Accuphase C-57 Phono Preamplifier

C-57 At A Glance

• Topology: Fully balanced phono preamplifier, monaural construction left and right
• MC head amplifier: First Accuphase phono stage with ANCC (Active Noise Cancelling Circuit) on the MC head amp
• Inputs: Three standard phono inputs plus one dedicated balanced XLR MC input
• MC loading positions: Seven settings — 10 / 30 / 60 / 100 / 200 / 300 / 1,000 ohms (the 60-ohm position is new for the C-57)
• MM loading positions: Three settings — 1 / 47 / 100 kilohms
• Input-referred noise: –156 dBV (1 dB lower than the C-47 it succeeds)
• RIAA accuracy: ±0.3 dB across the audio band
• Outputs: Balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA) line-level outputs with polarity selector
• Filtering: Switchable subsonic filter; gain selector for low-output cartridges
• Construction: Glass-cloth fluorocarbon-resin PCBs; gold-plated copper traces; low-noise regulated power supply with toroidal transformer; high-carbon cast-iron isolator feet

The C-57 is the fourth generation of Accuphase's standalone phono preamplifier — a line that began with the C-27 in 2008 and progressed through the C-37 and C-47 — and is the most consequential generational step the company has made in this category. The C-57 is the first phono stage in the Accuphase catalog to apply ANCC, the company's Active Noise Cancelling Circuit, directly to the MC head amplifier. The result is an input-referred noise figure of –156 dBV, one decibel quieter than the C-47, which is a meaningful margin at the bottom of a phono signal chain where every dB of noise is a dB of lost low-level detail.

Fully balanced from input to output. The C-57 is built monaurally — separate left and right amplifier blocks, separate power supply circuits, separate filtering — with a fully balanced signal path from the cartridge clips through to the XLR output. For owners of cartridges with separated ground returns, the dedicated balanced XLR MC input allows a true balanced connection from the tonearm cable into the preamplifier, eliminating a common-mode noise path that an RCA-only phono stage cannot address.

Four input positions, independently configured. The C-57 provides three standard phono inputs plus the dedicated balanced MC input, for four total. Each input remembers its own cartridge configuration: MC or MM, load impedance, gain, and subsonic-filter state. A listener running a single arm with two cartridges, or a system with two turntables, switches between cartridges by switching inputs — no menu diving, no rear-panel re-jumpering, no re-loading every time the cartridge changes.

The new 60-ohm MC loading position. Accuphase's earlier phono stages offered 30, 100, and 300 ohms among their MC loadings. The C-57 adds a 60-ohm position, bridging what had been the widest gap in the load-impedance table. For modern moving-coil cartridges that fall between the classic 100-ohm load and the lower 30-ohm load — an increasingly common region of the market as cartridge designers refine internal-impedance figures — the 60-ohm position is the precise match that earlier C-series phono stages required a workaround to provide.

Equalization accuracy and quiet running. The RIAA equalizer is held to ±0.3 dB across the audio band — the tightest specification Accuphase publishes for its phono stages — using glass-cloth fluorocarbon-resin printed circuit boards with low dielectric loss. The power supply is a regulated low-noise design with a dedicated toroidal transformer; vibration is managed by Accuphase's high-carbon cast-iron isolator feet. A 7-segment LED indicator on the front panel displays the active load impedance so the listener can confirm at a glance which configuration each input is set to.

Where the C-57 sits in the line. The C-57 is the standalone phono stage for owners of the C-2300, C-2900, or C-3900S line preamplifiers who want a dedicated chassis for vinyl — or for owners of any high-end line preamplifier from another manufacturer who want an Accuphase-grade phono stage to feed it. Customers running an Accuphase integrated amplifier with an AD-60 phono board, or a C-2900 with the AD-2900 phono module, already have an excellent phono stage in their existing chassis; the C-57 is the next step up — a separate, isolated, monaurally constructed phono stage with its own power supply and chassis.

Click here for more information!