Tube preamp with or without phono stage?
@atmasphere do you work for Atma-Sphere or is it a naming coincidence? LOL! @jszei, meet Ralph Karsten of Atma-Sphere. He has been a very valuable asset on these forums for many, many years now. Ralph doesn't just work for Atma-Sphere, he IS Atma-Sphere!! Cheers, John |
There is only one advantage of having a built-in phono and that is, it saves space, one less box. However if you are looking for the ultimate sound you will find a quality external phono head amp is the only way to go if you're serious about good sound! Here is another thing, if you are not using the internal phono preamp, do not remove the tubes from the circuit for safe keeping as this will damage the phono circuit. |
Not to steal the thread, but to add to what John wrote... Just recently, I mildly slapped a retailer for starting a thread that peddled his goods. Ralph consistently offers true advice to all type of issues and helps resolve issues for all. I have seen him give very good advice on all types of tubed equipment when I felt that his own product was clearly better. Ralph CONTRIBUTES non selfishly... (are you tearing up Ralph?) Atmosphere products are top notch.... Overall, you can't go wrong with his products and Ralph has proven his word to be trust worthy.. Tim |
There is only one advantage of having a built-in phono and that is, it saves space, one less box. However if you are looking for the ultimate sound you will find a quality external phono head amp is the only way to go if you're serious about good sound! Here is another thing, if you are not using the internal phono preamp, do not remove the tubes from the circuit for safe keeping as this will damage the phono circuit.I don't find this to be the case. The problem is the connectivity- if the phono section is built-in you don't have a connectivity issue. But if its external you do, which means the cable has to do a pretty good job. You can certainly install a first class phono section in a preamp. Its all a matter of design; that preamp should be easily capable of keeping up with an external unit. What matters is not whether the phono preamp is internal or external so much as the intentions of the designer. |
@atmasphere and others, as I'm considering the MP-3 I'd like to ask both your objective and subjective opinions. What would you consider to be the key specs of both a preamp and phono stage? My simplistic understanding is low impedance, noise and distortion. Your website states: "By incorporating the phono into the preamp, we eliminate the variables of interconnection between the phono section and the line stage and we offer one of the best volume controls available in the industry." What variables of interconnection are being referred to here? This is my first tube component. I'm very familiar with solid state and digital. I'm interested in finding out what a tube component can do with the sound of both my digital and analog sources. |
