This is a review and detailed measurements of the Rega Fono MM MK3 phono stage. It was kindly sent to me by a member and costs US $395. Despite its relatively high price, it only supports Moving Magnet cartridges.
I was disappointed in the plastic case and overall look:
EDIT: case is actually aluminum.
Not much to see on the back either:
As you see, it uses an AC transformer which allows it to generate both positive and negative DC voltages it needs internally with ease. Because of this the power supply is not universal so if you are importing it, better make sure it is rated for your voltage or pick up your own 24 volt supply.
Rega Fono MM MK3 Measurements
As usual we start with our dashboard using 5 millivolt to simulate a moving magnet cartridge output:
SNIAD which is typically the relative sum of both distortion and noise tends to be noise limited in phono preamplifiers and such is the case. The rating places the Fono MM in the average category:
We can tease out just the distortion or just the noise:
As you see the distortion is quite good on the left (equivalent to 17 bit digital audio). Both are far better than anything the LP as a format can produce.
Most important in a phono state is faithful RIAA equalization to give us a flat response:
Nice to have a rumble filter but would have liked a more flat response above 20 Hz.
With respect overload (making pops and clicks sound worse than they have to), we get good bit of headroom:
Here is the Schiit Mani in comparison:
I should not that just about all the measurements match Rega specifications.
Conclusions
The Fono MM performance is fine. Nothing is broken. It is just that at $400 you are paying more for the brand than features and looks. I leave it up to you to decide if it is a good deal or not.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Had fair bit of harvest sitting for weeks on our porch waiting for us to do something about them. The peppers were bugging me especially since they were starting to get soft and develop some bad spots. So I thought I get them inside and cut and freeze them:
First year growing these long sweet peppers. A bit less flexible to use since you can't make stuffed peppers easily with them. Still, they taste great in stir-fry's and such.
Appreciate any kind donations using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
I was disappointed in the plastic case and overall look:
EDIT: case is actually aluminum.
Not much to see on the back either:
As you see, it uses an AC transformer which allows it to generate both positive and negative DC voltages it needs internally with ease. Because of this the power supply is not universal so if you are importing it, better make sure it is rated for your voltage or pick up your own 24 volt supply.
Rega Fono MM MK3 Measurements
As usual we start with our dashboard using 5 millivolt to simulate a moving magnet cartridge output:
SNIAD which is typically the relative sum of both distortion and noise tends to be noise limited in phono preamplifiers and such is the case. The rating places the Fono MM in the average category:
We can tease out just the distortion or just the noise:
As you see the distortion is quite good on the left (equivalent to 17 bit digital audio). Both are far better than anything the LP as a format can produce.
Most important in a phono state is faithful RIAA equalization to give us a flat response:
Nice to have a rumble filter but would have liked a more flat response above 20 Hz.
With respect overload (making pops and clicks sound worse than they have to), we get good bit of headroom:
Here is the Schiit Mani in comparison:
I should not that just about all the measurements match Rega specifications.
Conclusions
The Fono MM performance is fine. Nothing is broken. It is just that at $400 you are paying more for the brand than features and looks. I leave it up to you to decide if it is a good deal or not.
-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Had fair bit of harvest sitting for weeks on our porch waiting for us to do something about them. The peppers were bugging me especially since they were starting to get soft and develop some bad spots. So I thought I get them inside and cut and freeze them:
First year growing these long sweet peppers. A bit less flexible to use since you can't make stuffed peppers easily with them. Still, they taste great in stir-fry's and such.
Appreciate any kind donations using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
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