Everyone is aware that our music-listening conventions have changed quite dramatically in the space of two generations or less: while today’s hits are increasingly downloaded and saved digitally, all but the very youthful among us recollect CDs and cassettes emerging as the musical format that promised to supersede the record. However, quite unusually for the domain of technological progress, older manners of listening to music have been gradually creeping back into fashion and coexisting with the new. Of course, for those who remained faithful to vinyl even at the dawn of the CD and later the download, the reaffirmed popularity of records will seem late emerging. Indeed, vinyl addicts stand proud of their beautiful retro collections while many of us who were instantly swayed by the easy transportability of CD and Mp3 files now lament not investing in the sizeable vinyl formats whose extraordinary album art and sheer tactility and warm audio represent more enduring pleasures. And, although such converts have been pleased by the recent reappearance of records for purchase online and in music stores, just one problem remains: how to listen to vinyl through modern speakers ill-adapted to the turntable’s needs? The answer lies in the phono stage, also known as a phono preamp or a phono amp.
The reason for investing in a phono stage is quite straightforward to understand: vinyl, as played on a turntable, requires amplification one step further than the digital files and compact discs most modern speakers have been designed to play. Without the phono stage, those of us who have only recently converted to record buying will feel deceived by our initially exciting yet ultimately nigh on inaudible acquisitions. In sum, the phono stage (or phono preamp or phono amp if you prefer) is fundamental to anyone enthused by vinyl for its sound quality rather than its status as a decorative object. And presumably most of us fall into the former camp!
What remains to be considered is the level of investment one is prepared to make in what is essentially a luxury pursuit: with music so readily accessible on our computers, listening to vinyl is a contrastingly slow activity to be savoured and one that can transform private moments of relaxation or low-key soirées with friends into memorable events. With this potential in mind it is advisable to seek the best phono stage you can budget for: other phono amps and phono preamp products just won’t provide the quality that everyone’s ears deserve.
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