tonistry.

Gear & technology

Phono stage

Also called phono preamp, phono preamplifier, RIAA preamp

A phono stage boosts the tiny signal from a turntable cartridge to line level and applies the RIAA equalization that undoes the bass cut and treble boost applied when the record was cut. Without one, a turntable sounds faint and thin.

TurntablecartridgePhono stageGain40–60 dBRIAA EQAmplifierphonolevelfew mVlinelevel+20 dB0−20 dBplayback EQrecording EQ20 Hz1 kHz20 kHz
A phono stage adds about 40 dB of gain for a moving magnet cartridge, or 60 dB or more for low-output moving coil, and applies RIAA equalization that lifts bass by about 19 dB at 20 Hz and cuts treble by about 20 dB at 20 kHz relative to 1 kHz.

A cartridge produces a few millivolts for a moving magnet design and a fraction of that for a moving coil, roughly a thousandth of what a DAC outputs. The phono stage adds about 40 dB of gain for MM cartridges and 60 dB or more for low-output MC, and its own noise and hum are therefore critical.

Stages are specified for MM or MC cartridges or both, with adjustable gain and loading on better models. Many turntables, preamps and receivers include a basic one, and an external stage is the usual first upgrade for a vinyl system.

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