pre built in phono stage vs external phono stage

[nbaptista]

Hi all,
I´ve bought a Rega Brio recently with a built in phono stage, as you know. I wonder if an external phono stage is better, or no?I have the Fono MM K 3 that i was using with the Densen, but I may sell it.

[walpurgis]

A good phono stage is good whether built in or separate. It could be argued that an external stage may be less prone to hum from the amplifier mains transformer, but then it may be more likely to pick up noise from the cables. You take your pick I guess.

[nbaptista]

https://toprecordplayers.com/built-in-preamp-vs-external/

[Mikeandvan]

Built in every time, who wants more freakin boxes? I've just taken the Graham slee outa my system, now 1210 going straight into valve amp, so far can;t tell teh difference, except perhaps more detail. I mean at a basic level, you got turntable cable going straight into amp so not having to go through phono stage, and then back out more cables into main amp, makes sense some info might get lost.

[CageyH]

It all depends on the phono stages you have available in either built in or external form.
Let your ears decide, but if your information is getting lost, then there is something seriously wrong.

[walpurgis]

It all depends on the phono stages you have available in either built in or external form.
Let your ears decide, but if your information is getting lost, then there is something seriously wrong.

I agree with Kevin.

[hifi_dave]

It depends entirely on how good the internal and external phono stages are. Rega make great phono stages and I've often compared their built in jobbies against expensive external stages and preferred the Rega internal.

[nbaptista]

I´m keeping the built in phono. Less boxes, and sounds pretty well.

[Barry]

With current amplifiers often lacking a phonostage, turntables these days now come fitted with one. These 'internal' phonostages are often poorly built, because they are out of sight of the purchaser.

[rusty bearing]

Most built in seem to be for MM, I know it's another box but it does give you the option to use/try a MC cart if you felt so incline in the future

[Lawrence001]

Equally some more vinyl oriented makers put decent ones in eg. Rega and they can sometimes be switchable MM/MC, or MC by request.

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[Barry]

Equally some more vinyl oriented makers put decent ones in eg. Rega and they can sometimes be switchable MM/MC, or MC by request.

Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk

Yes, I would expect those manufacturers of both turntables and amplifiers to do a good job with phonostages. I was referring to those manufacturers who only produce TTs and use a third-party phonostage, largely as an afterthought.

[SiT4]

Surely this depends on the 'quality' of the phono stage and not whether it is built in ? You can get a very cheap integrated which has a crappy built in stage or an EAR 912 ! they are both integrated stages but vastly different in the quality.

[walpurgis]

Surely this depends on the 'quality' of the phono stage and not whether it is built in ? You can get a very cheap integrated which has a crappy built in stage or an EAR 912 ! they are both integrated stages but vastly different in the quality.

Yes. You tend to get what you pay for. I don't think being built in or separate has much relevance in quality terms. Built in can be convenient, but less versatile, as it can be nice to hang onto a decent separate phono stage when upgrading amplifiers.

[Macca]

If it's separate then it will have its own power supply instead of sharing the one in the amplifier. That can make a difference especially for noise.

Depends how serious you are about using vinyl.

Having said that there are a lot of quite pricey separate stages which are no better than the one you get in a decent integrated amp or a pre-amplifier. Buyer beware.