Should I upgrade my phono linestage first or the tonearm for better results?


Hello all,

I am wondering if I would get more out of an upgrade to my current tonearm, the Graham 2.0, or should I switch out the phono stage AcousTech Ph1P? I am guessing about the same money either way, budget around $2500 for the upgrade. I would be looking to purchase used equipment on this.

Related components:

Clearaudio Virtuoso 2 cartridge

BAT VK 31SE preamp

Krell KSA 250 amplifier

Aerial 10T speakers

Graham IC70 tonearm cable

Transparent reference interconnects

Transparent Ultra MM bi-wire speaker cables


Thank you in advance!!



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A point you may want to factor into your decision is that the Virtuoso v2 cartridge appears to have a recommended load capacitance of 100 pf, and the input capacitance of your phono stage is specified as 220 pf. The capacitances of the wiring between the cartridge and the phono stage will add to that 220 pf, and under typical circumstances would probably bring the total load capacitance seen by the cartridge to something like 350 pf or even more.

The result of that mismatch would be a frequency response peak probably occurring somewhere in the vicinity of 10 to 15 kHz, followed by a sharp rolloff above that frequency.

Configuring a vinyl front end such that the total load capacitance seen by a cartridge is as low as 100 pf can often be unachievable, and a modestly higher number than that probably won’t make much if any difference. But applying 350 pf or more when 100 pf is recommended strikes me as an issue that should be taken into account in your decision.

I'll mention also that the majority of moving magnet cartridges have load capacitance recommendations significantly higher than 100 pf, and much higher in many cases.

Good luck, however you decide to proceed. Regards,
-- Al


I have a Teres turntable, sorry i forgot to put it on the list above.


Also, i have the Stradavari Cartridge V2 cartridge now, i forgot that i upgraded that a few years ago. I shouldn’t start these threads from memory only lol.