Clearaudio Absolute Phono

The Absolute Phono is Clearaudio's reference moving-coil phono stage, built around a principle almost no other phono stage uses: true current amplification throughout. Because the design amplifies the cartridge's current rather than its voltage, there is no load resistance or capacitance to set — the optimal operating point is established automatically for any moving-coil cartridge, and is tuned in this configuration for Clearaudio's own ~50Ω MC designs.

The first gain stage sits in an active headshell at the cartridge, reducing the delicate low-level signal path to a couple of centimeters before amplification. From there the signal travels a path free of the relays and coupling capacitors found in conventional designs, through the RIAA stage, to both unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR outputs — each with its own output driver. Construction is a two-chassis, anti-resonance sandwich machined from solid aluminum and Panzerholz, with the switching power supply isolated in its own chassis and hand-selected nonmagnetic silver Clearaudio Glimmer capacitors at key points in the circuit.

The result is a roughly ten-decibel improvement in signal-to-noise across the audio band. A reference phono for the Statement, Master Innovation, and Reference Jubilee. Special order at LMC Scottsdale.