Allnic Audio H-5500 phono stage

REVIEW
Alan Sircom
Jan 06, 2022

Actually, the more you dig deeper into the Allnic H-5500’s performance, the more you realise that making even toppy 1980s recordings sound listenable is perhaps the best expression of what this phono stage does so well. It’s almost incapable of sounding bad, and I think you’d have to go really far (like playing K-Tel records on a broken record deck) to get a bad sound from this phono stage. This is the phono stage for That Guy… the one who is pathologically opposed to LP replay. Put almost anything on the turntable and play it through the H-5500 and their resolve will melt. And put something good on – like ‘Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me’ from This One’s For Blanton! [Duke Ellington and Ray Brown, Pablo] – and you could mint yourself a new vinyl enthusiast.

Allnic Audio H5500 rear

Yes, the Allnic H-5500 needs a good turntable and cartridge to bring out its best, but that ‘best’ echoes a lot of what many people would consider an ‘ideal’ in the way a good vinyl replay system is supposed to sound. This phono stage is a constant and consistently-enjoyable reminder of just why you got into vinyl in the first place. If you take LP seriously, you owe it to yourself to hear just what it is capable of, and the Allnic H-5500 can do just that.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Type: MM/MC valve phono stage
Inputs: Moving Coil (MC) x Two pairs unbalanced (RCA). Moving Magnet (MM) × Two pairs unbalanced (RCA). Ground
Outputs: One pair unbalanced (RCA)
Tubes: E180CC (x4), 7233, 5654
Frequency Range: 20Hz–20kHz ±0.3dB
Voltage gain settings (at 1kHz): +38dB (MM), +22, +26, +28, +32dB (MC)
Input Impedance: MC variable up to 280Ω; MM 47kΩ
Maximum Input Voltage: (MM, non-clipping): 20Hz/30mV, 100Hz/60mV, 1kHz/300mV, 10kHz/500mV
THD: Less than 0.3% (1kHz, Output 1V)
S/N Ratio: -68dB (CCIR, 1kHz)
Finish: Black, aluminium
Dimensions (W×H×D): 43 × 26 × 17cm
Weight: 8.2kg
Price: £3,750