PS Audio PMG Signature Phono Preamplifier

Phono preamplifiers—even at the highest levels—are often compromised by cost-cutting decisions: integrated circuits, shared power supplies, limited headroom, and simplified signal paths. The PMG Signature Phono Preamplifier throws all of that out the window. From the beginning, this was a no-compromise design, built with a singular goal: to create the finest phono stage in the world, regardless of price.
There’s not a single op-amp or integrated circuit in the signal path. Instead, every stage is constructed from hand-selected, discrete FETs and BJTs, operating in pure Class A. The topology is fully complementary and direct-coupled—chosen not for cost, but for its ability to deliver the lowest distortion, the highest resolution, and a complete absence of sonic fingerprint. The result is astonishing headroom, ultra-low noise, and lightning-fast transient response, capable of reproducing the most delicate nuances and the most explosive dynamics with equal ease.
While not inexpensive, the PMG Signature Phono Preamplifier is built to stand the test of time and stands head and shoulders above anything else we—or anyone—have ever built. If you’re ready to hear just how far vinyl playback can truly go, you’re ready for the PMG Signature.

The PMG Signature Phono Preamplifier is the ultimate companion to the finest tonearms, cartridges, and turntables in the world. Designed as a true reference component, it redefines what’s possible in analog playback—delivering unmatched transparency, explosive dynamics, and a vanishingly low noise floor. Whether you’re using a low-output moving coil or a high-output moving magnet cartridge, the PMG Signature brings out the full character of your setup with effortlessness and authority.
Its revolutionary transimpedance input gives cartridges a direct, uncolored path to amplification, eliminating loading concerns and revealing detail, texture, and space that conventional designs leave behind. For a more traditional approach, the voltage input offers adjustable gain and loading, all controlled remotely—so you can fine-tune your system from the listening chair.
With dual inputs for two tonearms, fully discrete zero-feedback circuitry, and precision control at every stage, the PMG Signature is not just another phono preamp—it’s the current state of the art, regardless of price. Use it in the highest-end analog systems on the planet and experience what’s been hiding in your vinyl all along. This is a revolution in analog performance.

Technology

PS Audio’s very first product in 1975 was a phono preamplifier that helped launch the company—and a movement toward better sound. Now, after 50 years of relentless innovation, we return to our roots with something truly extraordinary: the PMG Signature Phono Preamplifier. Designed by Darren Myers and bearing the name of our founder for the first time, this phono stage is unlike anything we—or anyone—have ever created. At its heart is a groundbreaking zero-feedback architecture, a first in PS Audio’s history. This unique topology allows for something remarkable: the true separation of vinyl surface noise from the music itself. Once you hear it, you can’t unhear it—and you’ll never go back. Surface noise floats in the background, untethered from the performance, leaving the music alive, present, and shockingly real. Adding to its revolutionary nature is an optional pure current-mode transimpedance input, ideal for low-output moving coil cartridges. This input requires no cartridge loading, offers unmatched transparency, and opens a window into your records that traditional voltage-input designs simply can’t match. With fully discrete Class A FET circuitry, massive headroom, and support for all cartridge types, the PMG Signature Phono Preamplifier is a triumph of analog engineering—and the finest phono stage we’ve built in our 50-year history. From the first needle drop, you’ll know: this is vinyl reborn.

A revolutionary new design

At the heart of the PMG Signature Phono Preamplifier lies a bold and uncompromising design decision: the complete elimination of global feedback. Using high-voltage discrete FETs and hand-selected bipolar transistors in a fully complementary topology, designer Darren Myers achieved something few engineers have dared attempt—a true zero-feedback phono stage with vanishingly low noise and distortion.
Why does this matter? Because feedback, by its very nature, must first allow an error to occur before it can react. It listens after the fact—correcting mistakes only once they’ve already made their way into the signal. While useful in keeping measurements tidy, this reactive approach often smears transients, dulls dynamics, and blurs the natural timing that gives music life.
Building a zero-feedback circuit that remains stable, quiet, and linear is an immense engineering challenge. It requires extreme precision, deep understanding of device behavior, and countless hours of tuning. But the payoff is extraordinary. Music flows with an effortlessness that’s hard to describe—organic, untethered, and free. Surface noise retreats into the background, and the performance detaches from the speakers, alive with texture and presence.
This isn’t just a phono stage—it’s a masterclass in analog purity. With the PMG Signature Phono Preamplifier, vinyl is no longer colored by circuitry. It simply… is.

An inside look

When you first lift the PMG Signature Phono Preamplifier, its sheer mass and build quality immediately tell you: this is no ordinary piece of gear. Every detail, inside and out, has been obsessively engineered for performance, silence, and longevity. Like all PMG Signature products, the phono stage begins with a solid 1.5-inch block of 6062 aluminum—CNC-machined to tolerances within thousandths of an inch. This forms the front panel and the structural base of the unit, housing the delicate analog circuitry. Surrounding it is a second, fully isolated EMI shield, creating a barrier against electromagnetic noise. Topping it off is a thick, solid aluminum cover, completing a triple-layered chassis that forms one of the most robust, perfectly shielded enclosures in high-end audio.
But what truly sets this phono stage apart is its revolutionary transimpedance input option. Unlike traditional voltage-input phono stages, the transimpedance design accepts pure current from a low-output moving coil cartridge. This eliminates the need for resistive loading and optimizes the cartridge’s natural behavior. The result? Lower noise, greater transparency, tighter bass, and a direct connection to the source that brings the groove to life in a way voltage-input stages cannot match.
Together with a fully discrete, zero-feedback, class A circuit and dual selectable inputs for two tonearms, the PMG Signature Phono delivers over 70dB of gain with astonishing purity—enough for cartridges down to 0.15mV without a hint of strain. Single-ended and balanced outputs make it a perfect fit for any high-end system.
This isn’t just a phono preamplifier—it’s a precision instrument. A celebration of analog done right. A true work of art, unlike anything in our 50-year history—or, for that matter, since records were born.