Top 5 audiophile phonostages to watch in early 2025

The Hifiverse editorial team has prepared an expert rating of the best 2025 phono preamplifiers for vinyl lovers - the costs of equipment of this class seem justified if we are talking about audiophile-class sound. Our rating includes five of the latest phonostages that can turn the heads of even connoisseurs of this audio sector.

Grimm Audio PW1

Pros - transparent, ultra-dynamic sound

The first phono preamplifier PW1 from Grimm Audio, previously known for its developments in the field of digital audio, is distinguished by a minimalist design - each amplification stage uses only one active component, while the operational amplifier serves as a buffer to maintain signal quality. Grimm Audio PW1 uses FET field-effect transistors with noise at the level of 0.7 nV/√Hz, which provides an excellent signal-to-noise ratio of over 80 dB for vinyl. In terms of airiness and transparency of the feed, the device has little equal even in much more significant price categories.

Violectric PPA V790

Pros – guarantees perfect coupling with almost any cartridge and sounds great

Violectric PPA V790 offers a huge number of adjustments and proprietary amplification technology with extremely low noise and distortion. The device is built on a balanced concept and can work with six different cartridges. For each input, you can separately set the impedance, capacity, gain level, equalization type and subsonic filter. The accuracy of the equalization curves is 0.1 dB. The sound of Violectric PPA V790 is simply luxurious.

EAT E-Glo 2

Pros – interesting design, reference sound in terms of volume

The tube dual-block phono preamplifier EAT E-Glo 2 not only looks magical (the multi-colored backlight of the tubes looks very elegant), but also provides a voluminous and dynamic sound. The EAT E-Glo 2 is equipped with four ECC83 and two ECC88 tubes, the user can also experiment with different compatible tubes, adjusting the feed to their taste. A fully balanced input stage with a Lundahl LL1932 ​​step-up transformer for the MC input (gain 45 dB) generates a perfect match with the head.

Pass Labs XS Phono

Pros – almost everything you would expect from a top phono preamp

Pass Labs XS Phono is “probably the most intense and complex project” from Pass Labs easily reaches unprecedented heights in sound quality, providing grandiose detail. In the shadow of such greatness, you can forget about the engineering achievements - the phono preamp circuits contain a total of about 1,500 elements, the “dual mono” concept is used, and each channel has its own external power supply with a separate transformer.

Vitus Audio MP-P201 Mk.III

Pros – fits any cartridge and offers incredible sound quality

Finally, Vitus Audio MP-P201 Mk.III offers MC gain of 50, 53, 55, 57, 60, 63, 67, 70, 72, 75 dB and MC load adjustment of 10, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 75, 90, 100, 110, 120, 150, 200, 250, 300, 400, 500, 750, 1 kOhm, 2 kOhm! Thus, the Vitus Audio MP-P201 Mk.III is ideally suited to almost any cartridge on the market today – and delivers hyper-realistic sound. The Vitus Audio MP-P201 Mk.III phono preamplifier uses discrete gain stage modules, and the external 36 kg power supply provides significant noise reduction.