Фонокорректоры — Thrax Audio Cotys

The Cotys is a moving-coil phono preamplifier from Thrax Audio, the Bulgarian company founded in 2009 by Rumen Artarski, who studied electronics and acoustics at the Technical University of Denmark and worked in record production in London. Presented at High End Munich 2025, the Cotys was designed around modern MC cartridges, drawing on 30 years of Artarski's experience and user feedback.

Key specs that matter

It has two MC inputs, individually configurable. Load impedance is adjustable from 100 ohms to 1 kohm, and gain from 50 to 70 dB, set through a touchscreen. Input-stage noise is below 70 nV. Equalisation is a fully balanced LCR RIAA network with nanocrystalline inductors and copper-foil capacitors. Connectors, RCA or balanced, are specified at the time of order. The chassis is machined from a single aluminium block, and the unit accepts universal AC input. An external battery power supply is optional.

Engineering and use context

Thrax built a differential front end, matched to the balanced nature and very low impedance of a moving-coil cartridge. Fully balanced operation rejects ground loops and common-mode noise, which Thrax notes is important in systems where turntables use switch-mode motor drives. An LCR equaliser uses inductors, capacitors and resistors to form the RIAA curve with correct phase, which Thrax prefers to the usual RC networks. The Cotys places a nanocrystalline inductor in its first correction time constant, integrated into the first gain stage, which Thrax states reduces the noise contribution by 3 to 6 dB compared with conventional designs. The two inputs are precision matched for low-output cartridges and can suit high-impedance MC types. The touchscreen interface keeps loading and gain adjustable from the front, and the firmware can be upgraded in the field to add features. The optional battery supply removes mains noise entirely during playback. Artarski states that most phono stages are designed around compromises in their equalisation, gain stages or loading, and that the Cotys was built to remove them. In Germany it sold at about EUR 9,000.

Pairing

The wide gain and loading ranges let the Cotys cover low- and medium-output MC cartridges. Balanced outputs suit Thrax's own Dionysos preamplifier, D-Mono power amplifiers and other balanced line stages.

Alternatives

Thrax Audio's Orpheus is the brand's valve-based phono preamplifier.