Vertere has upgraded its Award-winning phono stage once more. The Vertere Phono-1LX is the new and refined version of the excellent Phono-1 MkII L, and features improvements both within and cosmetically, promising to be the product's "most significant evolution yet."
The latest generation of the Phono-1 handles both moving coil and moving magnet cartridges, and features a wide range of adjustments so that it can be used with just about any price-compatible cartridge fitted to your turntable.
The Phono-1LX's engineering upgrades include a new, higher-quality PCB board that's built for long-term reliability, while retaining the same internal circuit. The internal DC power supply uses upgraded components to deliver a more stable, consistent and lower noise feed to the audio circuitry, while the mains power input has been improved to reduce the amount of interference entering the unit.
Additionally, a two-way earthing switch ('Earth Lift' or 'Earth Connection') now replaces the three-way switch in the older model for easier use and longer service life.
All together, Vertere promises these upgrades will result in less noise, higher dynamic range, "razor-sharp" spatial imaging and "a vocal texture so lifelike, the performance feels present in the room."
Considering we already think quite highly of its predecessor, we're intrigued to find out just how much of a difference these upgrades bring to the performance.
Vertere has also taken the opportunity to further polish up the unit's design, with the aim of offering "a visual presence worthy of the engineering within."
So that the Phono-1LX is more visually consistent with Vertere's high-end, five-star Calon phono stage and its Award-winning DG-X turntable, the phono stage's casing now has a finely textured metallic finish, the LED power indicator is now a blue-green colour, and the top fixing screws have been removed for a seamless look.
As before, the Vertere Phono-1LX comes in four finishes: silver, black, orange and black acrylic. The price has gone up a fair bit this time, with the new phono stage now costing £1650 / $2399 / AU$3250.
We have a sample of the Phono-1LX that we've been testing, so stay tuned for a our full review very soon.
MORE:
Read our Vertere Calon review
Check out the best phono preamps we've tested and recommend
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