slide in phono stage for Accuphase C-2450 preamplifier - is it any good?


I am working on the purchase of an Accuphase preamplifier (C-2450) that can accept an optional slide-in phono stage - either the AD-2850 or the newer AD-2900.  

Are these decent phono stages, and is there any real advantage in the newer AD-2900 over the AD-2850?

toronto416

Showing 2 responses by lewm

toronto, I am a proponent of "phonolinepreamps" when they are designed and built to a high standard, as is likely the case with Accuphase. From an audiophile point of view, they offer phono function without the extra chassis, which eliminates output and input jacks (RCA or XLR) and the interconnecting wires. (Also saves money, often.) They also permit a very short path between the output of the phono and the linestage, which has additional benefits regarding impedance matching. However, it is fair to point out that a built-in phono may provide fewer options for variable capacitance or resistive loading, as Elliott is pointing out. So in one sense it would depend upon how the offered features fulfill or don’t fulfill your needs as regards your choice of cartridge and any future plans you may have as regards cartridges.

On the other hand, if the phono module works fine for your particular LOMC cartridge (for example), you can always add an outboard phono in the case where you want to add a high output MM or MI type cartridge and plug it in to an AUX input.

You are very unlikely to get an informed opinion here regarding the two choices of Accuphase phono modules, unless perhaps you tell us more about them. Because I doubt any one here owns an Accuphase preamp with phono.