Фонокорректоры — YBA GENESIS PH1

The Genesis PH1 is a phono preamplifier from YBA, the French brand of designer Yves-Bernard Andre, and it draws its power from rechargeable batteries rather than directly from the mains. It belongs to the Genesis series next to the Genesis A6 power amplifier and the Genesis PRE5A preamplifier, and it works with MM pickups as well as moving coil designs of both low and high output.

Key specs that matter

With low output MC pickups the PH1 accepts cartridge impedances from 3 ohm to 100 ohm, and YBA lists 47 kohm as the matching figure for the moving magnet side. YBA gives a bandwidth of 10 Hz to 150 kHz and RIAA accuracy within 0.3 dB between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. Total harmonic distortion stays below 0.005 percent, while the maker states a 90 dB signal to noise figure, A weighted and taken at 40 dB input gain. Two RCA inputs take turntable signals, and the output side offers one RCA pair and one balanced pair. Its housing is black aluminium, fronted by a black acrylic panel, measures 215 x 335 x 115 mm and weighs 4 kg.

Engineering and use context

The supply section uses 10 NCR18650 rechargeable cells, which are topped up through a 24 V power adaptor. YBA states that the cells can be recharged up to 10,000 times and that a full charge lasts around 8 hours in normal use. The moving coil section relies on a step-up transformer designed by Yves-Bernard Andre himself, which YBA describes as suited to the differing characteristics of moving coil cartridges. A toggle switch on the rear panel selects the cartridge family, and once the correct position is chosen the circuit senses which kind of moving coil pickup is connected and adjusts its settings on its own. The front carries an OLED screen, and double full mu-metal shielding encloses the circuitry.

Pairing

The PH1 offers both RCA and balanced outputs, so it can connect to line inputs of either type, including the balanced input of the Genesis PRE5A preamplifier from the same series. With its pair of phono inputs, a second turntable or tonearm can remain wired alongside the first. YBA lists the Genesis IA3A integrated amplifier and the Passion IA350 MkII integrated amplifier as related models, and either can serve as the amplifier after this phono stage in a system built entirely from YBA components.

Alternatives

The YBA Passion PH150 is a larger mains-powered phono preamplifier with a linear supply built around a 200 VA transformer.