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Which phono section to buy: match table or cartridge?

Hi All,
I have a Rega P-25 turntable and a Clearaudio Maestro cartridge.  Both Rega and Clearaudio make phono stages.  Is there an advantage of choosing one over the other?  In other words, would if make a difference if I matched the phono stage to the turntable or to the cartridge?  I want to stay as much under $1000 as possible.  Any other sections I should consider given my gear?

Thanks in advance,Russ
rustler
rustler OP
135 posts
 
Many thanks, lewm!  Thanks for the clarity, too.
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Buy the best phono stage you can afford. Matching to the brand of either your turntable or your cartridge is absolutely unnecessary.

^^^This^^^
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,014 posts
 
Give Keith Herron a call. Most of the improvement made to the VTPH-1 to the -2 were in the section used only for low output cartridges.  Keith occasionally has a traded-in VTPH-1mm that he will sell you for not much more than your $1,000 target (stretching to buy it will be money well spent).
rustler OP
135 posts
 
thanks, bdp.  I will try that on Monday, but those prices on his website look way out of reach. 

RR
smrex13
645 posts
 
There are a lot of good MM phono stages in the $1000 and under range. A few that I have tried and really liked:

-Croft RIAA ($995) - uses two 12ax7 tubes, MM only

-Lejonklou Gaio 2 ($895) - solid state, but on the smooth side of things, MM only

-Musical Fidelity MX-VYNL - solid state, lots of a adjustments, MM/MC, refined sound, very cheap wall wart power supply

-Schitt Mani ($129) - yes, a $129 solid state stage.  It's much, much better than its price would suggest.  I still go back to mine frequently and am surprised every time by how good it sounds.  MM/MC.

-iFi iPhono2 ($549) - a very versatile and great sounding solid state MM/MC phono stage.  The wall wart power supply was very noisy in my setup.  An external power supply makes it much better.

Anyway, just a few thoughts based on my experiences.

Good luck and have fun!
Scott

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