Question Phono Stage Quality

[suburbansky]

I have always used the built-in phono stage of my amp(s) to hook up my turntable - and I've always wondered if adding an external stage could increase the quality. But I have no idea how the quality of different phono stages could be judged and compared... is anyone qualified to comment on this or has first-hand experience? I think my Denon PMA 1600 has a decent enough phono stage - but would a mid-priced external device (such as a Cambridge or a Rega product for £200-300) be an improvement already, or would it have to be a significantly more high-end one?

 

[Al ears]

Perhaps one of the best reasonable phono stages around at the moment is the iFi Zen Phono but how this compares with the inbuilt one in the Denon.
A lot will depend on the quality of your cartridge and perhaps upgrading this would give you a more noticeable improvement than the phono stage

 

[abacus]

Most built in Phono stages are pretty good these days; however it will depend on what pickup cartridge/Turntable you have, if price matched to your Denon then improvements will be minimal, however if you are going for a higher end Cartridge/Turntable then an upgrade will be beneficial.
Visit a dealer and compare.

Bill

 

[suburbansky]

Thanks for your replies! I've got a new Ortofon Blue Cartridge which seems decent enough at this time... so I won't bother about the phono stage for the moment.

 

[WayneKerr]

Gave up on external stages some time ago, the one in the amp is more than sufficient for my ears.

 

[WayneKerr]

What turntable have you got Suburb?

 

[WayneKerr]

I will add that, as a double blind test, a friend of mine once sent me some recordings performed with three different phono stages at varying price points, I couldn't tell one from another, but if pushed I thought the most expensive sounded the worst... go figure that one

Now cartridges are a totally different animal. Playing in real time I can positively hear differences, but again, if recorded, very difficult to differentiate between them unless you really concentrate... too much hassle, I'm here for the music

 

[suburbansky]

What turntable have you got Suburb?

A vintage Thorens 320/MK III from the 1990s.

 

[Rui]

I have always used the built-in phono stage of my amp(s) to hook up my turntable - and I've always wondered if adding an external stage could increase the quality. But I have no idea how the quality of different phono stages could be judged and compared... is anyone qualified to comment on this or has first-hand experience? I think my Denon PMA 1600 has a decent enough phono stage - but would a mid-priced external device (such as a Cambridge or a Rega product for £200-300) be an improvement already, or would it have to be a significantly more high-end one?

it depends ,i bought a ES system in late 80´s or early 90´s and what amazed me was the quality of sound with a pioneer turntable bought in 74 with original cartridge and stylus, there are exceptions ,the amplifier you refer i never listened to it playing records , but if it sounds good and not very low volume ,avoid buying a pre-amplifier, the PMA-1600 when sold was also available a expensive turntable from Denon ,it could have a good phono stage if you have a 70´s amplifier or receiver try it to compare with the denon amplifier phono stage, regards

 

[SteveR750]

FWIW, the phono stage in the Denon pma-600ne that I had was pretty good, as good as the separate ca box I've got,and better than the in the Yamaha A-S501 that I just bought as a replacement. Denon have gone to the trouble of shielding it, and in some models a pure analogue switch to essentially switch off the DAC section.