Phono stage
typical
Among the 44 phono stages in the catalogue, this one is 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.
Whest 20.SP0 — the HYBRID Class-A sibling of the 20.DP0, sharing the same 20-series RIAA/gain/loading/THD spec but a shared-rail (not true dual-mono) topology, hence lower channel separation than the DP0. Whest positions it as Class-A performance "that redefines entry level".
Same measured RIAA ±0.15dB and THD+N 0.005% as the DP0 series sheet; differs in topology (hybrid vs all-discrete) and stereo separation.
Assessed against 10 rivals across the sixty systems: it takes the slot in none of its 55 head-to-heads.
The dimension the engine names as the weakest link, counted across every head-to-head it lost.
14 lost · Anchored, Artisan, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Characterful, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Silent Path
Against the Anchored brief, the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC keeps the slot decisively.
With the van den Hul The Frog, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
On its own merits the Whest Audio whest 20.SP0 is the weaker phono stage for that brief.
quietStereophile — Whest PhonoStage.20 review
14 lost · Anchored, Artisan, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Characterful, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic
Against the Intimate brief, the Naim NVC TT MM/MC keeps the slot decisively.
With the van den Hul The Frog, the pairing gives up most on low-level clarity.
With the NVA P50SA MKII, the pairing gains most on tonal body.
On its own merits the Whest Audio whest 20.SP0 is the weaker phono stage for that brief.
RIAA tracking within +/-0.15dBSPEC: RIAA accuracy +/-0.15dB (manufacturer)
8 lost · Anchored, Characterful, PRaT, Romantic
Against the Anchored brief, the Musical Fidelity M8x Vinyl keeps the slot decisively.
With the van den Hul The Frog, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
On its own merits the Whest Audio whest 20.SP0 is the weaker phono stage for that brief.
quietStereophile — Whest PhonoStage.20 review
7 lost · BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Intimate, Reference
Against the Intimate brief, the Rega Aura Reference MC keeps the slot decisively.
With the van den Hul The Crimson, the pairing gives up most on low-level clarity.
With the EAR Yoshino 868L (Line), the pairing gives up most on low-level clarity.
On its own merits the Whest Audio whest 20.SP0 is the weaker phono stage for that brief.
quietStereophile — Whest PhonoStage.20 review
3 lost · Vocals-First
Against the Vocals-First brief, the Tom Evans Groove+ SRX MkII keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Whest Audio whest 20.SP0 is the weaker phono stage for that brief.
3 lost · Artisan, Reference
Against the Artisan brief, the EAR Yoshino 88PB MM/MC keeps the slot decisively.
With the van den Hul The Colibri, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
On its own merits the Whest Audio whest 20.SP0 is the stronger phono stage — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the van den Hul The Colibri gives up quietness at rest under the Artisan weighting.
It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the phono stage position.
quietStereophile — Whest PhonoStage.20 review
2 lost · Silent Path
Against the Silent Path brief, the Whest Audio 60Se Pro keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Whest Audio whest 20.SP0 is the weaker phono stage for that brief.
It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the phono stage position.
2 lost · Vocals-First
Against the Vocals-First brief, the Cyrus Classic PHONO keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Whest Audio whest 20.SP0 is the weaker phono stage for that brief.
1 lost · Silent Path
Against the Silent Path brief, the Whest Audio TITAN Pro II keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Whest Audio whest 20.SP0 is the weaker phono stage for that brief.
It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the phono stage position.
1 lost · Silent Path
Against the Silent Path brief, the Michell Apollo + Muse PSU keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Whest Audio whest 20.SP0 is the weaker phono stage for that brief.
It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the phono stage position.
quiet Stereophile — Whest PhonoStage.20 review· Electrical noise floor
dynamic Stereophile / Whest range· Dynamic coherence
resolution Whest .20-series reviews· Spatial resolution
neutral Whest range· Tonal consistency
not warm and fuzzy Whest house character· Harmonic texture
RIAA tracking within +/-0.15dB SPEC: RIAA accuracy +/-0.15dB (manufacturer)· Tonal body
0.005% THD — vanishingly low distortion SPEC: THD 0.005% (manufacturer)· Electrical noise floor
0.005% THD — vanishingly low distortion SPEC: THD 0.005% (manufacturer)· Harmonic texture
low-noise hybrid Class-A Whest 20.SP0 design — hybrid Class-A· Electrical noise floor
shared-rail topology Whest 20.SP0 — shared-rail (not dual-mono)· Spatial resolution
Whest 20-series Class-A musicality PROXY: whestTWO.2 / Whest 20-series Class-A musicality· Presence & articulation
| mm capable | True |
|---|---|
| mc capable | True |
| mm gain db | 37/50 |
| mc gain db | 55/60/65/72 |
| mm load resistance kohm | 47 |
| mc load resistance options ohm | 30/100/220/470/1200/15000 |
| riaa accuracy db | 0.15 |
| thd pct | 0.005 |
| output level mv | 500 |
| output impedance ohm | 100 |
| balanced output | True |
| dimensions mm | 430/71.5/310 |
| weight kg | 5.5 |
| psu external | False |
| notes |