MUARAH MU-2 MM/MC TUBE PHONO PREAMPLIFIER REVIEW

Stuart takes a listen to this interesting tube phono preamplifier from Poland.

This Polish company has a name I find all but impossible to remember and, more importantly, spell correctly, but they have somehow stuck in my mind over the years as I have seen them exhibit and demonstrate their products for several editions of the Audio Video Show in Warsaw.

First of all their products look a little different from the norm with their distinctive illuminated green logo on the front of their kit. Secondly, they demonstrated to us a product that I thought was rather interesting in the form of their InteliClamp and Precision Speed Controller. These latter products aren’t what I’m going to be batting on about during this review, but I thought they were worth mentioning in passing as they form a product that is both innovative and interesting. Long story short is that the InteliClamp fits on the spindle of your record player when a record is playing and feeds back information to the controller to ensure that your belt-drive turntable is spinning at a constant 33 or 45 RPM. Muarah, had my attention and I approached them to get one of their products for review, but given I’ve moved on from my Origin Live and SME belt drive turntables to the perfectly speed-constant Technics 1200G, the InteliClamp would have been a bit redundant and so I opted to take a look at their MU2 phonostage. I should also add at this point that the brand also make a series of splendid-looking turntables, arms, and electronics…which makes sense.

Packaging on the MU02 is good and you get a power cable rather than the bog-standard cable that comes with pretty much every other bit of kit we get sent. This cable has a little locking device at the IEC end and you do need to ensure that it is properly engaged! The cable looks like something like Lapp Olflex or similar. I like this touch.

Instructions are accessed via a QR Code and I get that this is easier for the company and potentially better for the environment, but I’d prefer to have a basic printed sheet or booklet.

BUILD AND FEATURES OF THE MUARAH MU-2 PHONO PREAMPLIFIER

This 4Kg box is a narrow shoebox kind of design that measures (WHD) 210 x 350 x 110 mm and looks to be well put together and has the company’s thick polished glass faceplate with the green illuminated logo placed in the central position. I actually quite like it and it’s a nice change from the blue or red LEDs that seem to be ubiquitous on kit these days, though this box of tricks also does have the red LED to indicate it’s on and when it’s warming up (not that you could miss that it’s switched on if you have the green logo activated).  More visual loveliness is on show with the two 6922EH (you can use 6DJ8, ECC88, or E88CC if you prefer) emitting their soft tubey glow through cut-outs on either side of the logo. The glow is enhanced by dimmable underlighting of the tubes. You can also turn the logo and valve illumination completely off.  From the front, the unit looks cool, compact, and a little more exciting than the usual black or silver boxes that are used to house most phono-preamplifiers.

The MU-2 uses 6922 input stage valve in parallel with J-FETs and a with a 6922 second tube and MOSFET follower to give 56dB amplification. The company says that this will suffice for all MC cartridges with an output above 0.2mV.

Th MU-2 sits on four vibration-absorbing (and pleasingly squishy) footers.

A closer look at one of the valves that are illuminated from the bottom and do look very cool

My only comment that could be even slightly negative about the whole fit and finish of the MU-2 is that the bottom of the bent steel casework is slightly sharp, though it’s not going to cut you or anything.

Around the back of the rather nice and shiny steel casework (it’s polished acid-resistant stainless steel) things look a little more interesting than the standard RCA ins, outs, and ground, though these are obviously present and correct, as is the power inlet via IEC and a fuse holder. I’d have preferred the power switch to have been on the back panel as this is where I’d expect to find it, but having it underneath does actually make a lot more sense when you think about it. The obvious change from the norm here is a large red knob with a pointer that is used to set the correct loading for whatever cartridge you are using. In the red position the knob points towards MM for when you are using a Moving Magnet cartridge and this sets the load at the standard 47 kOhms. The remaining five positions are for when you are using a Moving Coil cartridge and have values of 1K, 500, 200, 100, and 50 Ohms. The knob has a rather satisfying click to it when it locks into place. The Muarah doesn’t allow for the different EQ curves that our LAB 12 melto 2 does but the five MC loads and the MM loading should be adequate for most people most of the time.  As already touched upon, the supplied specifications for the MU-2 tell me that gain is set at 56dB for MC and 43 dB for MM which should work out fine for any of the cartridges that I have to hand.

Around the back showing the settings knob and RCA input and outputs. All are good quality

SOUND QUALITY

For the duration of this review, I used the MU-2 into the our Music First Baby Reference MK2 TVC preamplifier, which itself feeds into our TotalDAC AMP1 and then our Audiovector R6 Arreté loudspeakers. The turntable used was the Technics 1200G (watch my video review here) with our HANA Umami cartridge for MC duties and Vertere Sabre for MM. Both cartridges were housed in the excellent NasoTec Swingheadshells which I use for all my cartridges.

Set up of the MU-2 is pretty obvious and simple to anyone that’s previously installed a phonosatage.

An arty shot of the MU-2 out in the wilds

WITH THE HANA UMAMI

Jon Hopkins’ Music For Psychedelic Therapy album is a beautifully organic and nuanced piece of electronic music that benefits greatly in its effectiveness if played through a quality system and the Muahah and Umami combination worked very well indeed in digging down and pulling the small details of the recording through to the amp and speakers. I’d say that the overall effect is slightly softer than our exceptionally incisive Music First phonostage and SUT, but it’s also rather pleasing to listen to with the detail, rather than buried, being just slightly gentler on the ear. This latter point may well be to the liking of some and I certainly found myself falling into this record’s detail and enjoying the performance that was laid out before me and I actually think the UMAMI and MU-2 to be a really nice-sounding pairing. On quieter passages on this double album there is still a detail that you can fall into with the MU-2 in place. Surface noise was pretty much non-existent on this record, but then I do try to keep my records clean and overall I’d say this area of the MU-2’s performance is pretty much the same as the Music First pairing. The MU-2 is very quiet to silent in operation.

It was a similarly pleasing story listening to Avicii’s Stories record; a presentation that was softer, but, by turn, also insightful and thoroughly enjoyable. The pace and dynamic changes on this record weren’t lost with this phonostage. This is an odd one to describe as I usually like a presentation that is harder-edged than this, but I found this pairing to be a joy to listen to for long periods and, as I said, I don’t actually think there was anything missing in the frequency range, it was just more gently spoken, if that makes sense. I assume that this softening of the presentation is a factor of the valves in the circuit and I actually think it will appeal to many people who are searching for a non-fatiguing and less “in your face” presentation from their records. With that said, the MU-2 is also softer (I’ve used this word a few times as I think it fits very well, but I don’t really want to attach negative connotations to it) than our valve-based LAB 12 melto II.

Inside the MU-2 shows quality work

Lin and I were sat listening to the system with the MU-2 and UMAMI in it and discussing its sound. Both of us agreed on its qualities and as I stood up to grab our Original Masters copy of Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue, she said (without prompting) “It will suit some jazz!”. And it does! This phonostage could have been made for listening to this kind of music and my guess is that the folk behind its design and voicing are into their jazz. Horns sound wonderful and there is a relaxed and soothing feel to the music whilst still maintaining the detail. Double bass is deep and easy to follow in the recording and piano sounds natural and clear. The horn I mentioned is superbly reproduced and the barely perceptible hats on Blue in Green are there…just. As I said before, this is a lovely, organic, and relaxed sound that does conjure images of a smoky jazz club vibe that I kind of really like.

WITH THE VERTERE SABRE

The Robotiks’ My Computer is Acting Strange is a record I’ve played a great deal going back to the days I had a radio show on Wear FM back in the early and mid-90s and I reckon I know it pretty much inside out. Reaching around the back of the MU-2 to click the switch to the MM position was a bit of a faff and I would prefer to have this available on the front of the unit – the top of it also gets quite warm and I’d suggest it needs good ventilation.

On the rack

Now, the first thing that grabbed me was that this was somewhat different in presentation to the presentation of the UMAMI, despite both being set up perfectly correctly and dialed in properly. The difference is not night and day and likely has much to do with the cartridges, but overall I found this to be a little brasher in the bass department and less of a feeling of things being slightly “muted” (I can’t think of a better word).

Soundstaging with this and other records I used whilst taking my notes was excellent and stable and I thought the data retrieval and detail was very good. The top end of The Robotiks record was still not as incisive as our reference (much more expensive) phonostage but it was still an enjoyable and satisfying listen. Reverbs and effects are presented very naturally and I want use the word organically, which I think is an effect of the laidback character of this phonostage.

NIGGLES

The chromed top is a bit of a finger magnet but then you don’t really see it on a rack unless it’s on the top and it does need space to dissipate heat.

The button for the illuminated logo is a bit difficult to get at.

Would have liked the MM/MC loading knob to have been on the front of the unit, but then that would have spoiled the aesthetic.

The power cable needs care in ensuring it is properly engaged.

There is a softness to the sound overall which some may enjoy and others not so much.

CONCLUSION

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this phonostage, but some may find it a little soft-sounding overall. On the flip side, others will really love how it sounds in a system, and with the jazz (particularly horns) I listened to with it, I really enjoyed it. This is the beauty of the audio world having so many options available to folk and all I can do is try to explain my experiences with the product and what I thought about it in this system and with the music I have experience of. One man’s softer sound is another’s organic and natural sound.

Certainly, I’d give it shelf space and people listening predominantly to acoustic music should seriously consider it.

This is a well-featured product for the money. It has a cool and different look and a sonic character that many will really enjoy…others, perhaps, less so. This is definitely a “you need to try it” kind of product.

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality and Features:

Nice finish overall and a different aesthetic

Well featured and will accommodate MM and pretty much all MC cartridges

Sound Quality:

Overall this is a laidback and relaxed phonostage that still manages to present detail from top to bottom

Soundstaging is natural and not over-emphasised

Bass is softer than I’m used to with our reference stages and is best suited to less bass-heavy music

Value For Money:

It’s about right for this kind of product and you could certainly spend more and get a less pleasant sounding product

We Loved:

Cool aesthetics that dares to be a little different from the norm

A relaxed and easy-to-get-on listen and yet didn’t lose the dynamics and detail – an odd one to describe

Certainly capable of pairing with pretty expensive cartridges without being embarrassed

We Didn’t Love So Much:

The loading switch being around the back

The softer sound may be an issue for some, but others will love it

Elevator Pitch Review: The Muarah MU-2 phonostage comes from Poland and has a shoebox aesthetic that is all of its own. It will accommodate moving magnet and most moving coil cartridges. Sonically speaking, the MU-2 is a pleasant and non-fatiguing stage to listen to but, in my opinion, it is best suited to acoustic music. There is detail and there is nuance to instruments and recordings and this is presented in a somewhat unique manner that you need to hear to find out if you love it or not. Personally, I actually really enjoyed my time with it.

Price: €1920

Stuart Smith

SUPPLIED BY MUARAH

SPECIFICATIONS

Frequency response: +0,15dB/-3dB: 10Hz-70kHz
RIAA curve accuracy in band 20Hz-20kHz: +/- 0,25dB
MC/MM gain: 56/43dB
RMS Noise A-weighted (MC, Input shorted): -80dBV
THD, Output=0dBV: <0.05%
IMD, Output=0dBV: <0.03%
Crosstalk MC: <-73dB
MM input impedance: 47kΩ/120pF
MC input impedance: 50,100,200,500,1000Ω
Input/Output: Unbalanced 2xRCA
Tubes: 2x6922EH (or 6DJ8, ECC88, E88CC)
Dimensions (W/L/H): 21/35/11 cm
Weight: 4kg