That is what in am saying: the m7 phone preamp is not in the same league as the m1000 preamp built in phono. The m7 phono is just a basic phono stage, parts transformer are not in the same league. Also, even that the k-10 preamp, i would not compare that to the m1000 preamp from Kondo. I would take the m-1000 preamp built in phono from Kondo in a heart beat!