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Why is the trend to make separate phono stage

Why is the trend to make a separate phono stage. Say a high end pre-amp such as Audio Research Reference 2 you need to spend $ 10,000 for a line stage and another $ 7,000 for the reference phono stage. Almost every manufacturer has started to separate the two components. Is this to make more money selling two boxes or has technology gotten so sophisticated that it needs to be separate or lastly maybe only 25 % or less of the buyers want phono, so the manufacturer focuses on the 75 % population that need a line pre-amp. For us oldies it used to be easy to add a MC/MM board to the pre-amp to add the phone section. What happened??
dcaudio

Showing 3 responses by nrchy

nrchy's avatar
nrchy
2,124 posts
 
Everyone was right so far. Most people have dumped their vinyl and listen to a poor substitute like CDs. They don't want to have to pay for a phono stage that they will never use.

Most companies that make a pre-amp are in the CDP business too. They would rather have you buy their CDP rather than someone elses TT. Having to drop several thousand more dollars will prevent many people from going with an outboard phono section. So all the way around the pre-amp company wins!
nrchy's avatar
nrchy
2,124 posts
 
Semi, a good phono section is not a small circuit that manufacterers slap into a pre-amp. A reasonable phono section is a very complex piece of electronics, not an afterthought. A good one is much more complex.

A phono section is probably the most complex piece in most systems. Any error in that piece would be magnified by the pre-amp and the amp, making it painfully obvious when listening

My phono section would not fit inside my pre-amp, and I have a single box phono!

You can keep buying mass market junk at Good Guys or Circuit City, but don't fool yourself into thinking you are getting 'high end' electronics!
nrchy's avatar
nrchy
2,124 posts
 
Jrd351 many changes and improvements have been make in turntables, arms, and cartridges, not to mention phono stages over the last 30 years.

I have had many pre-amps over the years. They continued to sound better as I bought better quality equipment. The sound of the phono stages changed a lot over the years. The RIAA curve has remained constant, but everything else has improved.

If you are content to listen to an older and inferior phono stage that's fine. More power to you! There is no reason though, to claim that the sonic improvements made in the last 30 years do not exist.

Fundimentally amps, pre-amps, and speakers are the same as they were 30 years ago. A cursory glance with however reveal that the details have changed dramatically.
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