The job of a phono-preamp for a turntable cartridge is to amplify by 1,800 times the typically 0.003V signal from a moving coil cartridge to drive a pre-amplifier, while being absolutely transparent to the music retrieved from the groove. At the same time, it must also reverse the RIAA pre-emphasis that was used when cutting the LP— without adding a sonic signature. 

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Because manufacturing tolerances do not allow all components to reach this level of precision, Genesis Photo Pre-Amps are assembled by meticulously hand-selecting components from the very best extremely transparent opamp, with the RIAA de-emphasis circuit placed outside the main signal path to minimize its sonic signature.

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THE DESIGN

 

The Genesis Phono-Preamp is designed from the base of the tone arm onwards, and a Genesis designed cable is supplied with a mini-DIN connector – the standard with most high-end tone arms (there isn’t a plethora of loading options). The inductance of the coil of the cartridge interacts with the capacitance of the tonearm cable to create a reactive peak. This peak can be as high as 32dB, and is the usual reason given for all the loading options for a phono stage.

 

However, when the graphs of this reactive peak are shown in the marketing literature of many phono stages, the frequency scale is often omitted. In computer simulations, we can easily see that this reactive peak is above 100kHz – far outside our hearing. Yet if this peak is present, it can easily cause problems for a phono-preamp. High loading (if used to tame this peak) also reduces dynamics and transparency.

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Since we use variable-gain amplification with lower gain at higher frequencies, the reactive peak is no longer in play as a high quality, low-capacitance low-inductance tonearm cable is used. This optimally transparent cable is supplied with a mini-DIN connector and a LEMO connector. It may also be specified with a pair of RCA plugs instead of the mini-DIN.

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In addition to individual hand-craftsmanship using the finest hand-selected precision tolerance parts, each Genesis Phono-Preamp features a highly engineered internal damping platform that significantly reduces all kinds of mechanical vibration, leading to more extended natural bass, and detail and resolution.