Why is the trend to make separate phono stage

Separates do sound better. Alas.

Everyone was right so far. Most people have dumped their vinyl and listen to a poor substitute like CDs. They don't want to have to pay for a phono stage that they will never use.

Most companies that make a pre-amp are in the CDP business too. They would rather have you buy their CDP rather than someone elses TT. Having to drop several thousand more dollars will prevent many people from going with an outboard phono section. So all the way around the pre-amp company wins!

Sbank...mostly true....Gladstone mostly true... but,not necessarily so... and Nrchy..again mostly true. All this IMO of course. But companies do stand to profit from seperates as opposed to single box units. There are some Full function units (line and phono in same chassis) that can compete with the better seperates. ARC's SP-11 is a nice example. A bit dated now, but in its day there was no reason at all to find a better phono pre amp.Although its a matter of design and matching components such as cables, cartridge, and internal load and capacitance from such units to get the best from them. Then the issue of seperating the power supply from the audio circut is a major reason most high end companies ultimately go with seperates usually at the upper end of their line. Less interaction by larger transformers with emf/rfi issues especially of very low level signals means lower noise and better sound. Hey guys, Im no expert.. but just heard and lived a little audio in my day..Best to all!-Ken

the cost of not including a phono stage in a preamp saves the manufacturer money, and putting a phono pre in a separate box is a very very lucrative sideline. they win in both cases. a preamp without a built in phonostage is shameful at any retail price, but unfortunately it is the norm. if the maker offers a phono option for a few hundred bucks..get it.

What a wonderful thread. Somehow we got on this train (EG separate phono section and line stages) and can't get off it. Sbank, are you sure you're correct about only 25% of audiophiles wanting this feature in a preamp? Have you done a study on this?

The recent trend is that analog is more popular than ever, but even taking that into consideration, it was a bad idea to start with.

Your point is well taken about sonic merits for separates IF (and a big if at that) you can get past the interface problems and the added expense of cables + space requirements. Separate boxes usually translates into one more interface problem.

Dcaudio thanks for articulating for what this audiophile has been feeling for a long time.