Boosting delicate low-level signals from a moving coil pickup cartridge is one of the most difficult challenges in audio, because the gain required is huge. The slightest problem with noise or RF is emphasised to an alarming degree. It gets worse: things like circuit layout are hyper-critical. Slight errors in track routing or grounding, that would pass virtually unnoticed at line level, can produce significant losses of sound quality or noise with a phono stage. MFA's Moving Coil Step-up transformer is not a complete phono preamp, but the all-important first-stage.



Link: techradar