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Anthem 225 - using an external phono amp

Hey guys. Long time lurker first time poster.

I previously had a Moon 220i (for sale if anyone interested btw) with a Moon110LP preamp running my B&W 683s. This was a switch from my Anthem MRX when I was running my vinyl on the same system as my home theatre. From day 1 I was underwhelmed by the sound of the Moon as it was just too underpowered for the 683s. I had thought a low power/high quality setup would work well for me in my dedicated music room. It didn’t.

I ended up switching to an Anthem 225 - I wanted power but didn’t want to spend north of 3 or 4000 on an amp. It actually was a lower price point than the Moon amp/phono amp combined. The sound is much better for my tastes - mostly classic rock, new rock and blues. I still found the mids a bit thin, but overall very good when you really have it warm and play it loud.

Story is getting a bit long, but I decided to try my old Moon 110LP phono amp on a different input to compare it to the 225’s built in phono stage. I had read mixed but generally positive reviews on it so wasn’t expecting too much difference. Boy was I wrong. It sounds absolutely amazing now. I can’t really find any holes in the sound, and across all volume ranges the music is far more full and pleasurable to listen to.

Has anyone else used a different phono amp with the 225? Am I crazy? It seems a bit redundant to use an external phonoamp - especially a fairly pricey one - when my integrated has a "built in" phono stage already, but it just seems to really make a difference. Especially when it was just lying around waiting to get sold. It also begs the question - is the 225's phono stage actually "good?"





johnhanson

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johnhanson OP
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Thanks guys. I appreciate the responses. Although this amp was good out of the box I knew there was something missing. I’ve done a few more records now back to back with the Moon and the built in phono. It really is apples to oranges. I’m so glad I didn’t get rid of the 110LP. I suppose I was just very surprised there could be this much improvement. I'm still relatively green when it comes to the amp game. 

In the meantime I did come across a review that was diplomatically critical of the 225’s phone stage - basically nailing to a T its deficits. It really is an outstanding amp for the price outside of this problem.

http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/tested-anthem-integrated-225-integrated-amplifier/


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