Rega Fono MM MK3 Phono Preamp Review

[Blumlein 88]

For me, this is not an option. The in-line scheme is really a "pain in the butt"

Depends upon circumstances. Often, usually even it will be less than ideal. I knew two people with them. In one case, it allowed routing of the phono to a point behind the TT where we had attached the XPS-1 at the rear support of an open shelf which was much neater. Out of site, and in the way of nothing else. From there output was routed to an ADC with the wires naturally being out of sight the whole way.

The other case it was a bit of a problem. Finally solved by putting velcro on the back of the XPS and on the back of the equipment cabinet. Wires came out the back, thru the XPS and back into the shelf with the line level preamp. You had to think outside the box so to speak. .

 

[SmoothR]

Considering you can get a deacent power amp with rather good phono input for around 600$ like for instance Denon PMA-800NE this really isn't worth 400$.

Okay... what's about the capacity? As far as I know the phono in of amps and AVRs have a high capacity. For my Ortofon 2m blue f.e. I need 150-300pF. With cables etc. you need a max. over about 100pF from the preamp or phono in to have a nice sounding. Again, as far as I know AVRs & amps have way above 100pF and for a regular cartridge it sounds like crap...

 

[SIY]

tl;dr: No concrete numbers but vinyl is surprisingly good considering the physics involved. S/N isn't as good as CD but it's not bad. Dynamic range can be excellent and exceed CD.

The Johnson noise of the cartridge sets a limit even if the vinyl and turntable are perfect. Not even close to CD.

 

[Soniclife]

You can't say that about the Cambridge audio Duo. It has a better case and looks plus superior performance, plus MC capability while costing less.

The US pricing is weird for the Rega, in the UK the Duo is slightly more expensive than the fono, but in the US it's much more expensive. Is this down to made in China vs UK, or direct sales vs dealer?

 

[ZolaIII]

Okay... what's about the capacity? As far as I know the phono in of amps and AVRs have a high capacity. For my Ortofon 2m blue f.e. I need 150-300pF. With cables etc. you need a max. over about 100pF from the preamp or phono in to have a nice sounding. Again, as far as I know AVRs & amps have way above 100pF and for a regular cartridge it sounds like crap...

Don't really know, i know it takes both MM & MC catriges and Denon made a fuss about it (how it's high quality and cetera). Whose more interested in it as power amp, as it's good (would have been great if first harmonic didn't put SINAD down to 87 dB [direct mode]). Find it still very good for the price.

 

[SmoothR]

Don't really know, i know it takes both MM & MC catriges and Denon made a fuss about it (how it's high quality and cetera). Whose more interested in it as power amp, as it's good (would have been great if first harmonic didn't put SINAD down to 87 dB [direct mode]). Find it still very good for the price.

But that is really a very or the most important point. If you have a phono in or preamp with the wrong capacity regarding to the needs of your cartridge you WILL have a bad sound quality. So, don't care about SINAD in first, care about the optimal capacity that fits to your cartridge.

 

[ZolaIII]

But that is really a very or the most important point. If you have a phono in or preamp with the wrong capacity regarding to the needs of your cartridge you WILL have a bad sound quality. So, don't care about SINAD in first, care about the optimal capacity that fits to your cartridge.

I wory about what you are getting all around. People say phono pre amp of it has a good capacity for great variety of cartridges as much as I read comments. It's rather quity peace... If the first harmonic whosent bad it would reach almost full 16 bit range. I didn't read much about it's phono stage as I am not interested that much in it. For me good phono stage whose just a nice side future nor about it's DAC (Bur Brown now Ti), just as a pure direct power amp (as everything else is more of a gift for the price for me), but you have other requirements so please try to find out if it fits your needs. Unfortunately i can't help you with that.

 

[Angsty]

So, don't care about SINAD in first, care about the optimal capacity that fits to your cartridge.

This phrase jangles my pedant nerve. Is the term “capacity” used as a synonym outside the US for the term “capacitance” or is this just a recurring typo?

 

[SmoothR]

This phrase jangles my pedant nerve. Is the term “capacity” used as a synonym outside the US for the term “capacitance” or is this just a recurring typo?

Sorry, If I'm wrong. I think capacitance is the correct word. You have to know, I'm a German potatoe head

 

[Angsty]

On a separate thread, @dougi provided me with some useful info on cartridge loading, including capacitance for MM cartridges. I do find it rare for low-cost phono pre-amps to offer much in variable capacitance loading, but it happens sometimes.

http://www.hagtech.com/loading.html

 

[SmoothR]

I wory about what you are getting all around. People say phono pre amp of it has a good capacity for great variety of cartridges as much as I read comments. It's rather quity peace... If the first harmonic whosent bad it would reach almost full 16 bit range. I didn't read much about it's phono stage as I am not interested that much in it. For me good phono stage whose just a nice side future nor about it's DAC (Bur Brown now Ti), just as a pure direct power amp (as everything else is more of a gift for the price for me), but you have other requirements so please try to find out if it fits your needs. Unfortunately i can't help you with that.

If you have the wrong capacitance your "frequency response" is false. Please have a look of the pic. You will see how much influence the capacitance have. This is a Shure cartridge f.e.

 

[Labjr]

Turntables, phono cartridges and accessories is the most ridiculously overpriced sector of the hi-fi hobby. Rega especially. I've never seen so much audiophile voodoo as in the vinyl cult. Mostly plastic and MDF construction. They would invent a technical name for amalgamated dog shit if it was cheaper to use than all the other bubble gum and saw dust. Almost all of the new records are being produced with digital masters. What a joke.

 

[SmoothR]

This is not the point. Vinyl is something special. You have a massive disc in your hands, with a nice booklet. You set down the cartridge on a low spinning disc... you hear some crackles.... and the music starts... it's a process...

 

[renaudrenaud]

ASR...

Some people sold their equipment to buy something tested and endorsed by ASR.
Some people wait the review before to buy.
And me, today, I've bought one equipment because another one is tested.

 

[Chrispy]

This is not the point. Vinyl is something special. You have a massive disc in your hands, with a nice booklet. You set down the cartridge on a low spinning disc... you hear some crackles.... and the music starts... it's a process...

It's nostalgic perhaps, special, no, particularly the surface noise.

 

[levimax]

Turntables, phono cartridges and accessories is the most ridiculously overpriced sector of the hi-fi hobby. Rega especially. I've never seen so much audiophile voodoo as in the vinyl cult. Mostly plastic and MDF construction. They would invent a technical name for amalgamated dog shit if it was cheaper to use than all the other bubble gum and saw dust. Almost all of the new records are being produced with digital masters. What a joke.

I don't see LP play back equipment as any more or less ridiculous than the rest of the hi-fi hobby. The Cambridge phono stage seems a good value and there are decent TT's and Carts that will get the job done at a reasonable price. Is a $5,000 DAC or even a $50,000 DAC that is outperformed by a $100 DAC any less ridiculous?

 

[SmoothR]

It's nostalgic perhaps, special, no, particularly the surface noise.

For me it's specia.l A non digitalized version to play music, like my parents and grandparents many years before.... and yes... I don't listen to this format every day or week but sometimes it is very nice with a calming down effect

 

[Chrispy]

For me it's specia.l A non digitalized version to play music, like my parents and grandparents many years before.... and yes... I don't listen to this format every day or week but sometimes it is very nice with a calming down effect

LOL glad you enjoy it, grew up with vinyl as there was no choice (well, reel to reel was around but fairly rare in my circles) but I switched to digital long ago for the most part....altho I still have my vinyl collection and a tt....just don't use it a whole lot these days.

 

[SegaCD]

A CD had 96 dB of dynamic range... there is no way an LP is even close to that. With a ~-40 dB noise floor that would mean peaks of 136 dB which is not possible in the physical world. That said the dynamic range in more than enough for most music except classical where the noise floor on quiet passages can be an issue. I think a reasonable but over simplified way to think of an LP is that under excellent conditions it has a S/N of ~ 60 dB.

I apparently had a brain fart when I wrote that! I was planning to write about DBX encoded LPs which brought the theoretical DR up to 90dB (which still wouldn't have exceeded CDs but is pretty darn good). Thanks for pointing that out. Fixed.

 

[SegaCD]

The Johnson noise of the cartridge sets a limit even if the vinyl and turntable are perfect. Not even close to CD.

The self-noise for a very good Moving Coil cartridge can be around 100dB down following the equations in appendix 5 of the 1980 National Audio/Radio Handbook. Excellent MM is more in the range of 70 or so dB which is fine, not a CD but better than most analog formats. The limiting factor is almost certainly the surface noise of the LP.

Like I said, LP isn't bad for the physics involved. Its fine to listen to if the stars align. If you're looking for consistent, reproducible, high-quality audio, vinyl certainly isn't where it's at. It can be an enjoyable, very high-fidelity experience or it can be far from it.