i agree with Myles; current SOTA phono stages are much quieter than vintage. and with phono stages, it's almost all about the noise floor.
almost every sonic aspect of performance is improved with lower noise. and whether we like it or not, the best cartridges are LOMC's which are optimized with the lowest noise phono stages. i especially like how a very very low noise phono can reveal the micro dynamics from those grooves that some of the less current phono stages gloss over.
this is another one of those areas where until you hear a phono stage with a lower noise floor, you might assume that yours is very quiet.....or even as quiet as they come.
almost every sonic aspect of performance is improved with lower noise. and whether we like it or not, the best cartridges are LOMC's which are optimized with the lowest noise phono stages. i especially like how a very very low noise phono can reveal the micro dynamics from those grooves that some of the less current phono stages gloss over.
this is another one of those areas where until you hear a phono stage with a lower noise floor, you might assume that yours is very quiet.....or even as quiet as they come.