Genesis - Simpicity Phono

Simplicity Phono

Our mantra when designing the Genesis Simplicity Phono was to be “as simple as possible, but no simpler”.

Modeled after the award-winning Genesis Premium Platinum Phono, but at a quarter of the price, the mission of the Simplicity Phono is:
“To amplifiy the 0.004V signal from a moving coil phono cartridge up to 25,000 times and reverse the RIAA pre-emphasis used during lacquer cutting.”

Because of the delicate nature of the miniscule signal from the moving coil phono cartridge, it is important to do no harm. In order to preserve the prodigious dynamics, resolution and clarity of the best phono cartridges, the phono amplifier needs to have huge headroom and minimal noise.

Instead of the usual amplify-filter-amplify topology of phono preamplifiers, we designed a variable gain amplifier – with the gain matching the RIAA de-emphasis curve required for accurate playback.

In this way, the signal is only amplified as much as necessary. The Genesis Phono amplifies the phono voltage signal by 82dB at 20Hz, 62dB at
1kHz and 42dB at 20kHz – according to the curve required for RIAA de-emphasis. An additional pole at 80kHz eliminated the need for cartridge loading. Hence, there are no complicated options that you are never sure is the correct load to use for your system.

This is made possible using the legendary (in audiophile circles) Burr-Brown OPA637. The RIAA de-emphasis accuracy is achieved using hand-matched capacitors and 0.1% resistors.

The Simplicity is designed to be as close as possible as a “straight wire with gain”, albeit RIAA-shaped gain. It consumes less than 0.5W. Plug it in, and forget about it, just as if it were an interconnect between your turntable and line-stage preamp.

For even better sound, an “off-grid” battery option is provided. One of the most expensive aspects of the Premium Platinum was eliminated with a bit of mathematical ingenuity: statistical averaging over 10+10 pieces of AA batteries deliver clean, low-noise, balanced power for 300+ hours of use.

The Simplicity Phono just gets out of the way so that the music comes through. It makes your turntable system so enjoyable, so easy to listen to that you will get lost in your music and make you sink deeper and deeper into your listening seat.

SPECIFICATIONS:

RIAA Accuracy: +/- 0.5dB 20Hz to 20kHz
Voltage Gain: 62dB @1kHz
Absolute Phase: Non-inverting
Inputs & Outputs: Genesis gold-plated RCA
Dimensions W 14” x D 10” x H 2.5” (W 356mm x D 254mm x H 64mm)
Weight: 11 lbs (5 kg)
Finish: Gloss black HMWA & Bamboo
Power Input/Consumption: 85-264VAC/<0.5W
Off-Grid Power Option: 20 x AA Batteries
Included Accessories: Tonearm grounding cable