest possible, with superb resolution and musicality in abundance. The large external power supply means that there’s great dynamics and very low background noise too.
-
Audion Premier Phono Stage
The Premier is a valve phono stage that uses 6922 tubes mounted on an aluminium half width chassis. It is a very quiet MM stage which has a transparent sound that is very revealing without being overly analytical in presentation. Its midband is exactly what you’d expect of a good valve design, there’s no grain or hash, just an open and expansive sound. Naturally is also works wonderfully with step up transformers for use with moving coil cartridges.
-
The RIAA R phono stage is one of the latest designs from Glenn Croft. Its circuit (shown here with its lid off) is effectively derived from the Micro 25 pre amplifier, and as you’d probably expect it features an all valve hard wired signal path with extensively regulated power supplies, fed from two toroidal mains transformers. It’s intended for Moving Magnet but can of course be used with high output MCs or standard output MCs if you use any good external step up transformer.
The performance the RIAA R achieves at this price level is incredibly impressive. It has a sound that is characterised by a feeling of enormous grip and authority (I’d wager largely due to the use of the regulated power supplies), but whilst retaining a good sense of flow and musicality. Unlike many lesser phono stages it doesn’t bleach the tonal colour of instruments, which sound very real and present. If you like your vinyl to sound life like and bold (and who wouldn’t!) then we’d highly recommend an audition.
Croft Acoustics RIAA R MM phono stage: £1,000
Audio Note R Zero V2
The R Zero V2 is a valve MM phono stage which uses the a pair of 6112WA dual triodes and quality parts including Beyschlag resistors and Audio Note tin foil paper in oil capacitors. It is housed in the smaller Audio note chassis (approximately 2/3 standard width) and is available with either a black or brushed aluminium fascia.
Audio Note R Zero V2 phono stage: £1,045
Audio Note M1RIAA
The M1RIAA is an all valve MM phono stage. It uses ECC83 and ECC88 triodes in a feedback free circuit and the internal layout provides good seperation and screening from the power supply and audio board (as shown below). It is available with either a black acrylic or brushed aluminium fascia.
Audio Note M1RIAA phono stage: £1,420
The MC3 is the new top of the range two box phono stage from Edwards Audio. It allows fine adjustment of loading via internal jumpers and optional rumble filtering. On the rear panel there are switches for MM and MC switching (it has dual inputs, so users with two tonearms/turntables do not have to unplug when changing between them as long as one is MM and one one an MC cartridge). Also on the rear is a mono switch, this makes a massive difference on mono recordings of course, the display on the unit changes to red when this mode is engaged.
This sophisticated design has 10 power supplies fed from an external power supply (not pictured, but in the same size casework as the phono stage pictured).
-
Croft Acoustics RIAA RS
The RIAA RS is the new top of the range phono stage from Glenn Croft. It’s housed in two of the standard sized Croft cases, one of which contains the massive regulated power supply and the other the phono stage itself. More details to follow soon.
Croft Acoustics RIAA RS phono stage: £2,000
Home Products Accessories Offers Bespoke Modifications About Features Services Contact Us