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September 7, 2009 - 11:17am
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Phono stage and integrated amp
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z083, you wouldn't connect a standalone phono stage to the onboard phono board in your amp. You'd connect it via line input to your amp and your onboard phono board will not be used at all. A standalone phono stage will work both for your Onkyo and for the tube integrateds you're considering, i.e. Rogue Audio and Prima Luna.
I suspected that was the case. Thank you for clarifying that.
So on an amp like the Rogue Audio Cronus, you effectively have three usable inputs since the built-in phono stage becomes useless. Three will probably be enough for me, but it would be nice if the built-in phono stage could be disabled.
I was thinking about the Pro-ject Tube Box II SE. It fits my budget. But if there are other good choices in the $400 to $700 range, I'd like to hear about them. I have a Rega P5 with an Exact cartridge, which is MM, but a phono stage that can handle MM and MC would be a plus in case I decide to upgrade my cartridge some day. I read about the PS Audio GCPH and Graham Slee Era Gold Mk V in another thread, but they are a bit out of my budget range.
I'd recommend the Jolida JD 9A Phono Preamp with the mods suggested in the following article.
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/jolida3/phono.html
Thanks jackfish. That was a fascinating review. Even with the mods that would fit my budget