MC-resistive loading options are set at 20, 50 and 100 ohms, which is enough to cover most of today’s MC cartridges. The back panel of the main chassis offers gold-plated RCA connectors for input and output, along with DIP switches for cartridge loading. I did all my listening with the supplied tubes, eschewing my usual enthusiasm for tube rolling, because all of my favorite matched 12AX7s are quads! The five tubes in this section are new production Tung Sol 12AX7s. The board containing the tubes is separate from the RIAA EQ section, and isolated from the chassis via four rubber grommets-a nice feature that reduces any sort of vibration coming from outside the unit, and damps any possible microphonics coming from the tubes themselves. Peeking inside the main chassis reveals nicely laid out circuit boards populated with quality parts. Using an external power supply is not the cheapest way to build a phono preamplifier, but it insures low noise and prevents the delicate phono signal from being contaminated by power-supply noise. This separation is very critical in phono applications where the signal is delivered at such low levels in a tube-based product it becomes even more important. The power supply is housed in a separate enclosure, which an umbilical cord connects to the main chassis. Unlike the usual aluminum box, this beauty features a black-powder-coated steel case, along with a wood front panel and a sculptured wood accent panel on the top-which gives the phonostage a unique look and provides damping.
The $3,295 Phono One is a rather attractive product from the Italian firm. Italian? If you’ve checked all of those boxes then you’ve arrived at Unison Research. But when narrowing down the characteristics and features that are of particular importance, the choices start to thin out a bit: outboard power supply, check great build quality, check great cosmetics, check tube based, check good cartridge-loading options, check Class-A zero-feedback design, check Italian, check. Whether you’re an analog beginner or a veteran, your needs are covered from the entry-level price point all the way to the mega-buck region. Vinyl lovers have no lack of choices these days when it comes to purchasing a phonostage.
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