Muarah MU-2 Tube Phono Preamplifier

The addition of a phono stage to your home listening setup can make a dramatic impact in sound. The MU-2 is a beautifully designed mid-high tier product that’s worth a look at if you have the budget.

Established in 2015, Muarah Audio is a Polish manufacturer of audio components, and their offerings extend well beyond the MU-2 phono preamp; the company offers four turntables, two tonearms, a rather beefy integrated amplifier, and a wide range of accessories. The company also distributes and sells Sorane and Mørch tonearms in Poland.

The Muarah MU-2 Phono Preamplifier has been drawing eyes at trade shows for years now, mostly thanks to the visual look of the company’s logo illuminated in green, which brings obvious associations with the iconic McIntosh design. Thankfully, Muarah is able to back up this visually familiar presentation with a great sounding product.

Build and Features

The Muarah is manufactured from polished acid-resistant stainless steel and features ventilation on the top panel of the chassis; the front panel is polished glass and one can dim the backlight tubes if they prefer. The entire package is slightly under 10 pounds but it feels much heavier than that and the solid build quality is rather evident.

An important element of the design is a rotary switch, operated with a large, easy-to-use knob, which allows you to select an input impedance loading. The first position is intended for MM cartridges and is marked as such. The value behind it is obviously 47 kΩ, and according to the manufacturer’s specifications, the input capacitance has been set at 120 pF. For moving coil (MC) cartridges, the user can select one of five loading values: 50, 100, 200, 500 or 1000 Ω. 

The preamp offers 43dB of gain for MM cartridges and 56dB of gain for MC cartridges. 

Specifications

• Frequency response +0,15dB/-3dB 
• RIAA curve accuracy in band 20Hz-20kHz 
• MC gain: 56 dB
• MM gain: 43 dB
• Crosstalk: >86dB MM / >80dB MC <-73dB
• Inputs/Outputs: RCA single-ended  
• MM input impedance: 47kΩ
• MC input impedance: Switched: 50Ω, 100Ω, 200Ω, 500Ω, 1kΩ 
• Tubes: 2 x 6DJ8 (or ECC88, E88CC)
• Dimensions: 21cm W x 35cm D x 11cm H  
• Weight: 4kg
• Power consumption: <30VA

Pricing:

The Muarah MU-2 phonostage is a available for $2,150 via Octopus Tree Audio: https://www.octopustreeaudio.com/product-page/mu-2-phono-preamplifier

Testimonials:

“The Muarah MU-2 phonostage comes from Poland and has a shoebox aesthetic that is all of its own. It will accommodate moving magnet and most moving coil cartridges. Sonically speaking, the MU-2 is a pleasant and non-fatiguing stage to listen to but, in my opinion, it is best suited to acoustic music. There is detail and there is nuance to instruments and recordings and this is presented in a somewhat unique manner that you need to hear to find out if you love it or not. Personally, I actually really enjoyed my time with it.” – HiFi PIG

“The MU-2 is remarkably quiet, built like a tank, very easy to adjust, and an extremely competitive option to Moon, Pro-Ject, MoFi Electronics, iFi, McIntosh, and Rega. Jazz listeners will love the MU-2’s relaxed and colorful presentation, but only if the rest of their system is slightly forward sounding or very neutral. The Muarah MU-2’s relaxed style with a bolder sounding table and cartridge can be a very engaging long-term listen but system synergy has to be right.” – eCoustics

“The Muarah MU-2 has just made it to my list of such devices – reasonably priced, so potentially affordable for a large group of music lovers, and at the same time well-made and finished, with an appealing aesthetics and offering a much better performance than one expects judging by its price. And because it can be used with most MM and MC cartridges, it is a great choice for those who like natural, effortless, incredibly spacious sound no matter what pickup they choose.” – High Fidelity