Rega Fono MM Mk5

A new look coupled with the same class-leading performance

Phono stage £220 whf.cm/FonoMM5

Rega's Fono MM has been our go-to recommendation for an affordable phono stage for more years than we care to remember. It is about as minimalist as such things get at this level, being a moving-magnet-only design with just the basic input and output connections.

The company clearly doesn't want to spoil a winning recipe, so the revisions for this new Mk5 version amount to a change of casework to match some of the brand's newer products and... well that's it. The internals have remained unchanged from the last generation, but given that it was a clear class leader maybe that is not such a bad thing.

Respectable levels

A gain of just over 41dB is more than enough for any price-compatible moving-magnet cartridge. And provided the Fono is placed with a bit of care, hum and other noise levels are respectably low.