More than a little of what you fancy…
By Roy Gregory
I recently reviewed Konus Audio’s diminutive and ultra minimalist Integrale 2000 amplifier, finding a great deal to admire in its compact dimensions, no-nonsense approach, engaging sound quality and equally engaging price. Unless you are going to live with your ears clamped inside a head-set of some description, an amplifier is one of the things you really can’t do without – so a modestly priced product that offers a far from modest performance is always going to be an attractive proposition. But how about an eclectic, esoteric and exacting phono-stage? Maybe not so much…
The Konus Audio Vinyle phono-stages occupy the same19cm square chassis as the Integrale amps and, like them, are available in the same choice of orange/grey or grey/orange colourways. Also, like the amplifier, the phono-stage is available in a number of different guises. The Vinyle 1000-MC will cost you €2,500 (the 1000-MM is €2,000), the 2000-MC is priced at €3,900 while the 3000-MC reviewed here will set you back the not inconsiderable sum of €6,000. There is also a 3000-MM available, priced at €5,000. Outwardly identical, the difference in price between the various units reflects increasing quantity and quality of power supply, along with better (in the case of the 3000-MC, considerably better) grade components.
The three units also share the red power LED on the top plate and a single RCA input and output for each channel, widely spaced left and right on the rear panel, indicating their dual-mono construction. You don’t even get a dedicated ground post. Instead you should secure a ground wire underneath the centrally placed rear ‘foot’ (it’s actually an acorn nut). What you can do is upgrade between the units, having an existing piece rebuilt to a higher spec.
Small wonder…
By now, you’ll probably have twigged that this isn’t the unit you buy to impress your audio buddies. It’s not big, it’s not ostentatious and it doesn’t seem too clever. You don’t even get any adjustments. That’s right. No ability to change gain or loading. On a €6,000 phono-stage that might be considered more than just an oversight, but in this case it’s your first indicator that the 3000-MC has something more than a little unusual under the hood.
When CH Precision launched the P1 phono-stage it pretty much stood the record replay market on its ear, setting a remarkable new standard for performance. That performance was in no small part down to the P1’s adoption of current sensing for two of its three available inputs. Admittedly, CH’s proven attention to detail and impeccable housekeeping also played their part, but it’s notable that this is the only product that both Michael Fremer and I have bought with our own money! It must be doing quite a lot that’s right…
Current-sensing phono-stages are far from new, with many (mainly Japanese) companies adopting the approach with some considerable success. For example, Dynavector’s excellent PHA-100 and 200 phono-stages employed current sensing to considerable effect. The theory is pretty straightforward. Show the cartridge a short-circuit (a zero-Ω load) and you draw far more current from it as a result, while avoiding some of the more deleterious magnetic anomalies that can influence voltage generation. The Konus Audio phono-stages are – as you’ve no doubt guessed – current-sensing designs, as befits their inspiration, the original 47Labs designs. They are also just as minimalist as the company’s amplifiers. If you are starting to think that this is a P1 on the cheap, think again. Which brings us to the single biggest compromise inherent to the 3000-MC’s design – the question of gain and by default, cartridge matching.
