Phono stages belong to which tier?


I feel the phono stage is the most critical component in an analog system since it is an important part of the source. Which phono stages have you heard and in which tier would they fall in 1st 2nd or 3rd?
From reading the threads here: aesthetix, manley, lamm, fm acoustics, einstein would probably fall in the 1st.
Please include stages that have been listened to extensively and those that have been heard breifly.
pedrillo

Showing 1 response by parrotbee

Dear All
some serious stages out-there I must say.
I have a Vendetta SCP2A (recapped and with quieter IC's) and just stopped testing stages after that.
I have heard the likes of Soulution, Constellation, FM, and Nagra (sadly not the Connoisseur) within systems, and as such it is all but impossible to isolate the component save to say that there must be a clear 'voicing' with the other components. I must say I loved the Constellation system and the FM Acoustics best.
I agree with the OP and genuinely believe that once you get to certain level of turntable it is in fact the phono stage that is the most important part of the vinyl replay chain due to the job it has.