Musical Surroundings - Nova Phonomena Phono Preamp

"…this Nova remains, without apology or serious qualification, my new (affordable) reference – and very satisfyingly so." – Paul Seydor, The Absolute Sound, June/July 2007

One of the most glaring problems with most phono preamplifiers is noise. With all that gain applied to the low-level signal from your phono cartridge, AC noise can become a serious detriment to clean, pure sound. Batteries, of course, take the place of AC power – and when you apply batteries to a phono preamp design you invariably get a spooky-black background with no grunge competing for your ear's attention.

What makes the Nova Phonomena unique from other battery-powered phono preamps at its price point is it's rechargeable battery pack. These "smart" batteries disconnect from the circuit when charging and they self-charge if the unit goes unused for a week. Two, seven-cell NiMH AA packs, one for each positive and negative power supply, are charged separately in case there is different current usage between the power supplies. This phono stage is dual mono with a fully discrete circuit for wide bandwidth; gain is adjustable from 40-60dB and loading is fully adjustable from 30 Ohms to 100k Ohms. The Phonomena can be used with any cartridge.