Analog Gear News

It’s been about six months since UK-based AVID first announced their new Velsonic phono preamp — and, for about the same timeframe, AVID has been working with their new U.S. distributor, Playback Distribution.

The Velsonic is AVID’s latest flagship phono stage, and there are a few reasons why it took a while to launch. For starters, the company claims that they don’t release new editions or updated versions of products without sound reasoning. The Velsonic, for example, “was driven primarily by technology rather than timing,” Conrad Mas, managing director of AVID Hi-Fi, told me. (Mas was responding to a few of my recently emailed questions about the Velsonic and AVID, who are in the midst of celebrating their 30th anniversary this year.)

Mas added that AVID’s other phono preamps, such as the Pellar and Pulsus, still perform well, so there wasn’t any pressure to replace them simply for the sake of adding something new.

“Over recent years, we’ve continued developing technologies and refining techniques through cascading our flagship electronics and reference-level projects,” Mas wrote. “Eventually, we reached a point where we knew we could produce something meaningfully better, and not just incrementally different.”

Mas added that the Velsonic phono-pre gave AVID the chance to take all that the company had learned over time about preserving low-level phono signals through initial amplification — and then implement those principles with this new unit to reveal more of the music contained within a record’s grooves.

Although it incorporates some components and proprietary circuitry methods from AVID’s existing flagship Reference preamp, the Velsonic phono preamp itself was designed anew.

The philosophy remained the same, Mas noted — that is, to remove noise and preserve signal integrity while avoiding added sonic coloration. But he also stated that their implementation has moved forward “with a completely revised internal architecture to maximize signal purity and dynamic capability.

“Particular attention was given to component matching, signal path optimization, grounding strategy, and mechanical isolation,” he continued. “Every element was evaluated not on specification alone, but on whether it improved musical enjoyment.”

Especially for quieter musical passages, keeping as low a noise floor as possible is also essential. That means careful consideration must also go to the power supply. Here with the Velsonic, as with many high-end phono stages, it’s housed in its own separate chassis. But that’s only one part of the solution, as Mas explained: “Internally, the supply uses extensive regulation and filtering stages to deliver exceptionally clean and stable power to the audio circuitry.”

Other contributing factors Mas cited in regard to the Velsonic design included careful grounding, physical separation of sensitive stages, optimized PCB layout, and shielding; as well as internal wiring harnesses being positioned and routed a certain way within the casework. Also derived from the AVID Reference preamp’s original design development are the Velsonic’s connecting cable and power input arrangement.

As expected in a flagship phono-pre, the Velsonic is a fully balanced design equipped for compatibility with a wide range of both MM and MC cartridge setups. Accordingly, plenty of adjustment settings are available for gain (35dB to 70dB; eight settings across 5dB increments), resistive impedance (for MC), and capacitance (for MM), in addition to a mono setting and a subsonic filter option (first-order slope).

User adjustments can be made “on the fly” during listening sessions via the dials on the Velsonic unit’s front panel. A pair each of RCA and XLR inputs and outputs enable connection to two turntable (or tonearm/cartridge setups) at once.

Here’s an interesting feature not found on all phono stages: a Ground Lift toggle switch. Located on the back panel, it’s there “just in case” — i.e., it’s intended to help with supplemental grounding needs for certain tonearms or unexpected ground loop situations (something many of us have experienced!).

There’s no remote control, something that could be a downside for some — but again, there are reasons behind the decision according to Mas, who put it simply: “Doing so would introduce components and technologies that would create noise and distortion, whereas our focus is always on preserving absolute signal integrity and ensuring the shortest, cleanest possible signal path.”

That’s the path to any well-designed phono preamp’s end goal: maintaining transparency to let the music come through.

The AVID Velsonic phono preamp’s U.S. SRP has yet to be confirmed by AP, but it is reported to be in the $19,999 ballpark. Units are expected to ship to authorized dealers soon; exact dates are forthcoming.