From what I read on-line, the Arcam A15 is a one-piece unit that can do just about anything in the digital or analog world, provided one limits oneself to an MM cartridge. That's asking a lot from one chassis. So it's quite likely that you would experience a noticeable upgrade in sound quality by adding an outboard phono stage, even an inexpensive one. There are many good candidates. That is provided your TT, tonearm, and cartridge have more to offer, as well. Spend less than $500 on an outboard phono and budget a few hundred more for a cartridge that outperforms the 2M Blue, and you might be happy.
Phono preamp upgrade price/performance
Im wondering how much I would have to spend on a phono stage that would be better than the built in one on my amp?
amp - Arcam Radia A15
TT - project debut carbon with 2m blue
so i think it sounds pretty good but I recently tested a different amp (Marantz model 50) and I thought ithe phono sounded better than the Arcam. I didn’t keep the Marantz for a bunch of other reasons, but it got me wondering, how much better can things be with a “better” phono stage and what would it cost.