







Wattson Audio
Madison Phono – Precision Phono Stage
$5,495.00 USD
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Features
True active transimpedance amplification for low-impedance MC and DS Audio optical cartridges
Fully linear analog gain stage before digitization for a clean, natural signal path
32-bit/384kHz DXD digital equalization for exceptional precision and repeatability
Support for RIAA, Columbia, Teldec, EMI, and Decca curves with ±0.1dB accuracy
Both digital and analog outputs for flexible system integration
Optional PowerS external power supply for a lower noise floor and greater dynamic headroom
Swiss-engineered, handcrafted construction from Wattson Audio
What's in the Box?
Warranty
Analog Origins. Digital Precision.
The Madison Phono brings Wattson Audio’s high-density engineering philosophy to vinyl playback. Developed from design principles proven at the highest level of CH Precision engineering, it rethinks the phono stage for modern systems while preserving the immediacy, texture, and musical presence that make analog replay so compelling.
The Madison Phono is available with three input-stage architectures, each designed around the specific electrical behavior of the cartridge or transducer it serves. Rather than treating cartridge compatibility as a matter of gain and loading alone, each version addresses the fundamental way signal is generated, transferred, and converted at the input. Moving magnet, moving coil, and DS Audio photo-electric cartridges impose different requirements; the Madison Phono responds with dedicated circuitry for each.
Engineered for the Source
The Madison Phono accommodates both moving magnet and moving coil cartridges, with dedicated input stages for voltage and current operation.
The voltage-input version supports MM and high-impedance MC cartridges through a two-stage amplification circuit with automatic gain and loading, simplifying setup while preserving the cartridge’s natural dynamic behavior.
The current-input version is designed for low-impedance MC cartridges. Derived from CH Precision technology and unique to Wattson Audio, it replaces the simple passive current-to-voltage conversion found in most phono stages with a true active transimpedance amplifier. This reduces sensitivity to cable characteristics, loading interactions, and impedance variation, preserving frequency response, transient precision, and background quietness.
Optical Replay, Redefined
For DS Audio photoelectric cartridges, the Madison Phono uses a dedicated optical input stage operating in photoconductive mode, built around a true active transimpedance circuit designed specifically for optical cartridge replay.
For DS Audio photoelectric cartridges, the Madison Phono uses a dedicated input stage operating in photoconductive mode, built around a true active transimpedance amplifier designed specifically for optical cartridge replay.
Unlike the common voltage approach seen in many designs, this active circuit drastically improves dynamic performance. Frequency response remains more stable, transients are preserved with greater precision, and the noise floor stays lower—allowing the cartridge’s speed, clarity, and low-level information to emerge.
Historic Curves. Modern Precision.
In the Madison Phono, equalization is removed from the analog signal path. The cartridge signal is amplified through a fully linear analog stage, then digitized at 32-bit / 384 kHz—DXD mastering-studio quality and far beyond the practical limits of vinyl playback.
Correction curves and filtering are then handled in the digital domain, where they can be implemented with exceptional precision, repeatability, and flexibility. Freed from analog equalization networks, switch contacts, and large passive components, the amplification circuitry remains simpler, cleaner, and more stable. RIAA, Columbia, Teldec, EMI, and Decca curves can be applied with ±0.1 dB accuracy, allowing records mastered under different historical standards to be replayed with the correct tonal balance.
Built for the Modern High-End System
The Madison Phono is designed to integrate naturally into both traditional analog systems and contemporary DAC-centered architectures. Stereo analog RCA outputs allow direct connection to a preamplifier or integrated amplifier, while coaxial and optical S/PDIF outputs allow the Madison Phono to feed a Madison Streamer or a third-party external DAC.
This dual-output architecture gives Madison Phono unusual flexibility. Vinyl replay can remain central in a purist analog system, become part of a coherent Madison-based system, or integrate seamlessly into a system built around digital conversion and streaming.
Compact Form, Swiss Engineering
The Madison Phono follows the same physical discipline as the rest of the Madison line: circuits stripped down, miniaturized, and integrated into dense boards within a compact enclosure milled from solid aluminum. The chassis provides electromagnetic shielding, mechanical rigidity, and a non-resonant foundation for sensitive circuitry.
Network connectivity supports firmware updates and remote control. Software and hardware are treated as parts of the same long-term design strategy, while the three input-stage modules can be exchanged at a later date as cartridge requirements or system priorities change.
A Quieter Foundation
The Madison Phono operates at the most delicate point in the analog chain, where minute cartridge signals must be amplified, equalized, and converted without adding noise or obscuring musical information. Adding the Madison PowerS gives this critical circuitry a cleaner, quieter, and more stable electrical foundation.
Its purpose-built architecture lowers the noise floor and improves supply stability, allowing low-level detail, spatial information, and harmonic texture to emerge with greater clarity. Transients become more precise, the soundstage becomes more stable, and music develops from a quieter, more composed background.
For the Madison Phono, the PowerS provides the quality of supply this level of signal demands: clean, stable, low-noise power that helps preserve the full expressive character of vinyl playback.
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Technical Specifications | |
| EQ Curves | RIAA, Columbia, Teldec, EMI, Decca (±0.1dB accuracy) |
| Digitization | 32-bit/384kHz DXD |
| Input Board Options | Voltage (MM/high-impedance MC), Current (low-impedance MC, transimpedance), Optical (DS Audio photo-electric, transimpedance) |
| Outputs | Digital and analog |
| Compatible Cartridge Types | Moving magnet, moving coil, DS Audio photo-electric |
| Optional Upgrade | PowerS external power supply |
