The best MM phono stage I've ever heard ....
Posted by: joerand on 26 March 2017
.... happens to come built into the best integrated amp I've ever heard - the Plinius Hautonga. The replacement for my SN2 and a new level of replay experience for me.
I loved the hi-fi aspects of my SN2 (transient attack, resolution, bass acumen) but in the end decided it was simply too ruthless on the majority of my music collection. Too mids-forward, too shouty, and too often harsh to my ears. Well-mastered recordings were superb on the SN2, but unfortunately good, decent and poor masterings were a burden to get involved with. A HCDR on the SN2 emphasized the hi-fi while exacerbating the negative aspects and brought me quick listening fatigue. Did my due diligence on racking, cable dressing, and room treatment with some positives, but overall little avail. Home demos of a variety of speakers didn't help.
Enter the Plinius Hautonga and alas, I'm in a much happier place. Everything I play has a greater musical drive, tonal balance, PRat, and toe-tapping involvement. A grander soundstage with more focused imaging, more air within and among instruments, a more fluid mid-range, increased timbre, and a sweet shine to cymbals - all from an extremely quiet background on par with the SN2/HCDR's inky blackness. The vast majority of my music holdings now play free of the stridency I encountered on the SN2. Results are happily similar on the digital side with my CD5X/HCDR combo into the Hautonga.
I'm not posting to denounce or espouse one brand over another, simply passing along my findings on my hi-fi journey. My time with Naim integrateds has been a struggle with PSUs, ICs, Powerlines, on-days, off-days, and chasing up what for me was a fruitless ladder. I've now found an integrated with an exemplary built-in MM phono stage that has me enjoying replay the way I did in my teens - simply for the love of music. Playing the same album over and over and pulling out anything in my library without fear for its mastering/recording quality. The Hautonga's 200 watts has an unparalleld command on my Totems.
Do I miss anything from my Naim integrateds versus the Plinius? Yes, the detailed bounce and pluck of the bass lines. The Plinius has a rounder, more wholesome bottom end, but still with a distinct and not overemphasized kick drum. This for me merits the superior PRaT, tonal balance and musicality versus Naim. Foremost, much more of what I play through my Plinius comes up roses, and I'm getting entirely engrossed in the music. In then end, the musicality is what it's all about for me.