Audiolab's PPA7 Phono Stage Lands at About $670, With a Headphone Amp, Bluetooth Out and 24/192 USB Recording

Audiolab has given its first standalone phono stage in almost two decades a price and a date. On 16 October 2026 the British brand confirmed that the PPA7 carries a UK RRP of £499 — about $670 at current reference rates — and goes on sale from late October 2026 in black or silver finishes.

The PPA7 is not a new face. It was shown earlier in 2026 at HIGH END in Vienna, where an early preview listed a €599 price (also roughly $670) and pointed to September 2026 availability. That date has slipped by a month or so, and the formal launch now attaches a sterling figure to the product.

What makes the announcement worth more than a line in a price list is how much Audiolab has stacked into a box that does, at root, one old-fashioned job. A phono stage amplifies and equalises the tiny signal from a cartridge. The PPA7 does that for both moving-magnet and moving-coil pickups, and then adds a headphone amplifier, a volume control, a Bluetooth transmitter and a USB-C output for recording records to a computer.

Two inputs, two cartridge types

Rather than a single input with a switch, the PPA7 provides separate RCA inputs for MM and MC cartridges, reportedly on separate boards — a detail noted in a German show report and repeated by UK outlets. The moving-magnet side presents the standard 47 kΩ input impedance with selectable capacitance of 100 pF or 220 pF, and offers maximum gain of 52 dB. The moving-coil side switches between 100 Ω and 330 Ω loading, with maximum gain of 66 dB.

On top of those figures, gain is adjustable by ±6 dB in 1 dB steps, which is a finer degree of control than most phono stages at any price give you. That matters when you are matching output levels between two cartridges, or trying to hit a sensible recording level for digitising.

Outputs: fixed, variable, or straight to a power amp

The RCA outputs can be switched between fixed and variable. In variable mode the PPA7's built-in volume control is engaged, which means the unit can drive a power amplifier or a pair of active speakers directly — no preamp in the chain at all. For anyone building a vinyl-only system, that collapses two boxes into one. There is also 12V trigger in and out for integration with other components.

Power comes in on a 12V DC input and is internally regulated to ±8.5V for the analogue circuitry, according to Hifi Pig.

A 600mW headphone output on the front

A 6.35mm headphone socket sits on the front panel, rated at up to 600 mW and specified for headphones from 20 to 600 ohms. Essential Install describes it as a current-feedback design. The practical upshot is a turntable and a pair of headphones becoming a complete two-box system, with the PPA7 doing the amplification at both ends.

Bluetooth out, not in

The Bluetooth implementation here is worth being precise about, because it runs the opposite way to most hi-fi components. The PPA7 is a Bluetooth 5.3 transmitter with aptX HD support: an internal analogue-to-digital converter digitises the signal coming off the record so that it can be sent out to wireless headphones or speakers. It is not a receiver, and it will not stream music into your system from a phone. Records go out; nothing comes in.

Digitising records over USB-C

The same logic underpins the USB-C port, which is an output to a PC or Mac for recording vinyl. Resolution runs to 16 or 24 bit at sample rates from 44.1 kHz up to 192 kHz, and the record level is adjustable from -12 dB to +3 dB so you can set headroom before a transfer rather than discovering clipping afterwards. A separate USB-A port is reserved for firmware updates only — it is not a second recording output.

Taken together with the gain trim, that gives the PPA7 a fairly complete archiving toolkit in a single chassis: load the cartridge correctly, set gain, set record level, capture at up to 24/192.

Desktop-sized aluminium

The casework is aluminium and measures 208 x 56 x 180 mm, which Hifi Pig notes is the same desktop format Audiolab uses for its D7 DAC — so the two will stack or sit side by side. A 33mm OLED display and two multifunction rotary controls handle the settings, and a remote is supplied.

What Hi-Fi? framed the launch around exactly those three additions — headphone amp, Bluetooth and USB recording — and that is the fair summary of what separates the PPA7 from a conventional phono box. AVForums also covered the unveiling.

What is still unknown

No US price has been published in any of the launch coverage, and no US availability date has been given either, so the dollar figures here are conversions from the UK and European prices rather than anything official. Audiolab has not disclosed the ADC or DAC chips used, and the unit's weight has not been stated.

For a brand that has spent recent years building out its compact 7-series desktop range, the PPA7 reads as the vinyl-shaped hole in that lineup being filled — and filled with rather more features than a phono stage traditionally carries.

Dollar figures are converted at the ECB reference rate for 16 October 2026 and are approximate.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the Audiolab PPA7 cost and when is it available?

Audiolab announced the PPA7 on 16 October 2026 at a UK price of about $670 converted from its £499 RRP, with sales starting from late October 2026 in black or silver. A European preview earlier in 2026 listed roughly the same figure. No official US price or US availability date has been published.

What cartridges does the Audiolab PPA7 support?

The Audiolab PPA7 has separate RCA inputs for moving-magnet and moving-coil cartridges. The MM input offers 47 kOhm impedance with selectable 100 pF or 220 pF capacitance and maximum gain of 52 dB. The MC input offers selectable 100 Ohm or 330 Ohm loading and maximum gain of 66 dB, with gain adjustable plus or minus 6 dB in 1 dB steps.

Can the Audiolab PPA7 record vinyl to a computer?

Yes. The Audiolab PPA7 has a USB-C output that connects to a PC or Mac for digitising records at 16 or 24 bit and sample rates from 44.1 kHz to 192 kHz. Record level is adjustable from -12 dB to +3 dB. A separate USB-A port on the unit is reserved for firmware updates only.

Does the Audiolab PPA7's Bluetooth let you stream music to it?

No. The Audiolab PPA7 uses Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX HD as a transmitter only. An internal analogue-to-digital converter digitises the signal from the record so it can be sent out to wireless headphones or speakers. The PPA7 cannot receive Bluetooth audio from a phone or other source.

Can the Audiolab PPA7 drive a power amplifier without a preamp?

The Audiolab PPA7's RCA outputs switch between fixed and variable. In variable mode a built-in volume control is engaged, allowing the PPA7 to feed a power amplifier or powered speakers directly. The unit also includes 12V trigger in and out, and a front-panel 6.35mm headphone output rated up to 600 mW for 20 to 600 ohm headphones.

This article was written by an AI system from Into The HiFi AI Desk, generated from the following sources, with no human editing pass before publication: Hifi Pig — Audiolab PPA7 Phonostage, Essential Install — New PPA7 is Audiolab's first standalone phono stage in almost 20 years, AVForums news index, What Hi-Fi? — Audiolab's new phono stage, hifi.fan — Audiolab PPA7 preview.