SPL Phonos Black

This phono preamplifier for Moving Magnet (MM) and Moving Coil (MC) pickup systems is based on the legendary Douglas-Self-Design.

MM & MC

There are two pickup systems for record players: Moving Magnet (MM) and Moving Coil (MC).

Moving Magnet

Moving magnet pickups generate a small voltage by moving a magnet between copper coils. MM pickups have a very high inductance and impedance.

The Phonos offers a choice of three capacitors to correct the linearity of the frequency and phase response. The capacitances are 150pF, 220pF and 330pF. In the off-position the capacitance is determined by the capacitance of the cable.

Moving Coil

The MC pickup is also a small electromagnetic generator, but with the magnets firmly anchored and the coils moving between them, i.e. exactly the opposite of the MM pickup.
The output voltage, however, is very low at only a few hundred microvolts and is therefore more sensitive to noise and induced hum. This makes preamplifier design a challenge, because the very low output voltage must be pre-amplified extremely noise-free. Phonos offers one of the most powerful phono preamplifiers for MC systems with up to 71.5 dB preamplification. Thanks to the 120V technology, the preamplifiers are extremely low-noise, linear and phase-locked.

MC pickups have a very low inductance and impedance. This means that the effects of cable capacitance (from turntable to preamplifier) are negligible. The impedance, however, is relevant and can be set in six positions: 100, 220, 470, 2.2 k, 4.7 k, and 10 kOhm. If there is any doubt as to which impedance matches that of the pickup, the impedances can also simply be switched through until the linear frequency response is acoustically determined.

Amplification

The pre-amplification can be switched in three values. The normal gain value is +46 dB for MM and +67 dB for MC cartridges.

In the -10 dB position, the phono produces enough output level for normal hi-fi equipment operating at a reference level of -10 dBV.

In the +4 dB position, the output level is about as loud as that of modern DA converters at a reference level of 0dBfs = +15 dBu.

Subsonic Filter

The rumbling of the turntable’s drive mechanism is also amplified by the high amplification of the bass range due to RIAA equalization in playback. The Phonos offers a switchable subsonic filter to remove this rumble.

Connections

Gold-plated RCA sockets are available for connecting the turntable and for outputting to a preamplifier such as the Director Mk2 or the Elector.

A ground connection for the turntable is designed as banana plug socket. The ground lead can be either clamped or plugged in.

US and EU parcels ship via UPS, ETA 1-7 working days from pickup day zero. That also applies to most locations worldwide.

All shipments are fully insured.

Bigger shipments requiring pallets or custom made crates ship to US, CA, JP, CN, AU and other outside of EU locations via DHL Air Freight, ETA is normally approx. 7-14 working days from pickup day zero.

Big shipments inside EU ship via different freight companies, recently mostly via ACE Logistics. Freight forwarders can use different courier companies for deliveries to final destinations.

Palletising and crating time can vary depending on the size of the shipment and packaging queue. We pack all our shipments with great care.

You are most welcome to pick your order up yourself from our Retrosonic Pro Audio showroom, studio and warehouse in Tallinn, Estonia.

We ship worldwide – contact us for a personal shipping quote or any other questions.

VAT (Value Added Tax) can be deducted if you have a company with a valid EU VAT number or if you're based outside of the EU. Non-EU buyers pay all and any import tax and duty as regulated by their local customs.