Фонокорректоры — Naim STAGELINE

The StageLine is a small phono stage from Naim Audio, made in England for turntable owners who already run Naim electronics. It has no mains supply of its own and was offered in moving magnet and moving coil versions, each identified by a letter suffix, and Naim presents it as the product of its long experience with the vinyl LP. Naim lists the StageLine as no longer available, and the company names the SuperLine among the models that followed it in its vinyl range.

Key specs that matter

The N version is the MM stage, with a 47 kohm input load, 2 mV input sensitivity and 35 dB of gain at 1 kHz. The S version serves low-output moving coil cartridges with a 470 ohm load, 100 microvolt sensitivity and 60 dB of gain at 1 kHz, and a K version for selected moving coil cartridges shares that gain and sensitivity with a 560 ohm load. Connections are RCA for both the input and the output. The case is 121 mm wide, 57 mm high and 187 mm deep, and its shipping carton measures 100 x 170 x 265 mm.

Engineering and use context

Instead of a built-in transformer, the StageLine runs from a 24 V feed taken from another Naim unit. Naim lists compatible sources of this supply as the NaimUniti, NAIT XS, SuperNait, NAC 152XS, NAC 202, NAC 252, NAC 282 and NAC 552, along with the FlatCap XS, HiCap and SuperCap power supplies. Older setups could also take the supply from a dedicated socket on the NAIT 5 integrated amplifier, from the Flat-Cap 2, or from the Naim i-SUPPLY. Each version leaves the factory with its loading set, so the N and S boards cannot be converted from one cartridge type to the other, and the cartridge type has to be settled when choosing the version. A standard interconnect cable comes in the box.

Pairing

Any of the listed Naim integrated amplifiers or preamplifiers can both power the StageLine and accept its line-level output, which makes a two-box vinyl front end with no extra power supply. Owners of amplifiers from other makers have to add a stand-alone Naim unit such as the FlatCap XS to run it. The US price of the StageLine was USD 799, with any power supply charged separately. The N board suits MM cartridges and high-output MC types, while the S and K boards take low-output moving coil designs.

Alternatives

The Naim SuperLine is the moving coil phono stage that followed the StageLine, housed in a full-size aluminium enclosure with 20 selectable load combinations and 64 dB of gain.