Bombaywalla, I'm pretty certain that none of the DEQX products, or at least the current ones, include phono stages. Given that, and also given the considerable level of expertise and experience that is evident in Drewan's posts, and also given that RCA connectors are sometimes referred to as "phono connectors," I would expect that the word "phono" in his statement was simply intended to distinguish the unit's RCA input from the balanced XLR input referred to in his next sentence.
Best regards,
-- Al
Best regards,
-- Al