When I was a little boy, the kitchen of my Jewish-Polish grandmother was filled with the overwhelming smell of cabbage rolls, kasha varnishkas, borscht, and kishke with gravy. Jenny Craig was never offered a seat at the table on Shabbat but she would have loved all of it.
For over 200 years, our family prospered in Radom, Częstochowa, Białystok, Będzin, and Lvov (when the city in Western Ukraine was part of Poland).
But then everything changed in Germany with the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis and the majority of my family perished in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen during the Holocaust. If not for the remarkable survivor skills of my Bubie and ZsaZsa, who survived both of those camps, my existence in this universe was unlikely.
Even with all of that dark history, my life has been filled with an intense connection to Poland and Eastern Europe. The collapse of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War opened the floodgates for a new generation to experience freedom for the first time and that made the renaissance of high-end audio in that part of Europe possible.
Having made multiple trips to Poland since 1995 (for both March of the Living and work), I’ve seen the rebirth of the country from underneath the heavy boot of Communism.
Poland has become the center of technological innovation in Eastern Europe and if one were to draw a series of lines from Warsaw outward to smaller centers in Hungary, Czechia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Croatia – one would discover some of the most innovative companies in high-end audio.
Companies like Meze Audio, Kuzma, Thrax Audio, Trafomatic, Fezz Audio, Ferrum Audio, EarMen, and Muarah Audio have exceeded every possible expectation.
Because of the enormous success of the Warsaw Audio Video Show, Polish brands are getting noticed by North American distributors and that’s a very good thing because many of the products are more compelling than what is being engineered on this side of the pond.
Muarah Audio is based in Warsaw, 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.
North American distribution is handled by Octopus Tree Audio.
Build
The MU-2 is a solid piece of metal that reminded me during the unboxing of the EAR 834P; both have a similar shoebox look, utilize inexpensive 6DJ8 (or ECC88, E88CC) tubes, and share a rather organic presentation.
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.
The light show doesn’t call too much attention to itself, but the rear panel is where all of the action resides; there is one set of RCA inputs and a single set of RCA outputs. Both sets are recessed which actually makes it easier to connect cables if you are slightly tight for space.
Unlike the vast majority of recent phono pre-amplifiers that require a DIP stick tool and magnifying glass to read and change any of the settings for gain and impedance, the Muarah MU-2 has a selector dial that is easy to read and switch – even on the fly for those using MC cartridges. A single grounding post is positioned beneath the input/output jacks.
The preamp offers 43dB of gain for MM cartridges and 56dB of gain for MC cartridges.
Listening
Having been burned by a moving company before, there was not a chance in the world that I was trusting my Blue Note Tone Poet collection to anyone and all of them accompanied me in the Toyota for the 2-day drive to the land of crashing real estate prices, Stanley Cup Champions, and outrageous HOA fees.
Mental health issues aside — I’m not that insane.
But before I sealed up the 3 boxes of records, I did spend some time listening to Lee Morgan, Donald Byrd, Jackie McLean, and Grant Green to have a better understanding of the Muarah’s tonal balance and overall presentation.
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; there was a softness in the treble range with all of my available cartridges with the exception of the Goldring E4 and Ortofon 2M Black that could only be fixed by substituting the Magnepan LRS or Q Acoustics 5040 loudspeakers.
The MU-2 doesn’t trade transparency for the sake of layers of texture, but horns lost some of their edge and that was consistently the case with every recording.
If you use an incisive sounding cartridge and the rest of your system leans that way – the Muarah MU-2 is a superb option.
Male and female vocals are rich, textured, and palpable but don’t expect the MU-2 to thrust them into your lap; the overall presentation is far more relaxed sounding compared to something like the MOON 110 LP v2 or McIntosh MP100.
Switching over to the Magnepan LRS revealed that the MU-2 might deliver a relaxed presentation, but it is also extremely good in the pacing department and had no trouble keeping up when I listened to Metallica, the Cure, Green Day, or Kraftwerk. Bass notes had relatively strong impact but the definition could have been tighter.
Electronic music had more texture than usual and while some might prefer a more incisive sounding low end and treble range, the Orb, Boards of Canada, and Nils Frahm filled the space with pulsating energy that was most captivating.
Ethereal sounding loudspeakers like the Magenpan LRS benefitted a great deal from the MU-2’s tonal balance and presentation that pulled back on the reigns somewhat.
The Rest of Meal?
The focus on texture, midrange resolution and a more relaxed presentation forces one to really think about the choice of phono cartridge and overall system balance to make this a smart long-term addition; and it’s definitely something that will be just that for those who are willing to think outside the box.
Very few people spending over $2,000 on a phono pre-amplifier are going with an entry-level deck so almost everything below $1,000 really would not make a lot of sense.
Before I packed up the Muarah MU-2 and sent it along to another reviewer (which was perfect timing as I was in the process of putting many of my own things into storage before my move down to Florida and also in preparation for the cabin in August), it became apparent that I would have to think about my experience with dozens of turntables and cartridges over the past 5 years to get this one correct.
Turntables like the Rega Planar 6, which now ship with the new Nd7 moving magnet cartridge, might be a good option.
The Nd7 is a rather bold sounding cartridge with the right amount of treble energy to work well with the MU-2.
Another option that would make a lot of sense would be the Goldring Eroica HX; and it’s the type of cartridge that can work on a wide range of tonearms and tables that are strong in the impact and detail department.
Slow, thick sounding decks need not apply in this scenario.
At $899 USD, the Goldring Eroica HX faces some stiff competition from the Ortofon 2M Black, Hana SL MKII, and Dynavector 10×5 MKII cartridges — but it might be the best option of the 4 with this phono pre-amplifier.
The 2.5mV output matches the Dynavector but that’s where the similarities end; the 10×5 is warmer and rounded off at both extremes whilst the Eroica HX is energetic and transparent from top to bottom.
Clarity?
I hate the “like looking through an open window” example because it’s totally untrue — but the Eroica HX does come close.
The Goldring Eroica HX is a fuss-free, detailed, and transparent sounding MC cartridge that requires rather careful system matching to deliver satisfying long-term results.
Installation is not overly complicated and it proved to be a very strong and reliable tracker with even really dirty records.
Depending on your budget, something like the Technics SL-1200GR2 could be a superb match with the Eroica HX and the MU-2.
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
The Bottom Line
The Muarah MU-2 Phono Pre-amplifier exists in a rather crowded segment with dozens of models between $650 and $2,500 USD that all pretty much do the same thing; with the biggest point of differentiation being how each one elevates the sonic performance of the cartridge on the other end.
Some like the MOON 110 LP v2 offer almost a perfect balance between neutrality and cartridge loading options, while others from Pro-Ject, MoFi Electronics, iFi, McIntosh, and Rega come close to being endgame options that are better than anything one will find inside a high-end integrated or network amplifier below $5,000.
The MU-2 is remarkably quiet, built like a tank, very easy to adjust, and an extremely competitive option to all of the aforementioned brands.
The real question for me is the relaxed presentation and slightly soft top end that will react rather differently with every cartridge that is likely to be considered.
Balance is key with this pre-amplifier. A warmer sounding cartridge (Grado, Hana EL…as two examples) that is not very incisive will come across as somewhat polite and unless the rest of the system is overly neutral sounding — the combination will not work.
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.
It’s a great meal once you get all of the ingredients correct.
Pros:
- Solid build quality
- Very quiet with MM and MC cartridges
- Punchy and warm tonal balance
- Solid imaging
- Relaxed presentation
- Easy to make cartridge loading changes
Cons:
- MC gain limited to 56 dB
- Relaxed presentation requires careful system choices
- Top end can be slightly soft
Where to buy:
Related Reading:
- Best Phono Preamplifiers: Editors’ Choice
- Chord Huei Phono Preamp: Review
- Yamaha A-S3200 Integrated Amplifier Review
