Clearaudio Smart Phono V2 Phono Preamplifier - Silver

The Smart Phono V2 — Dial In the Cartridge You Actually Own

Most phono stages under a thousand dollars give you a choice between moving magnet and moving coil, and nothing else. The Clearaudio Smart Phono V2 gives you five input impedances, three capacitance values and a gain wheel on the top panel.

That matters because cartridge makers publish a recommended load, and hitting it changes what you hear in the treble and the upper midrange. A stage that cannot reach the specified value leaves your cartridge working outside its design conditions, every side, for as long as you own it.

Graig Neville, writing for pt.AUDIO in April 2023 after living with the unit on a Rega turntable, put the value question plainly enough that it needs no gloss from us: "The Clearaudio smart phono V2 was a helluva phono stage for the money."

What You Can Set, and What It Does

Loading, in Real Steps

Moving coil mode offers 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 ohms plus 5 kΩ, each pairable with 150, 250 or 400 pF. Moving magnet mode sits at 47 kΩ with the same three capacitance choices available. Every one of those settings lives on a dip switch on the underside of the case, where you set it once.

The Gain Wheel

Base amplification is 34 dB for moving magnet and 54 dB for moving coil at 1 kHz. The lit wheel on the top panel adds up to 18 dB on top of that, which is how one box covers a hot moving magnet and a 0.3 mV moving coil without a compromise in between.

How Quiet, and How Accurate

Clearaudio rates signal-to-noise at 85 dB(A) for moving magnet and 72 dB(A) for moving coil. RIAA accuracy holds to ±0.3 dB across 10 Hz to 100 kHz, and distortion in moving coil mode measures below 0.004 percent. Separate SMD circuits serve each cartridge type.

What Reviewers Are Saying

Writing for pt.AUDIO in April 2023, Graig Neville reached a straightforward conclusion about where this unit sits in its price class: "For a phono stage under a grand, you will likely struggle to find better than this diminutive unit."

On what the Smart Phono V2 brings to a record rather than what it measures, Neville wrote that "It added a little life and bomp to every recording in a highly pleasing way" — and called it "a spunky little contender that knocked my socks off."

Who Is the Clearaudio Smart Phono V2 Best For?

• Anyone whose cartridge maker publishes a specific load. Five impedance values and three capacitance values mean you can set the figure in the manual instead of the nearest guess.
• Owners of a low-output moving coil. Fifty-four decibels plus the wheel's extra 18 dB supplies real headroom, so quiet passages arrive at a usable level.
• Listeners upgrading past a built-in phono input, who want a stage that will still be right after the next cartridge and the one after that.
• People who change cartridges. Reconfiguring takes a dip switch and a turn of the wheel, not a service visit.
• Not for anyone who wants headphones plugged straight into the phono stage — this model has no headphone output. Pair it with one of our headphone amplifiers if private listening is part of the plan.

How Does It Connect?

Gold-plated RCA in from the turntable, RCA out to any line input. Turn the unit over before you install it and set the MM or MC slide switch, the loading dip switches and the subsonic filter. The top panel keeps only the power button and the gain wheel, both lit in blue.

Set gain last, by ear, with a record playing. Start low, bring the wheel up until the phono input matches the level of your other sources, and stop there. The external supply provides ±18 V DC at 300 mA.

Pairs Well With

A phono stage this adjustable is worth surrounding properly:

• Clearaudio Charisma v2.1 Ebony MM Cartridge — a moving magnet good enough to be worth the capacitance choices this stage offers.
• A low-output moving coil — the 50 and 100 ohm settings and the gain wheel exist precisely for these.
• A better tonearm cable — capacitance in the cable adds to what you set here, so the two are part of the same calculation.
• Record cleaning fluid and a brush — at 85 dB(A) the background is quiet enough that surface debris becomes the loudest thing on the record.

Frequently Asked Questions

What loading options does it give me?

Moving coil mode covers 50 ohms, 100 ohms, 500 ohms, 1 kΩ and 5 kΩ, with 150, 250 or 400 pF of capacitance alongside. Moving magnet mode runs at 47 kΩ with the same three capacitance values available.

How much gain is there in total?

Thirty-four decibels in moving magnet mode and 54 dB in moving coil, measured at 1 kHz. The wheel on the top panel adds as much as 18 dB more on top of whichever base you have selected, so the range is genuinely wide.

Where do I find the switches?

Underneath. Clearaudio puts the MM/MC selector, the loading dip switches and a pair of two-position buttons on the base, which keeps the top surface clear and the internal signal path short. Set them before the unit goes on a shelf.

Does this one have a headphone jack?

The standard Smart Phono V2 is a phono stage only. Clearaudio builds a separate model with a headphone output; this listing is not that version, so plan on a headphone amplifier if you want to listen privately.

How does it compare in size to the Nano?

It is the larger of the two, at roughly 3.7 x 4.9 x 1.3 inches and about 1.4 pounds with its power supply. The extra volume buys the adjustable loading, the gain wheel and the improved noise figures.

Is it worth setting the capacitance precisely?

With a moving magnet cartridge, very much so. Capacitance interacts with the cartridge's inductance and shapes the top octave. Getting it near the published figure is one of the cheapest improvements available to a vinyl system.

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