Solid State Phono Stages

@photomax I appreciate your call out very much, thanks. I was worried it might go that route myself and glad it did not. A somewhat fitting statement, someone I work with introduced me to “The Platinum Rule”. Where the golden rule says to treat others the way you would like to be treated, the platinum rule says to treat people the way THEY want to be treated. Very subtle difference that requires an extra ounce of awareness for others’ needs. If this is how every forum went, we’d all be much further along on our audio journey!

It’s still worthwhile to hear what folks like, for others’ learning benefits. 
 

@rauliruegas Wouldn’t a RIAA response of +/-0.2db only sway at a max 0.2db at any single frequency? What phono stage do you use that sways a total of 0.11db?

@rauliruegas Ah yes, the Boulder definitely made my list as I was looking at it last night. They don’t come on the market too often unfortunately. I know the 1108 is higher up and maybe out of my price range but any opinion on whether the older 1008 is preferred over the 508?

Hi @lohanimal - I fully understand it’s not black and white. But if you read my posts, you’ll see I’ve owned a whole suite of tube phono stages as well as the PS Audio Stellar Phono and Pass xOno which are both solid state. Those two had a lot of differences from each other, but they also did not have the characteristics of my tube stages. It’s not like I’ve never tried a SS stage. I’m just further exploring my options, just as I have with just about every type of tube preamp and  amp and a number of solid state preamps/amps. But right now what I am looking for is a high end solid state stage to further my experience and expertise. I’m not looking to generalize and that was never the intent of this thread. And I’m being open minded with many of the suggestions because I know they will all impart different personalities in my system. As I said, the offer to audition is appreciated, but if it doesn’t have a balanced output stage it does not really suit my needs given the space I would like to have between the phono stage and my preamp. 

@au_lait Thanks for that link to the comparison thread. Looks like I’d be in the camp to invest in the XP-27 if I do go the Pass route. 
 

@varyat Good call on Whest. I’ll look into the PS 40RDT. 

@ghdprentice I appreciate it. I have had some ARC gear, and they tend to vary in quality with more recent units generally sounding much better. I had the Ref 6 line stage and Ref 150 SE amp for a short while. They were both very good but not sonically where my heart was at a few years ago. I think my listening preferences have changed to be a bit more analytical, so the Ref 3 phono does interest me.

@holmz You’re probably right about me keeping the PH9.0X. Even if I did buy a solid state stage, I’m not sure I would let go of it. As a tube unit it has bested some Allnics, the Herron VTPH-2A, the Rogue Ares Magnum, and Fosgate Signature Phono. In terms of tube stages the Luxman EQ-500 also caught my attention and there is another thread where I comment on that in this forum. I’ve been advocating for the PH9.0X for years, so this is just my never ending curiosity just to say “I tried that”.

I also used to own a few SUTs including an EAR MC3. That one was very good, but  I’m in the camp on “no more SUTs ever again”. 

@pindac Nicely said. 

@herman many thanks for having me revisit aaudioimports.com. I tried before from laptops and the site wouldn’t load for me, but today it worked on my phone. I’ve sent an email to the distributor to inquire. 
 

For others commenting on Whest, Music Direct has the PS 40 SE for $7500, which is a good deal for open box but still doesn’t have me convinced. It would still fall a little beyond my stated budget. 

@rauliruegas Thanks - can you share where you saw that?

@lohanimal Not offended and agree with you that written communications on forums can be misconstrued given lack of supporting tone at times. I, too, was just further stating my case in my response. Good to hear your recommendations, they are appreciated. 

@boothroyd looking at the Phono Loco and it looks like it requires a balanced input into the stage, meaning I would need balanced outs from my tonearm. I could get my tonearm to do so. It is possible, but I would want to make sure transimpedance is the way I would want to go. I strongly believe in using good cables. I’m currently using a Synergistic Research Atmosphere X Euphoria phono going into my phono stage. 
 

@solypsa and ​​​​@rauliruegas Thanks for the nudge to SimAudio. It continues to be the unit that piques my interest and the way you validate it’s sonic characteristics is reassuring and make it more appealing. I did not know about the 820S power supply, that makes it even more interesting to upgrade down the line!

@karl_desch I have heard the XP27 a few times as well in a friend’s all Pass system. It too is very good, so worth considering.

@bigtwin The noise I mention is likely not one that is readily audible from listening position, but one that obscures imaging and separation. Even by looking at the stats, it has a range of SNR from 87db down to 67db. I think that is noisier than even my Modwright tube unit. I know most record surface rumble generates around 70-75db SNR anyways, but adding yet another layer of noise never helps. Many of the other stages I’m looking at are up in the 90-100db SNR range, which will be beneficial to pair with my preamp and amp which are all >115db SNR. 
 

@ghdprentice The ARC Ref3 Phono definitely makes me drool, but even at it’s used prices it is a bit too expensive for me. Since I only live 10 min from Audio Research, perhaps one day I’ll find a way to demo it in my system. I’ve tried lower end ARC (PH6) and preferred the Modwright PH9.0X.

I’ll definitely report back, though it may take some time based on availability of units since I may not be buying a new one. I’d say the SimAudio MOON 810LP and 610LP are still the ones that are appealing me the most, and there is a 610LP used on the market right now but at a higher asking price than normal. I’m also looking for a unit with a full silver face plate if possible, but it’s not a deal breaker. Until then, competitive research keeps me busy and helps me be patient. 

+1 @pindac! Wonderfully said. I would say that in both cases, either across industry events, working directly with manufacturers, and buying/selling on the used market has expanded my network in ways I value sometimes more than the gear I end up getting.

While I am curious about SS stages, one of the reasons I love my Modwright PH9.0X (aside from the fact that it kicks serious butt) is my multi-year engagement with Dan Wright. He has been an incredible designer and engineer that listens and provides impeccable guidance. He has designed some products around my needs.

I always tend to find myself keeping in contact with anyone I buy and sell from as well, and the perspective gained from that is priceless. It's unfortunate that forum dialogue and interaction doesn't result in the same level of real-world relationships.

@ghdprentice We're understanding each other. Musical and detailed to me also has bad connotations. For me, analytical allows me to "see" into the music. Being detailed is not always good if the detail is not being presented well. If it's just in your face without grace, the listener has no focal point and it all falls apart. That's probably what you associate as analytical. But the true root of analytical is something that can be analyzed, so delivery and presentation matters a lot. This topic is something that has caused divide across the community for so many years, even generations, and hopefully one day it will be bridged. I, too, don't want to associate myself as a typical "analytical" listener, but I won't deny that I want to hear it all, and hear it all with grace and soul.

Thank you all - some great suggestions here. 
 

@holmz ​​​​​@boothroyd - I don’t currently have balanced outs coming from my tonearm but it is an option. I’ve read about the Sutherland Phono Loco in the past and forgot about it as I wasn’t curious about solid state stages then. A brief search also surfaced Channel D phono stages, which also have an incredible reputation. 
 

@rsf507 I think the Gold Note PH-1000 is super sexy, but a few reviewers have commented on its lack of speed and dynamics, stating the unit is overly refined. That was a turnoff but would love to hear if anyone has experience comparing it to other stages. 
 

@bigtwin I forgot to list the Parasound JC3+  I’ve looked into that one before, but I’ve read a few users who commented on its noticeable noise levels for low output MC cartridges, and that was a turn off. 
 

@williewonka Yeah Simaudio MOON is up at the top of my list. There is a 610LP that is in budget for me, but I’m somewhat waiting for the 810LP to hit the market. They consistently seem to outperform the competition from what I’ve heard. 
 

I really appreciate the suggestions so far and will take a deeper consideration into transconductance stages, which I know little about. 
 

Keep it coming!

@holmz Sutherland is now definitely on my consideration set.

@bigkidz Thank you for the offer to audition the Tom Evans. I’ve known two people who have owned it locally but didn’t get a chance to listen to it before they moved on from them. I will let you know if I’d like to take you up on it but balanced outs to the preamp would be a priority for me as I am considering moving my table away from my main system.

@jjss49 Lehmann has a good rep for sure, and I admittedly haven’t considered them. I’ve also forgotten about Ayre and never looked into their phono stages. That will be something I’ll need to do. I know Ayre has had some reputation of having a dry sound, but I’ve found their reference level gear to be quite incredible.

@au_lait and others - ever compare an XP-25 with the XP-27? How big is the improvement on the 27? That’s something I’ve been curious about.

@pani You too are advocating and validating Simaudio for me. I also was a fan of your ART-9 thread, which is still one of my favorite carts to date. When my last one died, I went to the DV-1s, then ART-1000 and liked neither. I then sold both and found the Air Tight PC-1s, which has the same character as the ART-9 but at much higher fidelity and grace. I also agree with your comments on the Stellar Phono and  JC3+. I’ll have to look into the Pulsare 2 as I haven’t even heard of that one!

@ghdprentice I understand what you are trying to say. But I am in the camp that believes that a component can be analytical and be incredibly musical and enjoyable. Advanced technology can now afford this to us, where resolution so clear and dissectable can be delivered to us in the most effortless and pleasing ways. The Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC is a great example of this. It is probably one of the most musical and analytical components combined. I’ve also owned the Ref 6 and Ref 150 SE, which are fairly recent ARC reference pieces. They were both musical, but largely more analytical, especially for tube. You’re right that the divide is narrowing, but many will still agree that the latest ARC is analytical.

It’s funny how a word’s definition and connotation may change over a generation. People used to generally associate analytical with bone dry, providing clarity into the music at the expense of delivering emotion and understanding soul. Today, data is the silent language of people, and artificial intelligence mines it to make technology be more human. Hence, analytics is starting to understand and mimic soul. The same is happening for audio. This is precisely why I fell in love with T+A. Their Hv line has the soul that is typically associated with the very best tube gear, but the “blackness” from its incredible resolution and high SNR allow listeners to truly both analyze and feel the music in parallel.

With this in mind, I’d say I’d like to remain curious about the Ref 3 Phono. :) I doubt I will ever buy it, but I would never say no to an opportunity to listen to it, especially in my own system.

@lewm I initially posted this before reading your most recent post, but now that I did, I think you and I are on the same page, so this applies to you as well.

@pindac - 100% agree that real world experience is invaluable. I will be attending AXPONA, but it will likely not be a great place to get the most out of phono stages. When I went in 2019, there surely some rooms, but most focused on the proliferation of digital. Also, the rooms and system chains are always different, so chances are it won’t sound anything like it would in my room. I would have to draw conclusions and hope for the best. I have also reached out to my personal network, who has allowed me to try a number of SS stages. But it never hurts to gain perspective from forums as well. What’s happening on this thread may influence me, but won’t solely convince me of any decision. Likely what will is if I can get to a dealer that has one of the top units of consideration and they allow me to demo at home, or if one of those units comes on the market considerably marked down so that I can resell at minimal loss. The latter makes up for most of my audio journey, and it’s been fun to have all the experiences I’ve had as a result, and at times it has even been profitable.

@kerrybh Thanks for advocating again for Simaudio.

@mijostyn Vinyl in general is old tech, as is my cart, but circuit design has evolved in nuanced ways over the last ten years to innovate and outperform, just as it did the ten years prior to that. It was really only the late 70s to mid 90s that went backwards for many (albeit a small few that carried the torch) where 2nd order harmonics were largely given up for specs, and high SNR and CD players became centers for marketing attraction and pushed musicality out of the way. In today’s era where people seek true holography in their experience, both need to coexist, and the tech has gotten better to enable that. Yes, some of the products I’m considering are already ten years old. But perhaps they address areas that compliment the rest of my room and system setup to get me further down the road.

Absolutely love the suggestion for Sutherland and Channel D. I mentioned prior that they are high on the consideration list.

@tyray I don’t think anyone else on this thread makes a direct comparison, but lots of useful info here. I participated in this thread as well, and Dan Wright too commented.

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/herron-vtph-2a-vs-modwright-ph-9-0

@herman I just came across the MCCI Signature ULN myself two days ago and was very intrigued by it! Can you share where you got yours from? I can’t find any dealers in the USA and I trued contacting BMC directly and did not get a response. 

So just to update this thread, I’ve made a few decisions and settling on two phono stages actually.

The first is on the Audionet PAM G2 with outboard EPC power supply. Should go perfectly with my cartridge, and the engineering of the unit fascinates me. 260,000uF of capacitance reservoir is more than my power amp’s separate power supply. 
 

The second one will be the BMC MCCI Signature ULN, which will be coming from Germany likely in mid-to-late May. This is a “transimpedance” / current injection stage as some have pointed me to in this thread. 

The Sim Audio MOON 610LP and 810LP are still on my “itch list”.

I likely won’t be able to post impressions on the Audionet for another week or so, but excited to compare against the Modwright PH 9.0X.

Thanks all, for being a great community to enrichen my audio journey. And stay tuned!

Hey @rauliruegas - thanks for your thoughts and making me look into it. Are talking about the BMC unit? The Audionet claims +-.2db. While the BMC doesn’t list the spec, they publish the chart, which is almost completely flat (0db deviation) from 60hz on. They also explain their theory on why RIAA equalization in general can be inaccurate, and that additional adjustments can be made to compensate for low bass. I will not get this unit until late May likely. 
 

OTOH the Audionet PAM G2 with EPC power supply is well above and beyond the performance of the Modwright PH9.0X. There is an absolutely beautiful weight and bloom and tone, more so than the Modwright. The soundstage is wider and imaging outlines are more precise. The Audionet is above and beyond quieter. Bass control and amount is significantly better.

I’ll be putting the Modwright up for sale in the coming week or so. It is by far an incredible stage for the price, but I seem to have found a successor in the Audionet, and we’ll see how the BMC performs in a month or two. 

@herman ​​​​and @rauliruegas Let’s not let this escalate any further. To be fair, the term “critical” is subjective to each listener, and we do know Raul has very high standards. :)

@herman I do empathize on how your words were misconstrued. I agree with your perspective, and you shouldn’t have been rejected for sharing it. 

I’ve always taken inverse RIAA with a grain of salt. Everything we do shifts the equalization of music, down to tube rolling and power cable selection (but let’s not make this a point of debate please). The room affects the sound most of all.

i appreciate measurements, but 100% agree that at the end of the day it’s how it sounds to me, and in my room, and that matters the most. 

@rauliruegas Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m still curious, though - I asked before. Are you referring to the 0.4db on the BMC or the Audionet?

One thing I am skeptical about is uniformity of measurements. Sometimes manufacturers will state a weighted average vs the lowest performing spec across the frequency spectrum. In that case, across most frequencies, the BMC is performing closely to that 0.011db spec. It only deviates that in the low bass regions, which are then able to be additionally compensated in the settings. I would say that in the least, I applaud BMC for publishing the performance across the frequency range, which most other manufacturers are not inclined to do. 

@hifi59 I’m glad to hear you are enjoying the PH9.0X. It truly is one of the best purchases I ever made, and I still feel that way even if I’ve moved past it. I have endless respect for what Dan was able to achieve with it given the price point.

About three weeks in now with the Audionet PAM G2 and EPC combo, and has been performing admirably. The heavier weight in the delivery opened up a bit, and the bass performance has gotten tighter without losing intensity. It truly is an incredibly liquid sounding unit, incredibly involving and detailed. I simply can’t believe it is not a tube-based unit considering the beautiful harmonics and bloom, but the ultra-low noise and detail retrieval make it obvious it surpasses the performance of most if not all tube units on the market. So far no regrets purchasing it.

But now, enter the BMC MCCI Signature ULN, which arrived this past Friday. It is a gorgeous unit inside and out. The craftsmanship is impeccable. From an engineering perspective, it seems to be on an opposite side of the spectrum as it operates in the current injection / transimpedance paradigm. I want to give the unit the benefit of the doubt as it’s absolutely not broken in with probably 10 hours of play time on it max, so we’ll have to see how it plays out, but I’ll say my first impression with it doesn’t win me over the way the Audionet does. The tonal balance is tipped a bit higher and though with some records the BMC’s snappiness actually images incredibly with holography, other albums can sound too forward and almost fatiguing. Soundstage is also not nearly as wide and large as the Audionet, with more of the imaging happening between the speakers vs disappearing beyond

Again, I’m attributing any shortcomings to it not being broken in… from what I’ve read and heard from others, it takes quite a while I can break in. My plan is to keep spinning records using thus stage for the next 2-3 weeks and switch back to the Audionet at the end of the month for an initial comparison.

@jeff1225 Did you mean the Aurorasound Vida MkII or a Viva Fono? The Viva Aurora is a massive set of 845 monoblocks. I’ve owned a Viva Linea preamp, and it was beautiful but somewhat obscuring. I did have curiosity about the Aurorasound Vida before.

That said @palasr and others -  I’m now quite happy with the two stages I have and am still evaluating which I will keep for the main rig. The BMC MCCI has really come to fruition the last two weeks, but it does have a very different presentation from the Audionet. I relate the BMC to an OTL amp. It is incredibly clear, like nothing is held back in terms of presence and resolution. But the forwardness of the presentation inhibits soul from being at the core of the music. Not much, and I likely would not be picky if I didn’t have the Audionet as well… but I do. The BMC continues to be more forward, and over time feels slightly more fatiguing. The Audionet on the other hand is a bit more refined and confident sounding, like it’s not trying to prove anything. It just delivers music and has an incredible flow with incredible resolution.

I would say that the BMC does let me hear things that I wish the Audionet could do. The imaging at most times is incredibly holographic. The sense of space and separation between instruments is stunning. But sometimes, it makes it feel like a number of musicians playing separately and the gel factor doesn’t hit me like it does with the Audionet. The moment I put on the Audionet, I miss some of the presence from the BMC and it takes a while to get used to, but I feel the music more, and it most times gives me a stronger and more fulfilling emotional response.

I am still playing with the settings of both units. The capacitance and resistance settings of the Audionet do effectively fine tune tonal balance and presentation. The  BMC has different types of settings for providing a warmer sound and standard RIAA vs Neumann RIAA curves. That combinations of the two do make notable differences in the presentation, and I need to sit with both units more. 

but to be clear, while I love them both equally, it is not to say that they are anywhere close in their overall presentation to each other. They are completely different beasts, both whom deserve to be loved. 

More to come in a week or two. 

@jeff1225 Thanks for the clarification. While I likely won’t purchase it anytime soon, I am still curious about it. What phono stage did you own prior, and what were the notable differences that the Vida brought?

@vonhelmholtz I decided to let the BMC unit go. I have to say it is impressive in every way for its price point, and while it may have done some things technically better, the Audionet PAM G2 with the EPS power supply just delivered greater musical satisfaction and helped me to feel and fall in love with the music more. The Audionet has greater control settings for impedance, conductance, etc, allowing me to better tailor the tone and frequency response, and it does an excellent job of balancing soul, body, and detail.

The BMC does demonstrate greater separation of instruments and delineation overall, but for me it was to the point where it started sounding like the instruments were playing individually and not towards a shared goal. This is absolutely a personal experience and not an objective one. Should the rest of my chain have been less resolving or introduced a bit more bloom, I would likely have settled on it in a heartbeat. The well-known Agoner that I ended up selling the unit to is quite critical in his equipment and sonics seems to be very pleased with the unit.

I guess I should say that the evaluation is not over. @overthemoon and others who have encouraged my itch for the Simaudio Moon 810 LP, I am finalizing a trade deal for one and hope to have it in possession next month. I would like to demo that against the Audionet and will again keep whichever I prefer and sell the other. Should I enjoy the 810LP, I will not hesitate to purchase the 820S power supply to improve upon it further.

I guess I have updates as well, which fit with @lewm's statement above. I used some funds from selling the BMC MCCI Signature ULN to acquire a Simaudio Moon 810LP. It is a very different beast from the Audionet PAM G2 / EPS which I documented through this thread, but also different from the BMC. In some ways, it falls between these two units, and part of me is still longing for just a little bit more. This is where I need to ride it out with break in.

I previously described the Audionet as balancing soul, body, and detail, but it surely does not have the snap and immediacy of the BMC. The BMC, on the other hand, I found to have unparalleled clarity and separation, but at times at the expense of the music gelling and flowing, and I found myself listening more analytically vs enjoying the music as a whole.

The Simaudio Moon 810LP definitely has more clarity and separation than that of the Audionet, but it is not as pronounced as my experiences with the BMC. The 810LPs tone is very natural, and the pacing and presentation is just wonderful and holographic. It is still just a tad bit dry for my tastes, but I would probably think differently if the bass and midbass filled in a little bit more. And here's where I hit the snag. For some reason, the bass and midbass is just weak, and it makes the unit sound thinner and more dry. I bought the unit as a distributor demo, but it never really had any use. What I've heard is that it takes up to 500 hours to fully break in and settle, and I'm only on about 60-75 of those hours. I may also need to play with the loading, which is a bit frustrating because it is under the unit and requires me to disconnect cables to adjust. What's worse, as Lew mentions above, it takes about 203 hours after powering the unit on before it fully warms up and sounds great again, so many have advised me to leave the unit on at all times.

The unit has only 40,000uF of capacitance reservoir, which is still quite high, but nowhere near the 100,000uF of the BMC or the 250,000uF of the Audionet. Perhaps the 820s power supply could help me achieve what I feel is missing, but overall the 810LP is a very admirable unit, and I'm betting the break in period will be revelatory.

If anyone else has an 810LP (hint @rauliruegas), I would appreciate if you weigh in on your break in experience if you had to endure it!

@lewm Yes, I absolutely meant 2-3 hours, thanks for the correction, as well as shining some light on capacitance. Your wisdom is always appreciated.

It’s been a long time, and I’ve reverted my decision on my phono stage of choice and thought to update this thread in case anyone has interest or finds the information valuable.

The last step I wrote about was selling my BMC MCCI Signature ULN phono stage after evaluating it against the Simaudio Moon 810LP. In stock mode, there are tradeoffs between each phono stage, where the Moon is more liquid and refined, and the BMC had the upper end in realism, delivering more presence and a lower noise floor, but at times sounding overly technical and less graceful.

Well, after a year of having owned the Moon and living without the BMC, I found myself missing the presence the BMC brought. I tried upgrading cables and fuses inside the 810LP, but it did not get me closer to what the BMC brought. I ended up purchasing a different BMC MCCI Signature ULN on the used market. This time, I employed one of Synergistic Research’s Tranquility Base Carbon platforms underneath, which generates an electromagnetic field around a component to combat surrounding and internal EMI. What a difference it made! The BMC became ever more present, while any etched nature it may have brought has been wiped away. It sounds purely realistic and natural. I’ve now had the BMC and Tranquility Base Carbon in place for at least six months, and I can honestly say I have no desire to move from this. I can back that up by also sharing that I bought a second BMC phono stage for a second turntable I am building.

The BMC is here to stay. I’m glad to have sold the 810LP to a happy owner and make my money back. But also for anyone reading, if you haven’t tried a Tranquility Base Carbon under your phono stage, I highly recommend it!

Please keep in mind I am a dealer for Synergistic Research, so take this info how you will. I have no affiliation with BMC aside from being a very happy owner, but I am proud to call it my reference stage.

@lewm Fair point that even as a dealer I may not fully understand what is happening scientifically to address the sonic impact from the Tranquility Base Carbon, but I will say this. It is an ACTIVE platform, not a vibration isolation platform. It is not hooked up to the signal path, and when enabled, makes a very audible sonic difference in the qualities I mentioned above. It is very easy to A/B, and anyone I’ve demoed it for in the last two months who has their eyes closed has been able to tell when it is on or not. It’s that obvious. If it is not combating EMI, I’m not sure what it’s doing, but I would believe it has something to do with electromagnetism.

@gwgjr31 What I think is sad is that people take this tone with a brand when often they have no experience with it. The fact that I found value in an accessory that made a significantly positive improvement on my phono stage of choice is nothing but a positive thing. The fact that others try to negate it without having experienced it is what is sad. If anything, people should be happy about learning about the finding, considering that the BMC with one of the Tranquility Base Carbons still outperforms the Simaudio Moon 810LP, a very highly regarded phono stage, at half the retail price. Of course, my outcome won’t work for everyone as the BMC phono stage’s performance will depend on the synergy of the phono cartridge that is used (low-impedance MC cartridges are required), but I am absolutely ecstatic with the level of performance I am getting. In fact I just purchased a second BMC MCCI Signature ULN for a second turntable (that I am custom-building). 
 

@lewm - I wasn’t calling you out, my apologies. I was more just referring to the previous replier saying that it’s sad that the thread ends with SR. That is a very closed-minded statement that is quite baseless. I had no issues with what you personally shared and appreciate you providing more context.

Also, not to make this thread about SR, but to provide you with further understanding of the functionality of the Tranquility Base Carbon - it does not block or absorb EMI, but it does generate a magnetic field designed to surround the component. This field drives uniformity in electromagnetism rather than blocking or absorbing it, but it is redirecting it. 

Rather than getting into debate about this further and detracting from this thread’s topic, I’m happy to take this into a separate thread if there are inquiries, or converse over PM. 

I’m not repeating a non-sensical explanation, rather trying to simplify a complex topic. If it isn’t helpful or making sense for you, then you should either learn how to be curious and inquire for more explanation or do some investigation on your own rather than being a troll. There are multitudes of resources on how EMI affects electronics, let alone audio equipment. There are even discussions on other past threads on this forum on the theory, benefits, and implementations of faraday cages, which I believe the SR Tranquility Bases are based on. This thread’s purpose is not about explaining the nature of EMI and how to eliminate it, but rather a documentation of my journey to find a phono stage (which I did), by soliciting guidance from the community, which has largely been quite helpful, and sharing my learnings back.

It is your comments that are not helpful at all, and your responses which are not helping your case, so just stop and let the thread stay its course without you taking it down in flames.