Shortly after you get serious about vinyl, one of the first buzzwords you’ll learn is “phono stage.” The Facebook pages and chat forums are full of comments, “do I need one?,” “how much do they cost?,” “MM or MC?” Well, that last one’s probably another separate conversation, but let’s start here.
The little phono stage that can
If you’re making the first leap off the cliff to extract more information from your grooves, and you’ve got a budget amplifier, receiver, or perhaps even a cool vintage receiver with an on-board phono section, chances are high that the turntable you have is capable of delivering more music than it is. Enter the V90-LPS. This tiny solid-state phono stage is equipped to handle Moving Magnet (MM) and Moving Coil (MC) cartridges with equal efficiency. It has a single 47k ohm setting for MM and 100 ohm loading for MC, which should still be enough for a wide variety of cartridges. Musical Fidelity suggests not going over 3.0 mV output for MM or under .4mV for MC. We found it easily handles the 7mv output of REGA MM cartridges found on their turntables and the recently reviewed AVID Ingenium Plug N Play.
Which is exactly where we began our journey. After getting a read on the V90-LPS with the $2,200 deck (sporting the updated, aluminum platter) it’s easy to see just how quiet and lifelike this phono stage is. Tracking through the MoFi copy of Dire Straits – Communique, the quiet bits are not only quiet, but full of dimension and texture. Trading this combo in for something more in keeping with what we anticipate might be the average use, we move to room three, where a vintage Marantz 2275/Technics SL1100 (with NOS Audio Technica cartridge) and a pair of original JBL L-100s are in full song. If you love vintage hifi, but would like a bit more giddyup out of your phono section – possibly adding a budget MC cart, the V90-LPS is going to be a revelation. It certainly woke our classic Marantz/Technics setup.
Around back, it only takes a simple push of the button to go from MM to MC operation, so next up was a quick cartridge change for the Ortofon Quintet Red. This cartridge’s .5mV output is right in the sweet spot of the V90-LPS. Those of you used to listening to a vintage cartridge wishing for a bigger musical presentation, or perhaps are streaming digital files with your favorite budget DAC, wondering why vinyl doesn’t sound better, this combination will put your analog selections back on top. Music now takes on a much more engaging, lifelike feel with the V90-LPS. Going back to the Marantz’ on board phono section now sounded noisy, lifeless and compressed. There’s no turning back once you are hooked!
Settling on the Technics/Ortofon combination, the V90-LPS goes about its business with ease. While it lacks the resolution that bigger budget items deliver, it’s such a huge jump up from what you might find on board in a budget integrated or receiver, you can’t go wrong. Tonally, it is slightly on the dry side of things, but again, in perspective for the asking price, it’s phenomenal. Even those of you building a modern system from the ground up will enjoy using this with nearly any cartridge in the $75-$500 range. Transient response and dynamics are fast and unencumbered, while the top registered is not terribly cloudy or grainy.
As there aren’t any choices beyond MM/MC, there isn’t all that much more to tell you. The V90-LPS uses a 12 volt wall wart power supply, which helps to keep the noise down, because the power supply is not located on the compact chassis. And, with a power supply like this, you won’t be agonizing over aftermarket power cords. The biggest problem will really be where to put it, and because of it’s incredibly low power draw, we suggest leaving it powered up all the time – it only draws a few watts. Once the V90-LPS is on for a full day or two, it will fully stabilize electrically and thermally, so you can expect it to open up a bit more than what you experience at initial power up.
For just under 200 dollars, the Musical Fidelity V90-LPS is as good as it gets.
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