Michael Fidler Spartan 20 Phono Stage Review

[KSTR]

Unfortunately, I can confirm on my end that these mains spikes/noise always seem to appear when connecting a non-isolated MC input to an audio analyser, even one with electronically floated outputs.

My solution to this annoying problem is to use an audio-interface or ADC with well-isolated power supply and isolated USB transmission.

 

[KSTR]

Not if you're from the UK - down is always on.

This always cracks me up as it so brutally counter-intuitive for rocker/lever/slide switches. I've even seen latching push-button power switches were the outward position was the "ON" on UK gear (wtf ;-)

 

[Dmitri]

Fabulous performance and wonderful review! I kinda want one.
Regarding switch positions…our friends on the big isle also drive on the left side of the road. A bit unusual that. ; )

 

[welwynnick]

Regarding switch positions…our friends on the big isle also drive on the left side of the road. A bit unusual that. ; )

The correct side of the road, I think you mean.
Most cars are manual transmission, and most drivers are right handed. Therefore when you change gear you keep your best hand doing the most important job.
As it happens I do agree about switches up/down.
However we do at least say aluminium correctly.
Nick, Welwyn, Herts, UK

 

[Rottmannash]

Agreed, but it does have an MM input as well, and it's cheaper. Here's where the Spartan 20 sits in my updated chart (sorry about the dates). Since there's usually a direct trade-off between gain and SNR, this adds together gain and SINAD to give a total which is a sort of figure of merit. The chart is ordered by MC total.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?reviews/​ Brand	Model	Price USD	SINAD	GAIN	TOT	SINAD	GAIN	TOT	Rec'd	Review Date	Review Link
MM	MM		MM	MM	MM	MC	MC	MC
Classic Audio	MC Pro	$850			0​	73​	68​	141​	Yes	8/13/23	Review Link
ifi	Zen Air	£99	69​	40​	109​	66​	64​	130​	Yes	27/06/22	Review Link
Classic Audio	Spartan 20	$670	81​	41​	122​	67​	60​	128​	Yes	06/04/25	Review Link
eXemplar Audio	Exception Phono	$6,950	64​	43​	107​	54​	73​	127​	No	3/25/19	Review Link
Pro-Ject	Phono Box DS3 B	£799	78​	46​	124​	59​	66​	125​	Yes	28/01/24	Review Link
SOTA	Pyxi	$300	80​	46​	126​	65​	59​	124​	Yes	5/27/23	Review Link
Cambridge Audio	Alva Duo	$300	84​	39​	123​	63​	60​	123​	Yes	7/24/23	Review Link
Schiit	Skoll	$399	81​	41​	122​	64​	59​	123​	Yes	10/14/23	Review Link
Fosi	Audio Box X5	$110	86​	38​	124​	65​	57​	122​	Yes	12/01/25	Review Link
Lehmannaudio	Decade Phono Stage	£2,099	79​	45​	124​	66​	56​	122​	Yes	21/02/24	Review Link
NAD	PP 2e	£219	64​	37​	101​	62​	59​	121​	No	14/01/24	Review Link
Pro-Ject	Phono Box DC	£129	79​	40​	119​	58​	58​	116​	Yes	19/08/24	Review Link
Parasound	Zphono	$200	76​	47​	123​	56​	59​	115​	Yes	09/08/20	Review Link
ART Pro Audio	Precision Phono Pre	$81	78​	34​	112​	60​	52​	112​	Yes	6/13/22	Review Link
PS Audio	Stellar	$2,499	65​	44​	109​	51​	61​	112​	Yes	9/24/21	Review Link
Vincent	PHO-8	$250	73​	40​	113​	51​	58​	109​	No	3/25/20	Review Link
Graham Slee	Reflex C	$900			0​	59​	50​	109​	No	01/09/21	Review Link
Six Acoustics	York	$437	67​	40​	107​	48​	60​	108​	No	04/12/22	Review Link
Sutherland	KC Vibe MK2	£999	85​	45​	130​			0​	Yes	29/09/22	Review Link
Cambridge Audio	Alva Solo	$180	86​	39​	125​			0​	No	11/01/19	Review Link
Schiit	Mani 2	$149	81​	44​	125​			0​	Yes	2/23/22	Review Link
Emotiva Audio	XPS-1	$200	82​	42​	124​			0​	Yes	5/16/19	Review Link
Musical Fidelity	MX-VYNL	$1,000	79​	42​	121​			0​	Yes	06/07/19	Review Link
Pro-Ject	Phono Box DS2 USB	$600	80​	40​	120​			0​	Yes	07/12/20	Review Link
Rega	Fono Mk3	$400	78​	41​	119​			0​	No	11/04/20	Review Link
U-Turn Audio	Pluto 2	$99	78​	40​	118​			0​	Yes	6/23/21	Review Link
Schiit	Mani	$130	74​	43​	117​			0​	Yes	07/11/19	Review Link
Pro-Ject	Phono Box MM	$89	76​	40​	116​			0​	No	07/08/23	Review Link
U-Turn Audio	Pluto	$100	80​	36​	116​			0​	No	06/10/18	Review Link
Mofi	StudioPhono Stage	£349	74​	41​	115​			0​	No	21/04/24	Review Link
Rek O Kut Ultra	Ultra	$159	76​	39​	115​			0​	No	5/17/22	Review Link
Marantz	AV10	£7,000	80​	35​	115​			0​	Yes	01/12/23	Review Link
Hagerman Audio Labs	Bugle3	$199	74​	40​	114​			0​	N/A	3/18/23	Review Link
Parks Audio	Puffin	$400	73​	40​	113​			0​	Yes	1/25/21	Review Link
Musical Surroundings	Nova 3	$1,500	69​	43​	112​			0​	N/A	12/29/20	Review Link
Parasound	200 Pre	$895	69​	43​	112​			0​	N/A	09/11/21	Review Link
Rane	PS1	$50	75​	36​	111​			0​	No	5/16/19	Review Link
Pro-Ject	Optical Box E Phono	$200	76​	34​	110​			0​	No	12/13/20	Review Link
Pro-Ject	Tube Box S2	$400	69​	40​	109​			0​	No	4/26/20	Review Link
Graham Slee	Gram Amp 2 Comm'tr	$299	69​	39​	108​			0​	No	04/11/22	Review Link
Darlington Labs	MM-5	$199	64​	41​	105​			0​	No	7/24/21	Review Link
ART Pro Audio	USB Phono Plus	$99.99	59​	45​	104​			0​	No	08/03/23	Review Link
ifi	Zen Phono	£199	67​	37​	104​			0​	Yes	26/06/22	Review Link
Hagerman Audio Labs	Bugle2	$150	61​	40​	101​			0​	No	8/14/20	Review Link
Superphon	Revelation Preamp	£349	59​	38​	97​			0​	Yes	16/05/24	Review Link
NAD	PP 4	$229	54​	42​	96​			0​	No	04/06/21	Review Link
Realistic	42-2101A	$20	58​	38​	96​			0​	No	1/22/21	Review Link
Chord Electronics	Huei	$1,500	44​	49​	93​			0​	No	11/07/20	Review Link
Lounge Audio	LCR Mk3	$300	53​	40​	93​			0​	No	04/07/19	Review Link
Rolls	VP29	$50	49​	41​	90​			0​	No	1/22/21	Review Link
Pyle Audio	Pro PP444	$13	48​	35​	83​			0​	No	10/15/19	Review Link
Furutech	Alpha Des Labs GT40	$525	40​	41​	81​			0​	No	10/05/19	Review Link

Am I crazy or are some of dates ordered differently? Most are month/day/year but the 2nd, 5th, etc are not?

 

[welwynnick]

Am I crazy or are some of dates ordered differently? Most are month/day/year but the 2nd, 5th, etc are not?

I did apologise about the dates in advance. I copied the list from the old review index, which was incomplete. I added all the missing reviews and typed the dates in manually, so some are English dates (the right way round, of course) and some are American dates (another thing the yanks got wrong). Excel formatting doesn't fix it, I tried, so very sorry, I'm not going to re-type them all, though I do have an idea...

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

Out being on is safe working practice. Push to isolate.

 

[Rottmannash]

I did apologise about the dates in advance. I copied the list from the old review index, which was incomplete. I added all the missing reviews and typed the dates in manually, so some are English dates (the right way round, of course) and some are American dates (another thing the yanks got wrong). Excel formatting doesn't fix it, I tried, so very sorry, I'm not going to re-type them all, though I do have an idea...

Sorry-didn't catch your mention in advance. Great list though.

 

[welwynnick]

Dates fixed now, and attachment updated.

 

[Ryanp1983]

Er ... because they sound better?

Anyway, nice one, Michael. I will update my chart.

It's the next test that I'm looking forward too.

I love it when people say things like this as if audio isn’t subjective.

 

[welwynnick]

I love it when people say things like this as if audio isn’t subjective.

Why would anyone play records if objectivity was the only thing that mattered?

Ever heard of anyone doing an ABX DBT between MM & MC cartridges?

 

[GWolfman]

Thanks @amirm for the tests, and @Michael Fidler for a fantastic product! Should I ever need a phono preamp, this is likely going to be the top one or two to consider! Cheers!

 

[somebodyelse]

Why would anyone play records if objectivity was the only thing that mattered?

Ever heard of anyone doing an ABX DBT between MM & MC cartridges?

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/toole-blind-cartridge-comparison.41780/

 

[thyristor]

Voted poor because this is way too expensive for what you get.

It's a very simple design that doesn't even have any option to set cartridge loading or gain for MC cartridges.

And there's no reason to use designs with through hole parts in this day and age. Modern SMD parts are better and PCBs are cheaper to produce.

 

[shuppatsu]

I’m not a vinyl person but I love this guy and his products. They are gorgeous, performant, reasonably-priced, and beloved by both subjectivists and objectivists. You get all the boutiquieness with none of the attendant bull****.

 

[sergeauckland]

Voted poor because this is way too expensive for what you get.

It's a very simple design that doesn't even have any option to set cartridge loading or gain for MC cartridges.

And there's no reason to use designs with through hole parts in this day and age. Modern SMD parts are better and PCBs are cheaper to produce.

There's a very good reason to use through-hole parts. Serviceability.

As to cost, you try doing it cheaper in the UK!

S

 

[AndreaT]

This is the definition used for switches in the Common Wealth countries (UK, India, Australia etc.).

They already drive on the wrong side of the road anyway…

 

[Narrator]

The look of Fidler’s circuit boards is a tempting excuse for me to build a turntable system again. Thanks for the review.

 

[Cbdb2]

This is the definition used for switches in the Common Wealth countries (UK, India, Australia etc.).

Not Canada, too close to the states.

 

[Vladimir Filevski]

Voted poor because this is way too expensive for what you get.

Is there any cheaper MM/MC preamplifier with the same (or better) measured performance?