TIME'S CELEBRATION: ORTOFON FIRST CENTURY ANNIVERSARY ! ! ! ! !

lewm, having heard the MP1 with a Ortofon A90, I guess it depends on what you call "no significant noise penalty"!
Sweeping generalizations without having done the actual work to support them...oh, please!!!

@lewm When it comes to analog, a phono preamplifier is the single most difficult component to engineer and build. MP1 (pushing $20,000!!!) uses 10 tubes to get 66dB of MC gain and another 6 tubes for line level. I have not heard it, but I doubt it would be considered low noise with the cartridges in question.

Yes, some of us own or can build a state of the art phono preamp, but the rest 99.99% of audiophiles buying these very low output cartridges are listening to garbage sound. Just because something makes noise and plays loud enough, doesn’t mean that it’s any good.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/liberty-audio-b2b-1-phono-preamplifier

This little gem does LOMC easy 

🎶👍

and yes yes I make them  

good Listening 

Peter 

@pbnaudio What are the fets used in that unit?

005  (are you in her majesty's secret service :-) )

Toshiba 2SK170/2SJ74 - I still have some left - hoping that Linear Systems will get their act together and figure out how to make these before I run out :-)

Good Listening

Peter