Discrete transistor circuitry is used throughout for maximum fidelity and lowest noise, and audiophile polypropylene capacitors are used for both the RIAA equalisation and signal coupling.

A moving coil phonostage typically has a gain of about 60dB, but due to the RIAA equalisation curve it actually has more like 80dB at the low end of the audio spectrum. 80dB is huge amount of gain and is best spread over more than one gain stage. Many designs employ two gain stages, but the Rialto has three to allow each gain stage to operate with less gain for improved performance. Each gain stage uses just two discrete transistors and employs local feedback to achieve extremely low distortion. The high linearity of each gain stage means that overall global feedback (widely acknowledged to be good for achieving good THD figures but bad for perceived sound quality) can be eliminated.

Low noise cannot be achieved merely by using expensive components. The circuit design has to be right and the circuit board tracks have to be very carefully routed. Both these aspects of design have been meticulously addressed in the Rialto so that background noise is as low as possible. The power supply goes through seven stages of filtering so that the circuit is operating from a perfectly clean voltage supply, allowing the music to appear out of silence, unsullied by residual hum, buzz and hiss.

Don’t be fooled by the Rialto’s affordability. This is a top-flight phonostage.