A close friend has recently purchased a Nova and is looking to add a phono stage so he can use his turntable.
He has an Ariston RD11S with a Syrinx PU 2 or 3 not absolutely sure (he’s just sent me a pic and he thinks it’s a PU2)with an Ortofon 2m black I have lent him my Rega mk4 phono stage to try and he is very happy with the results just wondered if the Rega is getting the best out of his setup any thoughts would be much appreciated.
His speakers are PMC Twenty 21’s.
Many thanks.
FWI: whatever he uses for a phono-stage, the analog inputs on the Nova are converted to digital. That may or may not matter to him or others reading this, but might be something to keep in mind.
As someone who uses analog as a primary source I would not use a Uniti product as a primary system for that.
If today you can hear a difference, I buy you your new Boulder amp 
Which phonostage did he have before the Nova?
(Could give a pointer.)
I had a Rega Fono with my Star and ahead of that an LP12, Ittok and Dynavector 10X5 mk2. I was very happy with this set-up.
He used a Pro-ject Phono stage the approx. £100 version, he wasn’t very impressed when he tried it on his Nova so I mentioned changing it for something better suited to the turntable, the Rega is a big improvement so know he’s wondering if something a little more expensive may bring further gains.
As for the Uniti products, it’s moot. There is no way for either of us to make a comparison.
However, I’m not going to be so heavily invested into an analog front end as I am, only to insert a digital step.
I was joking around, but recently a sound engineer explained to me that advances in digital technology are now so advanced that he can’t hear any difference between digitizing an analog signal and then converting it back to analog.
Rega Fono is good but there’s better out there, depending on his budget.
I have no idea if Nova is a limiting factor due to the digital conversion.
Guess when own a Nova, streaming must be your main source ?
I listen to vinyl as much as streaming, but the two are separate… what’s the point of analog if it’s just going to be digitized!
It’s all analogue by the time it gets to the speakers!
Since the ‘80s Digital has been an increasing element in all recordings whether they end up on an LP or not. Personally although I love many of my 70’s and earlier analogue LPs I am not that bothered what has happened along the way to pressing the album as long as when I put it on my turntable it sounds good.
+1 on this.
I called round today to have a listen to my friends setup with my Rega phono stage and I could hear the difference straight away compared to his Pro-ject unit, more energy, better detail, taughter bass definitely a big improvement which did surprise me I wasn’t expecting the difference to be that obvious, so I think the plan is to try and demo or borrow a stage from the next level and see what the outcome is like.
I’ve used the Rega Fono with an upgraded original Rega 3 and a LP12 with a Heed Quasar into a Nova and both are fine. The LP12 is much higher spec’s so is the better performer, but the Nova is very good with a decent analogue source up it. I’ve even run the ND555 into the Nova and that was very nice too.
Thats a pretty good hearing if you heard it all through your phone 
Thanks. If the Rega Fono MM proves not to be enough, then I would be having a look at a Lejonklou (Gaia?), a Rega Aria and a Dynavector p75 too. All depends on your friend’s pockets. The last two would future proof him if he ever decides that an MC is the way to go.
I’d definitely be fitting a new belt if the Ariston has not had one for a while.
The Ariston should be fine it went to a dealer for a service and the new Ortofon last year
.
Spoke to him today when he returned my Rega sounds like he’s not bothered about trying anything else seems really happy with the sound quality that it brings, so job looks like it’s sorted, many thanks to all the members who took the time to respond much appreciated by both of us .
I got the Rega Fono MM with a P3 and a P6, the sound was good but I had an opportunity with a Gold Note PH7 and the sound is really better everywhere… as long as we haven’t tried better we can’t know!
My girlfriend has a Nova and Rega P6. She uses a Rega Fono. When we get back, we may well swap it with a Dynavector P75 mk4 that we (probably) have available. I expect that to be better, but whether it is enough to both with, we’ll see. After all, the current Fono is surprisingly good.
The Pro-ject, Graham Slee and Gold Note options are good too. OTOH, you can get a secondhand Aria now for about £600. Now that is really a great phono stage…
In principle, I like the idea of keeping analogue that way, which a Nova doesn’t. However, as the current Urika shows, noneof us can actually tell if a decent signal has been into and out of digits. OTOH, a lot of us can tell that we like (say) the original vinyl version of Hot Rats or Ziggy or Tres Hombres or Abbey Road a good deal more than any digitised version that we have yet heard.
