presumably you are asking "sparate dedicated box vs built in RIAA & amplifier".
And (drum roll please) it depends on which one is better designed and executed. I happen to be working on one right now. The circuit, PCB etc will be identical whether in its own box or plugged into a motherboard. Same card. What will differ is:
Its like the integrated amp vs pre and power amp. In theory the integrated is better. In practice they are bought for the convenience, package and value, so they rarely aspire to the highest of high end.
You might infer that I’m working on one of those too. :-) In the end as noted, and i think you know this, every cartridge needs an extra 30-65 dB of gain ( and that’s a LOT) and the inverse equalization to what is done during mastering so that it is flat and accurate. No RIAA EQ, no bass. Pretty simple.
G
And (drum roll please) it depends on which one is better designed and executed. I happen to be working on one right now. The circuit, PCB etc will be identical whether in its own box or plugged into a motherboard. Same card. What will differ is:
- isolation (nothing like having its own box around it
- Power supply (more money can be spent due to expectations and price point)
- packaging
- price
Its like the integrated amp vs pre and power amp. In theory the integrated is better. In practice they are bought for the convenience, package and value, so they rarely aspire to the highest of high end.
You might infer that I’m working on one of those too. :-) In the end as noted, and i think you know this, every cartridge needs an extra 30-65 dB of gain ( and that’s a LOT) and the inverse equalization to what is done during mastering so that it is flat and accurate. No RIAA EQ, no bass. Pretty simple.
G