Stage Of Enlightenment

FOR Open full-bodied sound; fluid dynamics; MM and MC

AGAINST Trades punch for sophistication

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Musical Fidelity’s LX2-LPS and the Award-winning Rega Fono MM MK3 – the competition for any product entering this market at this price – are split by their differing talents rather than one or the other being in any particular ascendancy.

The LX2-LPS is, of course, our focus for this review, though it splits its own focus by offering amplification for both moving magnet and moving-coil cartridges. Catering for both, especially to do so adeptly, is a rarity at this price given the extra work involved with the latter.

That a decent MC cartridge alone would likely set you back more than double the price of this unit, and that’s not to mention the cost of the rest of a suitable deck, means we wonder how much use will be made of this feature. Still, its presence can only be regarded as positive – if only for the fact it facilitates a second toggle (indisputably king of switching systems) on the front of the unit.

First impressions

This is a classy product. Naturally, as a phono stage, its appearance is clean cut – this is a game played very much behind closed doors – but the build is solid and symmetry fundamentally pleasing.