Music for York House

Relative price

below typical

Among the 44 phono stages in the catalogue, this one is below typical.

A band places a component against its peers and carries no price. It is deliberately the only price indicator on this page: a second one, measured against a different set, would narrow the two together far enough to give the figure away.

What it is

Topology: hybrid discrete input amplifier — paralleled PNP input transistors providing very low noise + feeding IC op-amps for low distortion. Three-stage architecture: discrete input gain → low-distortion gain stage → precision RIAA + balanced output. Fidler's key innovation: discrete transistor input stage achieves lower noise floor than IC-only designs.

Features: 63dB / 73dB switchable gain (matches very low-output MC cartridges 0.15-0.5mV) + variable defeatable low-frequency crossfeed (LFC) + balanced XLR output + mono switch. Fixed 120Ω cartridge loading — Fidler's controversial engineering position: switched-load passive networks add noise and capacitance; fixed active loading outperforms.

The Ear review (Chris Beeching): "Best Buy" award — "extracted thrill power out of cartridges." Quiet noise floor commendable — "both [Spartan 5 and MC Pro] are far far quieter than I had expected." Compared with Rega Fono MM and Whest Audio — MC Pro superior on noise and resolution.

Independent ASR (Audio Science Review) testing: Amir Majidimehr measured MC Pro and confirmed exceptionally low noise + low distortion measurements — Fidler publishes ASR results on his website (transparency rare in audiophile industry).

Power supply: 9V linear wall-wart (Fidler explicitly rejects switching PSUs). Internal ±17V split-rail regulation. ~0.1W idle.

Build: same chassis family as Spartan 5 (larger than MM Pro to accommodate 3-stage architecture). Sandblasted aluminium 2-part extrusion + 6mm solid front + hex bolts. Hand-built by Michael Fidler in Kent UK personally.

Cartridge compatibility — LOMC focus: 63/73dB gain handles all low-output MC cartridges 0.15-0.5mV (Ortofon Cadenza Black 0.33mV, Hana ML 0.4mV, SL 0.5mV, Lyra Delos 0.6mV — borderline, Kondo IO-J 0.12mV — at 73dB limit). Cartridges above 0.6mV (high-output MC, all MM) overload — use MM Pro instead. The 120Ω fixed load is the only configurability constraint — some MC cartridges optimised for 47Ω - 100Ω loading may benefit from higher impedance (Hana SL recommends 400Ω+) but Fidler argues active loading philosophy achieves better noise/distortion result than variable passive load.

What the reviewers said

the quietest, most transparent phono preamp heard Analog Planet — MC PRO review· Electrical noise floor

the quietest Analog Planet — MC PRO review· Low-level noise floor

most transparent Analog Planet — MC PRO review· Spatial resolution

no overriding sound signature... simply gets out of the way Analog Planet — MC PRO review· Tonal consistency

hardly a hiss... noise is not an issue Audio Appraisal (Cox) 2023· Low-level noise floor

startling dynamics... without limit Audio Appraisal (Cox) 2023· Micro-dynamic resolution

very low noise and distortion Audio Science Review (Majidimehr) 2023· Electrical noise floor

new level of stereo imaging Audio Appraisal (Cox) 2023· Spatial resolution

RIAA tracking within +/-0.1dB SPEC: RIAA accuracy +/-0.1dB (manufacturer)· Tonal body

0.001% THD — vanishingly low distortion SPEC: THD 0.001% (manufacturer)· Electrical noise floor

0.001% THD — vanishingly low distortion SPEC: THD 0.001% (manufacturer)· Harmonic texture

How it scores

Clarity

• Electrical noise floor 81 from listening evidence
• Spatial resolution 79 from listening evidence

Voice

• Tonal body 72 from listening evidence
• Harmonic texture 72 from listening evidence

LowerVolume

• Low-level noise floor 82 from listening evidence
• Micro-dynamic resolution 82 from listening evidence
• Tonal consistency 82 from listening evidence

Specifications