Фонокорректоры — Clearaudio BALANCE REFERENCE PHONO

The Balance Reference Phono is a Clearaudio phono preamplifier split across two boxes, with the amplifier and an external power supply in separate aluminium enclosures. It combines two fully independent phono stages that each take either an MM or an MC pickup, and it adds a headphone amplifier with its own volume control and an aluminium remote.

Key specs that matter

Both phono inputs are offered as balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA, with a ground terminal per input, and the outputs to the amplifier are also XLR and RCA. Gain is 46 dB in MM mode and 66 dB in MC mode. MM loading is 50 kOhm with extra capacitance of 150, 270 or 400 pF, while MC load resistors of 10 kOhm, 5 kOhm, 1000, 500, 100 and 50 ohm are set by DIP switches. RIAA accuracy is plus or minus 0.1 dB from 20 Hz to 100 kHz, distortion is below 0.001 percent, and noise figures are 89 dB for MM at 5 mV and 79 dB for MC at 500 µV. Output impedance is 150 ohm on XLR and 75 ohm on RCA, and maximum output voltage exceeds 12 V. Each box measures 240 x 145 x 78 mm, and the phono unit weighs 2.9 kg.

Engineering and use context

Clearaudio implements the RIAA equalisation passively, and it follows the IEC-A version of the curve, which applies more attenuation below 20 Hz than the plain RIAA standard. A switchable subsonic filter at 20 Hz with an 18 dB per octave slope adds further protection against warp and rumble, and a stereo or mono switch helps with mono records. The power supply is of dual-mono design in its own aluminium chassis. Two 6.3 mm headphone jacks sit on the front, and the remote adjusts volume and selects between input circuits. Power consumption is 12 W in operation and under 0.5 W in standby. Input impedance is selectable, and the stage can run in balanced or unbalanced mode for both input and output, which covers MC cartridges wired either way.

Pairing

With two independent inputs the stage serves two turntables, or one turntable with two arms, and each can carry a different cartridge type. Because every input has its own ground post, the earth lead from each turntable or arm connects separately. The balanced XLR outputs feed any line stage with XLR sockets, and the high output ceiling leaves margin for high-gain MC settings. The headphone section lets a listener play records directly into headphones without a separate amplifier.

Alternatives

The Clearaudio Absolute Phono Inside is a two-box MC-only phono stage with a current amplification input and a fixed 250 kOhm load.