That doesn't mean, that some devices aren't prepared. Btw: I didn't say, every device would be prepared. But you don't know, which one. Even a failed device could have been a (poorly) prepared device.
Is it really? In case of any doubt, some of them will claim that you measured a defective device or simply measured incorrectly or differently. Eg: see here.
Have you seen better measured performance, especially at this price? Maker, model, price and, of course, competent test with all measurements, please!
This is pretty paranoid IMO. Where would improvements be implemented in an existing design, apart from higher spec capacitors, etc?
Inductance matters as well but unless it is hugely f’d up, it usually only manifests in ultrasonics.
This is MC, not MM. different ball game.
"The cost is up there for a non-high-end phono stage..."This is a review and measurements of the Classic Audio MC Pro by Michael Filder. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $850 (£650/€750).
View attachment 305485
As non-fancy enclosures go, this is pretty nice looking and with some unusual features such as low frequency blending to reduce noise, mono switch and selectable gain. Back panel shows another unusual feature: balanced XLR out:
View attachment 305486
I like balanced output as audio gear has its only ground loops which we don't want to add the heap that phono stage may bring. As such, all of my testing was done using that output.
Check out how beautiful the insides look:
There should be a transparent top as an option for folks to enjoy looking at it!
Classic Audio MC Pro Measurements
Let's start with our usual dashboard of 0.5 mv input:
View attachment 305487
Notice the total absence of distortion as it should be. I don't have a ranking table to show you for SINAD but typical values are in 60 dB range so this is quite good.
Company advertise hyper accurate RIAA equalization which I was able to verify:
View attachment 305488
Our overload test shows more headroom than I am used to see with moving coil phono preamps:
View attachment 305489
Stepping through different frequencies we see remarkable ability to keep distortion at bay regardless of what it is:
View attachment 305490
Measuring distortion by itself naturally shows excellent response:
View attachment 305491
Conclusions
The MC Pro is a very accurate phono stage with very low noise and distortion. Company has full set of specifications which means great attention was paid to these factors. I like the unique design with extra features and of course, XLR balanced input. The cost is up there for a non-high-end phono stage but I think it is justified given the performance and features.
It is my pleasure to add the Classic Audio Michael Fidler MC Pro phonostage to my recommended list.
----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome. Click here if you have some audio gear you want me to test.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
@amirm Thanks for the review, one question though: What is this LF XFeed supposed to do?This is a review and measurements of the Classic Audio MC Pro by Michael Filder. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $850 (£650/€750).
View attachment 305485
As non-fancy enclosures go, this is pretty nice looking and with some unusual features such as low frequency blending to reduce noise, mono switch and selectable gain. Back panel shows another unusual feature: balanced XLR out:
View attachment 305486
I like balanced output as audio gear has its only ground loops which we don't want to add the heap that phono stage may bring. As such, all of my testing was done using that output.
Check out how beautiful the insides look:
There should be a transparent top as an option for folks to enjoy looking at it!
Classic Audio MC Pro Measurements
Let's start with our usual dashboard of 0.5 mv input:
View attachment 305487
Notice the total absence of distortion as it should be. I don't have a ranking table to show you for SINAD but typical values are in 60 dB range so this is quite good.
Company advertise hyper accurate RIAA equalization which I was able to verify:
View attachment 305488
Our overload test shows more headroom than I am used to see with moving coil phono preamps:
View attachment 305489
Stepping through different frequencies we see remarkable ability to keep distortion at bay regardless of what it is:
View attachment 305490
Measuring distortion by itself naturally shows excellent response:
View attachment 305491
Conclusions
The MC Pro is a very accurate phono stage with very low noise and distortion. Company has full set of specifications which means great attention was paid to these factors. I like the unique design with extra features and of course, XLR balanced input. The cost is up there for a non-high-end phono stage but I think it is justified given the performance and features.
It is my pleasure to add the Classic Audio Michael Fidler MC Pro phonostage to my recommended list.
----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome. Click here if you have some audio gear you want me to test.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
michaelfidler.com
As far as I understand, it combines the stereo channels below a set frequency into mono. This reduces the low frequency noise by averaging. That also means it only works for noise that isn't present in both channels. As bass signals typically aren't significantly different between the L and R channel, you don't lose much (or any) relevant musical content and you gain some "free" noise reduction in the LF range.
Basically it reduces vertical, out-of-phase, LF signals that is generated by uneven and warped vinyl surface. You can reduce it by flattening records, increasing vertical resonance frequency, or "post" as in this case. Will also increase headroom in amps and speakers (but not cartridge...).
Hi Amir,
I was looking at the photos of the PCB upthread and instantly thought the soldering was hand-done. It looks pretty good at a glance with no disturbed solder. Still, I can't quite tell if some of those axial leads in the bottom left are missing solder fillets or just have little solder.I notice a few people mentioning the price, I'm clueless about anything to do with vinyl so I had a look at mc phonostages on a popular retailer's website and ordered by price. Going from lowest (£64) to highest (£12,500!! although the penultimate was about 5k), £650 gets you about a quarter of the way down the page. I realise this isn't the best way to judge value but it's the best I could do without knowing what I'm looking at, it doesn't seem particularly outrageous to me. The product seems to be well designed and of high quality. It looks great in my opinion, especially inside.
I think it's worth mentioning that all of these products are hand built and soldered by one chap in his spare room in Kent (UK), then tested to spec on an analyser, in fact he even provides a picture of said state of the art spare room on his website:
So obviously there is going to be some premium compared to mass machine produced devices made in countries that have far lower costs all around. I would also expect this to have a good level of reliability (some thermal testing is in one of his latest facebook posts) and customer service. If anything goes wrong I know I can contact the guy and I haven't got to ship anything half way around the world, appreciate this isn't the case for those in the US/elsewhere.
I also think it's worth shouting out his website as there are very detailed explanations and measurements of each product as well as some quite lengthy articles for those interested: https://michaelfidler.com
He also has a Facebook page where he seems to be very transparent and willing to answer questions, as well as giving previews of upcoming stuff etc: https://www.facebook.com/mfidleraudio
I realise this probably reads like I'm a massive shill or have some sort of affiliation. Believe it or not I actually hadn't heard of him until googling from this review. I was just quite impressed as often a lot of these types of products made by a small company get into a lot of the subjective nonsense and don't measure that well.
Also will admit I'm a bit biased towards a small manufacturer and it being made somewhat locally! I don't have any use for this but will definitely keep an eye on the upcoming headphone amp.
Yeah, for a general consumer product it looks quite good. The soldering is professional.
