Review: LampizatOr MM2 Moving-Magnet (MM) Phono Stage

Turntables have always been one of my favorite sources for my playback system. They are highly customizable, straightforward to use. They tend to offer a great bang for the buck, especially on the entry-level ones. In fact, you can purchase a more expensive turntable, start with a reasonably inexpensive cartridge that sounds great and move into higher performance ones over time, if you wish. Of course, there is a downside. They do require a bit more care and feeding than their digital brethren.

The two main types of cartridges on the market are moving magnet (MM) and moving coil (MC). They both have their advantages and disadvantages. However, as a rule, moving magnet cartridges tend to be less expensive to date. Their performance is not as high as their counterparts. The good news is you will find that most of the phono stages that are built into components will work with these without any additional equipment. The bad news, there are very few high-end phono stages available, or at least this reviewer hasn’t seen any.