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.
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 whestTWO.3 is the weaker phono stage for that brief.
quietwhestTWO reviews
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 whestTWO.3 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 whestTWO.3 is the weaker phono stage for that brief.
quietwhestTWO reviews
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 whestTWO.3 is the weaker phono stage for that brief.
quietwhestTWO reviews
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 whestTWO.3 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 whestTWO.3 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.
quietwhestTWO reviews
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 whestTWO.3 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 whestTWO.3 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 whestTWO.3 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 whestTWO.3 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.
bold, engaging presentation StereoMojo / Audiophile Audition — whestTWO reviews· Dynamic coherence
quiet whestTWO reviews· Electrical noise floor
lacks the subtlety and nuance that define the upper echelon StereoMojo — whestTWO review· Micro-dynamic resolution
neutral whestTWO reviews· Tonal consistency
RIAA tracking within +/-0.15dB SPEC: RIAA accuracy +/-0.15dB (manufacturer)· Tonal body
tonally neutral, hear everything at correct levels Whest house design — tonal neutrality (stated goal, every model)· Tonal body
ultra-low noise floor Whest core specialism — ultra-low-noise Class-A small-signal· Electrical noise floor
stronger dynamic range and greater headroom whestTWO.3 — bespoke ±24V high-voltage rail· Transient attack
wider, deeper, more precisely layered soundstage whestTWO.3 — ±24V rail· Spatial naturalness
dual-mono discrete signal path whestTWO.3 — dual-mono (PS.30RDT), 20.DP0 topology· Spatial resolution
quietness, dynamics, neutrality and micro-detail PROXY: Whest TWO-series review standing· Micro-dynamic resolution
| 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 |
| riaa accuracy db | 0.15 |
| output level mv | 500 |
| output impedance ohm | 100 |
| balanced output | True |
| psu external | False |
| notes |