STAGE RIGHT

Our pick of the best phono stages that will help your records bring the house down

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The performance of any piece of hi-fi kit is largely dependent on its partnering equipment, working in tandem to convert your source to the sound that reaches your ears. And nowhere is this more evident than with the phono stage – a part of your amplification chain that has more impact on the quality of record replay than any other.

A phono stage, also known as a phono preamplifier, not only does the heavy lifting in amplifying your turntable cartridge’s tiny signal, but also performs the delicate equalisation necessary for a flat frequency response, without adding too much noise or distortion.

Put simply, if you play records, you need a good phono stage to hear the best from your vinyl. Some amplifiers and record players have built-in phono stages, but these can be quite limited, in performance terms, and so an external model will almost certainly upgrade your sound, giving you that extra performance kick to give your vinyl another layer of sonic depth.

Phono stages span all price ranges and types, and the models we present here run from the affordable Rega Fono Mini A2D Mk2 (£110) via talented models from Cambridge Audio, Moon, iFi and Pro-Ject, up to the Musical Fidelity MX-VNYL (£749) – and all are talented at getting the best from your turntable at their price.

All of the phono stages rounded-up here have been thoroughly tested in our reference set-up, as well as more price appropriate systems, so you can be sure that you are buying the very best quality for your money (and for your record player). Take a bow then, our pick of the best phono stages. They are the true stars of the show.