Phono Stage - The great analog tragedy
In the world of analog playback, there is an interesting observation. There has been tremendous innovation in the field of
Turntable - Direct, Idler, Belt
Cartridge - MM, MC, MI
Tonearm - Gimbal, Unipivot, Linear Tracking
For all of the above designs we find some of the best reference components designed in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. Most of the modern products are inspired from these extraordinary products of the past. But when it comes to phono stage, there is hardly any "reference component" from that era. They just standardized RIAA curve for sanity and left it. Manufacturers made large preamps and amps and allocated a puny 5% space for a small phono circuit even in their reference models, like a necessary evil. They didn’t bother about making it better.
The result? It came down to the modern designers post 2000 after vinyl resurgence to come up with serious phono stages for high end systems. Unfortunately they don’t have any past reference grade designs to copy or get inspired from. Effectively, just like DACs, reference phono stages is also an evolving concept, and we don’t have too many choices when we want a really good one which is high-res and natural sounding. Very few in the world have figured out a proper high end design so far. And most of the decent ones have been designed in the past couple of decades. The best of the breed are probably yet to come.
It is a tragedy that our legendary audio engineers from the golden era didn’t focus on the most sensitive and impactful component, "the phono stage"
Seems the OP has 2 premises: Audio components should progress at a similar rate. I disagree, phono stages much more sorted out and limited to improvements vs amplification. All components classes (turntable, phono stage, amp…) should have desirable vintage gear. This assumption seems baseless. The market for say turntables is much different than for phono stages - Micro Seiki, Garrard 301, Thoren TD124, rim/direct/belt drives… is not the same for phono stages |
Yes, before RIAA stepped in, a number of competing companies had their own formulations. I have an old Quad 34 pre-amplifier which was explicitly designed with controls to tame errant recordings. Quad 34 preamplifier Sam Tellig | Stereophile.com Talking of formulations, the RIAA curve is generated from a relatively simple formula. It is not an algorithm, though a digital phono stage would use an algorithm to model the curve. |
I agree a lot with @dover about high end not co-relating with sound of real music. When it comes to phonostage, what makes it high end exactly? RIAA accuracy? It is a given. In fact most phonostages have very low RIAA deviation (even entry level ones) Resolution? Yea that definitely costs more and depends on quality of parts |
High end phono is no different than anything else in audio--any given model will be liked by some and disliked by others. I have not gone on any sort of careful exploration of the subject, nor have I made that many direct comparisons in my own system or systems that I know well enough to judge the sound. I tend to like tube phono stages and of current brands; I like those made by Audio Note (uk) and Lector (italian). Of the other brands that I am less familiar with, I liked what I hard from Zanden and Doshi. The big disappointment to me was the Boulder which sounded too dry and analytical for my taste. How I arrived at the one in my own system is an embarrassment. I bought it without hearing it from a friend who was the US distributor for the brand. He had to sell the one he used for audio shows because the power supply unit sustained some cosmetic damage so he sold it to me for a small fraction of the retail price. The offer was too tempting to pass up. I got lucky--I like how it sounds. |
@pani Description being presented by yourself are quite askew. I have been in front of Phonostages on at least five occasions where approx' 10 -15 Phon's have been brought along for A/B Comparison demonstrations, where Phon's to be demo's are built by Commercial entities, Commission Built or Built by Very Adept EE minded Types and then the New Builder Type as well. Phon's on a Line Up have been typically SS, Valve Hybrid, Valve Input/Output with a price range from a few hundred £'s to near $2K for a BOM for a Phon' and through to a Under £1K to £10K+ for Commercial offerings. A Phon' producer who knows a thing or two about a Phon' for not many hundreds of £'s is quite capable to produce a Phon' with an end sound that is not separated to higher priced phon's when these fall into the under £4K price range. With this I have heard Phon's with a BOM of near £2K be unapproachable in a comparison by Phon's costing north of £7K. There is the odd Phon' at the highest price that has been capable to separate itself as a very very attractive option and if monies were not limited would be a consideration for a short list. My own experiences have assured myself when it comes to the end sound being produced only. Where demo's that have been heard, has been on systems that can have a costing up to £200K. There are Phon's being produced for less than £1K and then extending towards close to £2K that are so impressive as an end sound, a little extended time in their Company would be so satisfying, why would finding another £8K to £10K need to be parted with to have a at hand musical experience that is not too separated from a much more affordable option. It is the Person who has put their thought into the Phon' that really matters, and People only know what they know, being influenced by their limitations of know how. |
