Phono Preamplifiers

Although built-in phono stages in preamps, integrated amps, and receivers evolved by the late-1980s to include adjustable MC gain settings, by then standalone phono amps had created a clearly defined sector, appealing to enthusiasts who changed their primary hardware with some regularity. Equally, certain phono amps found greater affinity with specific makes of cartridges, just as the current crop of Ortofon MCs love EAT phono amps and Koetsus tend to flourish with Audio Research phono stages.

Although – with some irony – Audio Research produced a solid-state phono amp as its first foray into the field in 1982, it soon set the tone for future models with the valve MCP-33 in 1984. Along the way, its stand-outs have included 1999's Reference Phono and the two-box Reference Phono 10 of 2013. At the other end of the price scale, EAR-Yoshino knocked it out of the park with the 834P in 1994, which remained in production until it was replaced by the equally-brilliant PhonoBox [HFN Dec '19]. For this user, the various EAT e-Glo phono stages [HFN Feb '19] provide tube delight, but those on a tighter budget wishing to sample their first taste of tube phono amps should look to Pro-Ject's £620 Tube Box DS2 [HFN Jul '20].