How much difference does a phono stage make?

the difference will be night and day, entirely worthwhile. However, it may reveal the limitations of other parts of the chain that you were not aware of.

Thanks guys for your feedback. Would I have to change a resistor inside to give me the correct gain for my Micro 2.5mv? What gain would I need, or is this something you have to just try out and experiment with?

The PH3 has a FIXED gain of 54db, you can't change it. You can change both input impedance and input capacitance by changing the resistor and capacitor inside.

Your cartridge at 2.5mv, will work fine with the 54db of gain of the PH3.

Everything above makes good sense. What does your Scout sit on? When I had my Scout I definitely noticed performance differences depending upon the table/stand. I like the 4" solid maple platforms from MapleShade.

Interesting thread.

Phono amps are a bit of a mystery tp me. But I found Dougdeacon post very helpfull. Now I'm using me intergrated amplifiers phono stage. But sometimes I wonder wether it would be a good idea to buy a seperate phono amp. However with my current financial state a nice phono amp is out of the question.