Vincent PHO-500
Vincent’s PHO-500 brings vinyl alive with inky-quiet backgrounds, a gently warm, full-bodied balance, and bass weight that rewards ambitious turntable partners. Steven Stone found it quieter than a high-end integrated phono card, while adjustable MM/MC loading and 96/24 USB recording make this a remarkably versatile, high-value phonostage.
WATT RECOMMENDS
Save your favorites. Compare them anytime.
Create a free HiFi Hub account to save products to your Wishlist and compare your favorites side by side.
Nicely Roasted
Sound Quality
87/100
Cartridge Compatibility
89/100
Build Quality
84/100
Value for Money
92/100
Pros
Exceptionally low noise floor, outperforming the reviewer’s Mytek Manhattan internal phono card for hum-free playback.
Warm, weighty and musically friendly presentation, with sweet midrange character and useful bass reinforcement.
Flexible MM/MC setup, adjustable loading, and 96/24 USB vinyl recording support add genuine system versatility.
Scales convincingly with superior turntables and cartridges, delivering stronger imaging, bass extension, and dynamic contrast.
Cons
Ultimate low-level resolution, dynamic power, and image specificity fell short of the reviewer’s hi-res digital reference.
Power-supply placement requires care; locating the separate chassis too close to high-gain components can introduce hum.
WATT RECOMMENDS
Save your favorites. Compare them anytime.
Create a free HiFi Hub account to save products to your Wishlist and compare your favorites side by side.
What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 87/100
The PHO-500 is notably quiet and lends playback a gently warm, friendly character rather than an overtly analytical one. The review also found useful bass weight and, in its best setup, stronger dynamic contrast and more precise imaging, though ultimate low-level resolution and image focus remained behind the digital comparison.
Transparency Noise Floor
91/100
Steven Stone heard no low-level hum attributable to the separate power supply, and described audible noise as negligible apart from record-surface swish through headphones. He could hear nothing at the loudest relevant volume setting even with an ear against the tweeter or subwoofer, and found it quieter than the Manhattan II's internal phono card.
Tonal Balance Musicality
87/100
The presentation carries a little extra weight and warmth, which the reviewer found unobjectionable and potentially welcome on recordings that benefit from a friendlier balance. Kenny Baker's fiddle was described as having a lovely, euphonic sweetness, although the vinyl setup sounded softer and warmer than the hi-res digital reference.
Dynamics
85/100
In the reviewer's strongest system combination, the PHO-500 contributed additional dynamic contrast alongside deeper bass extension. The LP playback still did not equal the hi-res digital comparison for dynamic power or retrieval of low-level information, tempering the result.
Soundstage Imaging
84/100
The best partnering combination produced the most precise image specificity in the listening session. Against the digital version, however, the LP setup was somewhat softer, with reduced detail and image specificity; swapping from the Manhattan's phono card left image specificity unchanged.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Cartridge Compatibility
89/100
The PHO-500 supports both MM and MC cartridges, with adjustable MM capacitance from 15 to 350pF and adjustable MC loading from 100 to 1,000 ohms. The reviewer found that it could scale with a better front end and mate easily with a wide variety of high-performance sources.
Build Quality
84/100
Its separate power-supply chassis has a practical benefit: the reviewer could place it away from the signal chain and avoid power-supply-related hum. The review says little about casework, internal parts quality, or long-term durability.
Value for Money
92/100
At the reviewed price of $699, The Absolute Sound called the PHO-500 an ideal choice for building a high-performance phono system on a reasonable budget. Its low-noise output, ability to improve with a better front end, and broad cartridge support make the asking price particularly persuasive.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
YouTube Reviews
No reviews found yet
Forum Mentions
No forum mentions found yet
Specifications
- Frequency Response
- 10 Hz – 20 kHz ±0.5 dB, 10 Hz – 50 kHz ±2 dB
- T.H.D.
- < 0.05% (20 Hz - 20 kHz)
- Input Sensitivity
- MM: 58 mV, MC 6,8 mV
- Signal-to-Noise
- MM: > 83 dB, MC: > 70 dB
- Input Impedance
- MM: 47 KOhm, MC: 100 Ohm - 1000 Ohm (adjustable)
- Input Capacity
- MM: 15 pF - 350 pF (adjustable), MC: 15 pF
- Output Impedance
- 250 Ohm
- Inputs
- PHO-500 1 x Stereo RCA
- Outputs
- PHO-500 1 x Stereo RCA, USB
- Max. Power Consumption
- 10 Watt
- Weight
- 1,4 kg (power supply), 1 kg (PHO-500)
- Color
- Black or Silver
- Dimensions (W x H x D)
- 130 x 95 x 205 mm (for power supply and PHO-500 each)
Manufacturer's Description — Vincent
A unsophisticated and low noise playback is the "job" of a good phono preamplifier. With the PHO-500 we managed this. The reason for is in the first step a complex drafted power supply, which is built in an external housing and in the second step the careful choosen components. Besides you can make individual adjustments by DIP-switches on the PHO-500.
Verified Dealers
Online Dealers
All Dealers
Zoom out the map to see more dealers
Authorized dealers for Vincent PHO-500
- Acoustic Sounds — online and in-store — Salina, Kansas, United States (website)
- AUDIO 2000 — in-store — Wuppertal, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany (website)
- Audio Advisor — online and in-store — Michigan, United States (website)
- Audio Exchange — in-store — Raleigh, North Carolina, United States (website)
- Audio Factory — online — Spain (website)
- Audio Living Design — in-store — Area Produttiva, Marche, Italy (website)
- Audio Magic - EU — online and in-store — Wola, Województwo mazowieckie, Poland (website)
- AUDIO VIDEO PASSION — online and in-store — Perpignan, Occitanie, France (website)
- Audio Works — in-store — San Juan, San Juan, United States (website)
- Audio Y Cine — online and in-store — Sevilla, Andalucía, Spain (website)
and 30 more verified dealers