MP100 vs MA8000 built in....

[Vince11281]

I'm eventually looking to add a nice starter turntable to my current set up. I was just curious though if anyone knows how the MP100 stacks up to the built in phono section of my MA8000. Is it worth adding it? Or the built in should more then handle the job? Thank you in advance for any help!

[Josep]

I own the MA6700 and i asked this question to Mcintosh customer service and i dont remember exact words but they did not recommend it.

[malba2366]

What does "starter" turntable mean to you. If you mean something along the lines of $1500 or less for the turntable plus cartridge then I think the built in stage would be more than adequate.

[Josep]

This is what they told me: " Sonically the phono stage won’t be much different except you’ll get more gain fluctuation with the MP100 and also the Mp100 would make a difference in your phono stage because we can digitize it and then save it to your computer. The D150 would be an upgrade because it uses our new ESS DAC rather than the older burr brown DAC."

[McGuyDLF]

Same issue for me. Running a C28 with a VPI Prime Scout TT I just bought last week. I got the MP100 but not sure if I really need it with an MM cart - on the other hand, I WILL need the MP100 if and when I get an LOMC cart, which is the plan...and it sure does look perty on my rack