Gruvy Award 2023 - analogplanet.com
"Delivers a Lot for Its Very Reasonable Asking Price"
"It Allows Your Turntable to Sing"
Classy Two-Chassis Hybrid Design Phono Stage Now with USB Output
Vincent Audio’s two-chassis PHO-701 MM/MC phono preamp improves upon the best-selling PHO-700 with two great new features. First, it offers a USB output, allowing you to archive your vinyl tracks to your computer. The second feature is added adjustability to match your cartridges.
The hybrid tube and solid-state design gives you the warmth and wide soundstage that vacuum tubes can offer along with the clarity, control, and precise of solid-state designs.
"Warmth, Clarity, and Resolution"
"It allows your turntable to sing," says Rick Coste in a May 2024 review of the PHO-701 for his "The Joy of Vinyl Records" YouTube channel.
"What I really did like was the warmth, and the soundstage is definitely something to be proud of. I attribute that to the tube in the input path. What the 701 did deliver and delivered exceptionally well was clarity and resolution that, you know, to be completely honest, you just don't get with an all-tube signal path."
Award-Winning Performance
The PHO-701 won a Gruvy Award from analogplanet.com as one of the "Best Reviewed Products of 2023." According to Mike Mettler in his January 3, 2024 post, "Out of the gate, the PHO-701 impressed with its drive, energy, and wide soundstage. This is no shrinking violet of a phono stage either. There’s nothing closed in, reserved, or sixth-row recessed about the 701. Its locomotive force was allied to strong treble detail, neutral midrange, and clean bass response."
"Big-as-a-Barn Soundstage"
"For its sturdy build quality, excellent sense of lifeforce, dynamics, upper-tier resolution, and big-as-a-barn soundstage, Vincent Audio’s PHO-701 hybrid MM/MC phono preamp can now be included in this illustrious lineup of quite-worthwhile $800-ish phono signal amplifying products," raves Ken Micallef, analogplanet.com, June 6, 2023.
"Indeed, the PHO-701 is a truly meaningful addition to this vaunted phono stage price tier. The bottom line is, it is an all-around phono preamp performer worth getting your hands and ears on for further listening edification."
"I Was Pleasantly Surprised and Impressed"
"The Vincent PHO-701 phono preamp delivers a lot for its very reasonable asking price. It packs a tube output stage, a two-box chassis with a separate power supply, and an exceptional level of cartridge loading tunability," raves Chris Groppi, Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, May 17, 2023.
"I can’t think of another phono preamp at anywhere near the PHO-701’s price that can offer as much, except maybe Vincent’s own PHO-500," Chris concludes. "I was very pleasantly surprised and impressed."
"One of the Best"
"The Vincent PHO-701 phono preamp is a good choice for those looking for something under $1000. Some high-tech features make this a popular choice. It is one of the best tube phono preamps for those who enjoy the warmth of a tube sound," notes Ben Jacklin, Consordini, January 12, 2021.
"The Vincent PHO-701 is a wonderful sounding amplifier. I think its biggest strengths is its warm sound, excellent mid range, and a bit of a kick when it comes to bass in the lower end," says Michael, Devoted to Vinyl.
It Can Digitize Your LP Tracks, Too
The PHO-701 makes it easy to convert your vinyl tracks into digital files, and the sound quality is excellent. The analog signal from your turntable is converted to a CD-quality digital stream by a built-in Analog-to-Digital converter. The A/D chip is a CS5340 made by Cirrus Logic. The output is fixed at 24-bit / 192 kHz and uses a USB connection. Just plug the PHO-700 into your PC or Mac computer, which will recognize the PHO-700 by the name "USB-Audio". Using recording software you can find on the web (such as the free Audacity app) you will be able to easily archive your vinyl.
In addition to giving you a convenient way to digitize your LP tracks, the PHO-701 also offers the ability to fine-tune the input to a wide range of phono cartridges via dip switches on the bottom for best sound quality. With these switches, you can easily adjust the input capacitance and input impedance. See your phono cartridge user guide for the recommended settings.
Power Supply Has Its Own Separate Chassis
The PHO-701 puts its power supply in a completely separate chassis for pristine signal quality. It will reward you with an amazing vinyl experience. Separate cases for audio and power supply circuitry help isolate the signal chain from AC distortion and interference.
The PHO-701 performs its RIAA correction with high precision for ultra-low distortion and uses the highest quality audiophile parts, inside and out. It has a single phono input, which can be switched to accommodate low-output MC cartridges or MM/high-output MC cartridges.
"It Blew Me Away"
"The PHO-701 may be one of Vincent’s best designs to date, meeting the challenge of building a phono stage with low-noise and as much loss-free transmission as possible," raves Peter Stanton-Ife in his HifiPig.com review for January 28, 2015. "[It] generally blew me away on all sorts of music. I had to remind myself of the cost of this phono stage… I genuinely struggle to think of a phono stage below £1000 which will best this unit…"
Vincent's Best Compact Preamp to Date
For more than ten years, Vincent Audio has been successfully designing and manufacturing phono preamplifiers. Often overlooked in the digital era, vinyl has recently been experiencing a dramatic comeback. The preamp is a necessary component, which allows you to connect your turntable to receivers, amplifiers, and other gear that lack a dedicated phono input.
In a record player, the output signal is at a much lower level than the signal from a line stage component, such as a CD player. So the challenge in building a great sounding phono stage is to provide a low-noise and loss-free transmission. Vincent met that challenge and exceeds expectations with the PHO-701.
Highly Regulated Separate-chassis Power Supply
Vincent has deliberately omitted the typical 'wall-art' AC power adapter, opting for a specially designed and highly developed outboard power supply instead. Feeling is believing. The power unit has impressive heft when held in the hand and testifies to the quality of the transformer, metal chassis, shielding, and other components.
This no-compromise approach to power helps the PHO-701 to achieve its low-noise performance. The PHO-701 uses the same power supply that is already employed to great advantage in Vincent's critically acclaimed PHO-8 phono preamplifier. It is connected to the separate-chassis audio circuitry using a nine-pin DIN cable. The voltage is highly regulated and filtered, so that the ripple and hum found in unconditioned AC power right out of the wall will not reach the phono section. The delicate audio circuitry only receives clean power.
Vacuum Tube Circuitry for Smooth, True-to-Life Sound
The PHO-701 delivers the luxurious sound that can only be obtained with finely-made vacuum tube equipment as well as the power associated with solid state designs, including speed, reliability, and control. That's a difficult combination to beat, especially once you factor in the affordable price.
Look inside the front panel 'window' of the PHO-701 and you'll see a 12AU7 vacuum tube used in dual triode mode. This contributes to the warm, true-to-life sound. High-quality components from Nichicon, Wima, and other companies improve the parameters of noise ratio and amplification.
