Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
J.A. Michell Engineering Ltd. is one of the longest-established family-owned audio firms in the UK. Their GyroDec turntable, which I have used as my reference for 26 years, is a bona-fide cult classic and one of the very few bargains in high-end audio. You can buy one new with a standard tonearm and cartridge for under £5000. Even in its most basic form, it’s a serious vinyl spinner, but the real benefit of the GyroDec is its ability to take advantage of more potent ancillaries. Mine is fitted with an SME Series IV tonearm and a Lyra Kleos SL cartridge. The current price of my rig is north of £12,000, but it has outclassed some exotic turntables costing up to £25,000.
Thanks to Michell’s service and repair department and the fundamental excellence of the GyroDec design, I have been able to update my 1999 model as the GyroDec has evolved through the decades. All the evolutions and upgrades—such as the revised springs, maglev isolation feet, redesigned drive belts, and the Orbe record clamp and center-spindle upgrade—have been incorporated in my GyroDec, apart from the replacement of the original AC power supply with the later DC system.
A couple of decades ago, Michell also offered a comprehensive line of electronics, developed in conjunction with Tom Evans and Graham Fowler of Trichord Research. These included phono stages, such as the Michell Iso and Delphini; preamplifiers, like the Orca; and power amplifiers such as the Alecto stereo and Alecto monoblock, which still have a cult following to this day.
Design and engineering
When founder John Michell fell ill, the firm dropped its electronics line, save for the power supplies needed to drive its turntables. The relationship with Trichord Research continued even after Evans left to set up his own enterprise, so Michell continued using and recommending Fowlers’s Trichord designs, including the Dino Mk 3 and Never Connected power supply, which has been my reference phono stage for many years.
The last phono stage developed by Fowler before his retirement was the Neo, with its CM‑PSU power supply. It was unveiled in 2024, but only a handful of units were ever built. When Michell Engineering decided to develop a new phono stage, the firm brought Fowler on board as a technical consultant, and used the ultra-rare Neo as the basis for the new design.
The Michell Engineering Apollo phono preamplifier and Muse power supply (US$4999, CA$5600, £3500) is not just a Trichord Neo in a pretty aluminum clamshell case. Michell decided to upgrade several key electronic components, and worked with the Chord Company to develop a DC power-supply link cable using Chord’s ChorAlloy-plated XLR connectors and silver-plated conductors. This cable is fully shielded to prevent noise ingress into the power feed to the Apollo—a wise move when dealing with the ultra-low-level signals from MC and MM cartridges.
The Apollo and Muse units employ casework milled from solid billets of aluminum. The casework acts as a Faraday cage to provide screening for the electronics, and eschews the use of gaskets to enhance this effect.
The Apollo unit provides a good range of settings for input impedance and gain via dip switches on the underside. Impedance can be set to 33, 100, 430, or 1k ohms for MC, and 47k ohms for MM cartridges. Gain can be set to 40, 50, 60, 68, or 73dB, providing enough flexibility for almost any cartridge—even very-low-output ones like my Lyra Kleos SL. The older Trichord stages offered fewer loading options.
The dip switches are hidden under a removable aluminum panel to ensure that the integrity of the Faraday cage is maintained. I’m not a fan of dip switches, partly because I have hands like a baboon, and partly because they’re prone to user error. I prefer a nice rotary controller on the front panel—or even better, a remote control, which my PS Audio Stellar has. Helpfully, the legends for dip-switch settings are silkscreened onto the bottom of the Apollo’s case, rather than being buried in a user manual, as they are for my Dino.
The preamplifier circuit is derived from the class‑A designs used in professional microphone amplifiers. Signal rectification is achieved via a finely tuned passive RIAA circuit, and the gain stages operate entirely in class A. Components such as capacitors are matched by hand to maintain precise tolerances for elements like channel balance.
Power-on is denoted by a subtle white LED on the Apollo’s front panel, and the top of each unit is embellished by a gold-plated ingot inset bearing the Michell name. The rear panel of the Apollo has gold-plated RCA connectors for input and output, a nicely machined grounding point, and a DIN-style socket for the power cord. There is no provision for balanced operation via XLR.
The Muse PSU uses a high-quality encapsulated toroidal transformer and low-noise regulators to generate a stable and linear DC power supply. The front panel is devoid of anything bar another subtle white LED, while to the rear are the IEC mains socket, on/off switch, and power output socket.
Michell specifies RIAA accuracy of ±0.1dB between 20Hz and 20kHz, and power consumption of just 5W. Even in this era of elevated electricity prices, you should have no fear of leaving the unit permanently powered on for optimum sonic reward.
Both cases are very small, each measuring just 4.5″W × 2.4″H × 11″D; but with a combined weight of 6.6 pounds, they feel surprisingly heavy and substantial. They sit on rubber feet for better isolation from vibration.
At £3500, the Apollo is nowhere near the most expensive phono stage out there, but that’s still a lot of money—around double the price of the Trichord Dino I currently use. I wanted to find out how good the Apollo is, and if the price premium over a top-spec, late-variant Dino is justified.
Listening tests
I was fortunate in having my Dino on hand as a basis for comparison. In addition, the stunning SME Model 35 turntable came in for review at the same time as the Apollo, so I was spoiled for fine turntables and exotic phono stages.
I slotted the Apollo and Muse into my existing system of Naim NAC 82 / HiCap / NAP 250 amplification driving ATC SCM40 loudspeakers. I opened proceedings with my GyroDec to establish the impact of the Apollo relative to my reference stage, whose sound I am intimately familiar with. First up on the platter was my original-edition pressing of Michael Jackson’s Bad (Epic Records 450290‑1), which is an impressive Quincy Jones production. Right from the opening title track, I was on the edge of my seat due to the extraordinary dynamics. The drums and percussion were leaping out of the speakers with so much impact and slam that I feared for my ATC drivers. Bass, too, was significantly more extended than I am accustomed to hearing from my usual stage. It felt like there was a whole extra bottom octave present, which was palpable and really moved air.
I switched to “History of Man,” from Maisie Peters’s second album, The Good Witch (Asylum Records 5054197464454). Peters’s breathy vocal style was beautifully rendered, with all her vocal inflections and mannerisms clearly revealed in front of a pleasant background wash of keyboards. Like many modern recordings, this one is dynamically compressed. How I wish Peters would tell her next producer to leave off the compression, because her songwriting and talent deserve so much better. When the percussion enters, the deep bass drum had real resonance and gravitas through the Michell combination. It’s still a muddy production, but this was about the best I have ever heard it sound.
On “Lost the Breakup,” we find Peters reflecting on a past relationship and in better spirits. This bouncy little pop song had tremendous drive via the Apollo, which made it utterly infectious as the lyrics poured out.
“Atmosphere,” from Joy Division’s Substance (Factory Records Fact250R), is among the most evocative slices of early-1980s melodrama you’ll find anywhere. Stephen Morris’s drums ricocheted across the broad and expansive soundstage with tremendous menace, but what struck me was how the Michell Apollo revealed the nuances of the sticks hitting skins. The sound was so transparent and visceral that it almost felt as if the drums were in my room. Peter Hook’s bass guitar was rich and moody, with each note very clearly delineated against the chord progressions of Bernard Sumner’s synths. When Ian Curtis makes his entrance with that oh-so-distinctive vocal style, his voice was locked center-stage in a gloriously ambient sound field. This is shivers-up-the-spine stuff, and the Michell Apollo left no stone unturned in conveying the dark emotion of this extraordinary record. It’s a record that manages to be beautiful and tragic at the same time, particularly when one realizes that within months, Curtis, then only 23 years old, would be dead by his own hand. Hearing it at this level of fidelity made his loss seem even more tragic to me, and the opening line, “Walk in silence,” sound even more melancholy.
After the brooding menace of Joy Division, I elected to lighten the mood with the Cure’s remarkable two-LP Greatest Hits compilation (Fiction Records 571‑543‑4). Again, the dynamic range, warmth, and bass power surprised me. My Trichord Dino sounded lightweight in comparison. On “A Forest,” Simon Gallup’s bass guitar was deliciously fulsome, melodic, and fruity. In some ways, the Apollo made the GyroDec sound more like one of the higher-end SME turntables, which have dramatic dynamics and serious bass extension and power. Almost as striking was the extra detail. Nuances of guitar and synthesizer fills buried deep in the mix were made all the more obvious, so that the sound seemed a whole generation closer to the master tape.
This recording can sound harsh and shrill on lesser equipment, but that was not the case here. It’s not that the Apollo was masking anything; merely that it remained absolutely in control, even on the most demanding mixes. The Michell stage simply presented music with all its warmth, depth, and timbre intact. Some hi-fi systems are so unforgiving of poor pressings and recordings that they start to limit the music you play. There was no need for me to do that with the Michell Apollo—it lapped up every single record I tried, and delivered it with a wonderfully balanced and enjoyable sound.
On “The Lovecats,” the opening rhythms revealed the Apollo’s impressive transient response. This is a song that really swings on a good system, and it was hard not to Dad-dance my way around the room! Robert Smith’s vocals were completely lifelike and natural, while the vibraphone and piano were rendered with great scale and presence.
Before I returned the Apollo, I couldn’t resist trying it with SME’s sublime Model 35 turntable and Series Vi tonearm. The Cure’s “In Between Days” sounded even more energetic and dynamic. The legendary pitch-black background that is a feature of SME turntables gave the impression that the notes were being projected at lightning speed out of inky blackness. The brass interjections on “Close to Me,” for example, were fabulously rendered. This is a £36,000 turntable, and my review sample came equipped with a Shelter Harmony cartridge which retails for £4000—in total, more than ten times the price of the Apollo-Muse combo. At no point did I feel that this phono stage was outclassed in such exalted company.
In search of a naturally recorded acoustic track, I turned to “You Look Good to Me,” from the excellent Acoustic Sounds reissue of the Oscar Peterson Trio’s We Get Requests (Verve / Acoustic Sounds AVER 79701). The timbre and beautiful nuanced touch of Peterson’s piano playing was amply conveyed, with superb rendition of microdynamics. Meanwhile, Ray Brown’s double bass underpinned the track’s scale and tonal color. Imaging was first-rate in both width and stage depth. It was such a realistic rendition of these masters of their craft that I nearly clicked my fingers and ordered a double bourbon on ice as I listened.
Conclusion
At the outset of this review, I half-expected the Apollo to be a marginal improvement on the Trichord Dino, even though it’s rather more expensive. In fact, it’s extraordinary what Michell Engineering and Graham Fowler have achieved with the Apollo and Muse combination. If you value soaring, lifelike dynamics, tremendous speed, and metronomic timing that propels the music along with a breathtaking sense of urgency and passion, this is the phono stage for you. I certainly haven’t listened to all the world’s finest phono stages, but very few I have heard at any price have made music seem so exciting and involving.
Could the Apollo be improved? I’m not convinced it could be much better sonically, but in a perfect world I would love there to be two inputs. This would enable easy A/B comparisons, which would be nice for turntable reviewers. I’m no fan of dip switches and would prefer a simple rotary controller on the front panel. But this is really nit-picking. Most users are only ever going to want to run a single turntable, and don’t have to adjust loading as often as a reviewer does.
I imagine many people think that phono stages are about tweaking at the margins, making subtle adjustments to tonal balance or other such trivialities. The Michell Apollo and Muse destroy that notion within a few bars of any record. This is the reference phono stage I plan to buy when I have scraped together enough moolah from my writing sideline to fund it.
. . . Jonathan Gorse
jonathan@soundstage.com
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
Associated Equipment
- Turntables: Michell GyroDec turntable with SME Series IV tonearm and Lyra Kleos SL cartridge, SME Model 35 turntable and Series Vi tonearm with Shelter Harmony cartridge
- Phono preamplifiers: Trichord Research Dino Mk 3 with Never Connected Dino+ power supply, PS Audio Stellar
- Streaming DAC: Naim Audio NDX 2
- CD player: Naim Audio CDI
- Preamplifier: Naim Audio NAC 82
- Power amplifier: Naim Audio NAP 250
- Power supply: Naim Audio HiCap
- Loudspeakers: ATC SCM40
- Headphones: Sennheiser HD 800S, Beyerdynamic DT 880 Professional, AKG K701 Studio Reference
- Headphone amplifier: Beyerdynamic A20
- Equipment supports: Ash Designs Cosmic 5 and Cosmic 7 stands, both suspended on Townshend Audio Seismic Isolation Bars with load cells calibrated for individual rack weight; CD player and turntables mounted on Townshend Audio Seismic Platforms; speakers mounted on Townshend Audio Seismic Podiums
- Power: Dedicated 100A mains spur feeding two Grahams medical-grade, six-gang power blocks. Naim Hydra, Naim Power-Line Lites
- Cabling: Chord Company Sarum T loudspeaker cables, Naim NAC A5 loudspeaker cables, Naim interconnects on most Naim amplification; Chord Co. Sarum T Super ARAY XLR, Chord Co. SignatureX Tuned ARAY DIN-RCA, Chord Co. SignatureX RCA-XLR, Chord Co. EpicX ARAY RCA; Chord Co. EpicX ARAY interconnects for phono stages, Vertere Redline RCA-XLR between HiCap and NAP 250, QED interconnects for secondary sources
- Setup tools: AVID high-precision level with 45-rpm adapter, Suaoki laser level, Rega Atlas digital stylus-force gauge, SME strobe disc, Ogeto laser measure
Michell Apollo phono preamplifier and Muse power supply
Price: US$4999, CA$5600, £3500
Warranty: Three years, parts and labor; five years with registration
J. A. Michell Engineering Ltd.
Unit B, Gateway 1000
Arlington Business Park
Whittle Way
Stevenage SG1 2FP
United Kingdom
Email: info@michellaudio.com
Website: www.michellaudio.com
