Are phono stages on mid-priced integrated amps any good?

[kusum65]

Hi , ive been using a technics through my roksan kandy L111 for the past few months and ive wondered how good the phono stage of a £700 amp is. Are they just an after thought ? Am i missing out on much better sound by using a stand allone phono amp?

And how much would you have to spend to better the sound of using an integrated amp on its own? Of course, it all depends a lot on the cartridge your using but how far can you go with a technics or Rega 3 in terms of amplification.

 

[gpi]

I think on-board phono stages are ok but ideally you want to have this part removed from the power output stages of an integrated amp. Plus I have always found that on-board stages can be limiting in their gain.

 

[kusum65]

Would a limited gain mean less general grunt? My new deck has many qualities over my Arcam cd player but the Arcam definetely has more punch and aggression, particularly with percussive instruments.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi - I have a Cambridge Audio 540p (£40 second hand on ebay) which I find produces a a much better sound than the integrated phono stage in my Roksan Kandy L3. The Roksan sounds very constrained/lacks bass to my ear. Turntable is probably about as budget as it gets - Project Genie 2 with Om3e cartridge.

 

[kusum65]

Interesting! And what a price. Thanks for the tip.

 

[the record spot]

Typically, the phono stages on the MArantz KI amps are very good (personal experience of the PM 6010 KI) and Andrew Everard has mentioned in passing recently that Ken Ishiwata particularly wanted the phono stages to be of good standard.

Can't speak for others, but the Cambridge 640P and the Graham Slee entry level stages are also worth five minutes of your time I hear.

 

[kusum65]

Id love to hear a KI amp i like the fact some legendary audio engineer has had a good tinker with a component that i could actually afford ( not a Pearl unfortunately ).

At the moment i can only afford a CA phono as ive just bought a new tonearm. You cant try before you buy ive always foud Richer sounds easy going about returns.

 

[Fenton Beasley]

Ok Kusum65, I gave the onboard phono thingy a go this afternoon. It's good; damn good. There was not a lot in it compared with my Gram Amp 2 Communicator. The Gram Amp seemed a touch more refined to me but I could happily live with the onboard phono should the Gram Amp ever fail.

 

[the record spot]

kusum65:
Id love to hear a KI amp i like the fact some legendary audio engineer has had a good tinker with a component that i could actually afford ( not a Pearl unfortunately ).

At the moment i can only afford a CA phono as ive just bought a new tonearm. You cant try before you buy ive always foud Richer sounds easy going about returns.

You'll often pick up the PM66SE-KI or other older models for a decent price, check out gumtree as well. Can't comment on any other amp in the KI range, but I'm impressed with KI range products and only wish I could see the demo at the National Audio Show this weekend (Pearl range demo'd with Mr KI himself in attendance).

 

[kusum65]

Fenton, i think you may have saved me from making a rash impulse buy. Thanks.

I need to finish my arm project any way . Hope to pick up an armboard for my technics so i can fit my new jelco. Probably go to the show at the weekend and get one there. I might listen to the Pearl demo but i always find the high end demos a bit like test driving a Ferrari that you know you will never own.

I heard there will also be a trader there that specializes in modding technics 1200s. Its a funny old deck that does a lot of things right( tight base, amazing timing) and some things wrong (strange soundstaging, dark sound and midrange glare) . Im convinced their is something im missing so ill try and bend his ear ( and get fleeced in the process no doubt!)