Interesting topic. I’d rate my vinyl rig mediocre at best as compared to the set ups that many of you have but I’m completely convinced that the choice of the phono preamp makes a huge difference in the amount and intensity of the pops and ticks you hear when playing the same records on the same system. I recently added a Schiit Mani (with an aftermarket LPS) to my system replacing the phono stage in my integrated and I was shocked by how much the pops and ticks dropped.
My first immediate impression was maybe I lost some detail and that washed away the pops and ticks but that was definitely not the case. The same LPs, the same cleaning regiment, never sounded better. I assume this result would proportionally apply to higher end vinyl set ups.
My first immediate impression was maybe I lost some detail and that washed away the pops and ticks but that was definitely not the case. The same LPs, the same cleaning regiment, never sounded better. I assume this result would proportionally apply to higher end vinyl set ups.