MC Pro Review: Quietest Phono Preamp Available?

[@soundmatters]

Thanks for watching! Do drop your comments and questions below. If you'd like to support the channel, check the video description for many DISCOUNT CODES codes to enjoy money off various products and feed your vinyl habit! (I earn a small commission - no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support!

[@Hitsujiomeguruboken]

This is an insanely cool, absolutely no BS review! Thank you so much for your work and for letting us hear the differences! Why don’t you have 5 Million Subscribers instead of 5000? Not my fault: I subscribed immediately!

[@soundmatters]

Thanks so much for your kind words. Glad the review helped! Current subscriber level is just over 15,000 :) working my way up and hopefully helping others at the same time. Happy listening and thanks for the sub.

[@66jodaco]

Great video. Tom Evans has been a proponent of achieving lowest noise possible for phono stages since the days of his highly regarded J.A. Michell Iso design. His new designs achieve incredible low noise, s/n ratios, staggering compared to most.

[@stevenichols5708]

Michael Fidler is a pleasure to deal with as well

[@soundmatters]

Yes: absolutely 🎶🎧

[@stevelast1086]

Its a stunning phono stage at the price point, ive run one for a few months now between a 1210G with Phasemation cart and gryphon diablo 300 works beautifully.

[@soundmatters]

Glad to hear it. Enjoy!

[@JKadison]

Your review is helping me to decide whether or not to purchase a new turntable with a moving coil cartridge.

[@soundmatters]

Cool. What deck/cartridge are you looking at?

[@JKadison]

I've been looking at a used VPI Classic 3, Technics SL1200G-s or a Denon DP3000NE@@soundmatters

[@navinadv]

@@soundmattersI am also looking at the SL-1200GR or SL-100C and was debating between the iFi Phono 3, Schiit Mani 2, Project Phono Box S2, and Hagerman Bugle MC. Or the other idea was to get a Sl-1500 and not bother with a pre-amp. Recommendations welcome. My budget was $1000 but I am willing to stretch to $1500.

[@TTVEaGMXde]

0h0306 If you supply 2 inputs with half the total voltage you have twice the noise. Then you would have to connect several transistors or op amps in parallel to compensate for this, although if there are too many transistors (not 100% linear input resistance), the effect on the system must be taken into account.

[@asaholey]

Why do I hear less noise using xlr in the same Phono stage? I've transferred to wave file on a computer and normalized the audio I can see higher peak when using rca.

[@BestKiteboardingOfficial]

Decent snr, I assume it's ztx transistors feeding an opamp stage. For reference there's a diy phonostage that does better, the Paradise. This typically manages 86db or better, depending on how well it's built. But the raw parts cost is more than twice the rrp of this phono, and it's not an easy build. It's done by parralleling 8 transistors in the input stage per channel.

[@adriancressy8363]

sooooo what were the first 2 phono preamps with slightly lower hiss??? I don't have the money for the Fidler preamp.....I would be very happy with PREAMP 2...the first Pre sounds like my SCHITT MANI

[@Faustustopheles]

this looks amazing but is a bit over my price range unfortunately. great review as always.

[@soundmatters]

Thanks for watching. Yes, this is higher up in the Classic Audio (Michael Fidler) price range. Have you seen the Spartan range at all? I reviewed the Spartan 15, but there is a Spartan 5 also which is more affordable. Happy spinning!

[@Faustustopheles]

@@soundmatters Thanks! I will check it out. I like knowing all my options. I have a nice high end store nearish where I live and I know I can't have the McIntosh amps but I love to drool over them 🤤. weirdly they told me that I didn't need another phono amp since my receiver has a built in one (which I use) but I keep feeling like I might be missing out.

[@soundmatters]

@@Faustustopheles Nice to have a store like that local! McIntosh - very nice. Do you need one? Depends on how good the built-in phono pre is, I suppose! (oh, and how many pennies you can save!)

[@Faustustopheles]

@@soundmatters To be honest we think it sounds wonderful but we have nothing to compare it with. our receiver is a Yamaha Aventage RX-A780. Yeah it's nice to have that store. They helped us out with speakers, the receiver and even tv over the course of a few years.

[@adriancressy8363]

ahhhh ....finally someone who takes the time to let us hear the REAL difference in electronic performance. Someone who understands what we do not need in our ears. Too bad the MC only has the lowest noise figure...unfortunately the price for the Michael Fidler is out of my range

[@brunohebert1351]

Yep at $30000 it out of the range of many people.... nice that it exists but will need to win the lottery to buy that one. Plus at that price range, I would be surprised if there are no serious competitors

[@anthonyb1321]

What were the other two phono preamps in the self noise section? I imagine they were the Tube Box DS2 and Phono Box DS2.

[@soundmatters]

One was the tube box. The other was the moon 110lp 🎶

[@anthonyb1321]

​@soundmatters Thanks. I've got the Tube Box DS2. Sounds lovely, but at 60dB gain it hisses like a steam engine. I really fancy the MC Pro.

[@soundmatters]

The Michael Fidler preamps really are excellent. I recently did an audio shootout between the Tube Box and the MM Pro on my Patreon. Ok, it’s not the MC Pro, but a similar idea, and arguably what the Tube Box should excel at. It was an interesting A/B

[@ivansbacon]

I would buy it if it did NOT sum , i want my LP's played as they were recorded. "Precisely as it was intended" ? Not if it summing some of low frequencies.

[@soundmatters]

You can turn the LFX feature off completely and then it doesn’t sum at all 👍

[@tomznidarcic2337]

And how do you now how it was intended to sound, except for the LPs recorded till 1975-80?

[@jedi-mic]

I disagree with the housing I don't see any problem with it I think it looks ok, what's the issue. Why didn't you test crossfeed at a lower frequency say 60 hertz why only down to 120hz? Why doesn't he have any capacitance and impedance switches like most is it done electronically then? Why don't you play some music so we can hear it some of its not copyrighted and it doesn't matter if it is if you're demonetised

[@soundmatters]

Everyone has their own opinion on aesthetics. When it comes to playing music, copyright is a minefield. I’d like to have a list of records I CAN play in the future, but even still, this is limiting for domination purposes. I think the samples I provided at leases show the principle

[@jedi-mic]

I said you can play any music and the royalties just will go to the artist. Try double happiness, they won't mind leaving them a comment and ask him, very good band you can buy the albums Australian band@@soundmatters

[@cobar5342]

Why do you...... put ... a long space ..... between.... your ..... words......

[@declan8182]

"PromoSM" 😒

[@Grrrr3FKAGrrrrGrrrrGrrrr]

I thought this phonostage has really good bass, but higher frequencies have a charmless ''transisistorised' sound