As far as I can determine, £600 is enough to buy you the finest moving magnet phono stage currently in production. And that phono stage is the MM Pro by Michael Fidler. I will stand by that statement until someone shows me verifiable scientific data, not just audiophile hyperbole, to prove otherwise.
Tag: Classic Audio
Spartan 10 By Michael Fidler Retrospective Review
The review below was kindly contributed by Nipper Varney. This review was written some time ago and is reference in Nipper’s recent phono stage comparison contribution. The Spartan 10 has now been discontinued, replaced by the Spartan 15, so I am publishing this as a kind of retrospective as there are certainly plenty of Spartan 10s out there ‘in the wild’.
Phono Stage Comparison – Classic Audio Spartan & Pro, Pro-Ject, Ifi
The review below was kindly contributed by Nipper Varney. Michael Fidler of Classic Audio asked me if I would consider publishing a review of his latest Spartan 15 phonostage contributed by Nipper. I agreed and what follows is a fantastic in-depth comparison of a number of phono stages, including the Spartan 15. Also featured are the Spartan 5, Spartan 10, MM PRO, MC PRO, and units from Pro-Ject and Ifi too.
Spartan 5 by Michael Fidler Phono Stage Reviewed
A diminutive little box, in which is a simple but objectively and subjectively top-class circuit typology. The Spartan series should be underlined at the top of your shortlist. They represent high-end objective performance and save you a boatload of cash.