built-in phono stages -- good idea?
It seems to me that the best location for a phono stage is at the tone arm wire end -- in the turntable. My thoughts:
This would bring the following benefits to its performance:
Elimination of the sensitive and susceptible phono cable
Reduction of the need for a balanced phono stage
Reduction of noise without the need for balanced design -- half of the battle is won already.
Both are significant advantages, I think. But this puts some limitations on the design of the phono stage:
Needs to be very compact solid state design, probably SMD. Access to loading options and mc/mm switching need to be thought out and accessible from rear or underneath. Again, both doable.
Why don’t we see this more often? Your thoughts?
Herman