Sansui77 Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 Recommended phono preamps under 1K new or used? What are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 MM or MC? Tube or ss? Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sansui77 Posted April 18, 2021 Author Share Posted April 18, 2021 3 minutes ago, andyr said: MM or MC? Tube or ss? Andy MM but can be both. Either tube or SS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stereodave Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 MM diy ESP P06 phono stage. MC Aspen Paris Head Amp. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevoz Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 (edited) Vincent Pho-8 is a bargain but I think there are newer Vincent models out now. Bang for buck winners. Edited April 19, 2021 by stevoz 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 17 hours ago, Sansui77 said: Recommended phono preamps under 1K new or used? What are you using? In case you found this post confusing: 16 hours ago, stereodave said: MM diy ESP P06 phono stage. MC Aspen Paris Head Amp. ... his suggestion is: to buy an MM phono stage if you currently have an MM cart - the ESP 'P06' would be an excellent choice, if you are into DIY and then buy a head amp if you later swap over to a LOMC. Andy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiofeline Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 And if you do DIY Rod Elliot's ESP P06 it will cost a lot less than your $1K budget, and from what @catman says will compete nicely against many phono stages at the higher pricepoint. In this hobby there are benefits from learning how to use a soldering iron. And you can always ask advice here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 9 minutes ago, audiofeline said: And if you do DIY Rod Elliot's ESP P06 it will cost a lot less than your $1K budget, and from what @catman says will compete nicely against many phono stages at the higher pricepoint. In this hobby there are benefits from learning how to use a soldering iron. And you can always ask advice here. And I know I bang on about it often, but the cheap Jaycar/Digitech phono preamp is a dual opamp circuit just like Rod's and for $60, you can't build it yourself that cheap. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheekyboy Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 19 hours ago, Sansui77 said: MM but can be both. Either tube or SS. GSP Audio [Graham Slee Hi Fi Systems Components] have several phono preamps under $1k and there is also the Loaner Program you can take advantage of too. Cheers, ' Keith 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anandpkumar Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 You can also check out the parks audio puffin - I got one recently and can highly recommend it. http://parksaudiollc.com/ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gat474 Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 Plus one vote for the Graham Slee units. Had a couple myself, moved one or two on and then always come back to the Slee units. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBurns84 Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 18 minutes ago, anandpkumar said: You can also check out the parks audio puffin - I got one recently and can highly recommend it. http://parksaudiollc.com/ Second on the Puffin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops110 Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 The Creek OBH 15 mk2 is a pretty nice little unit. MM and MC with a decent amount of gain and loading options. Will be moving mine on in a little bit when the power supply for my new phono arrives if you’re interested? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell Ringer Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 A few plugs for the Puffin here. I have one and it's great for versatility etc. but I really think the iFi Phono is a better sounding unit. Not as convenient as the Puffin but to my memory (possibly incorrect) I preferred the iFi's sound. I haven't heard the Version 2 but I really enjoyed the first version and they are in your price range. https://ifi-audio.com/products/micro-iphono2/ Having said that, I'd take up @cheekyboy and trial the Slee. Nothing to lose and plenty to gain (boom tish!). The good thing about this price point is that you can buy second hand try and move on to something different without taking a big hit in the wallet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sansui77 Posted April 19, 2021 Author Share Posted April 19, 2021 (edited) Thanks for all your replys. Really appreciate them. Why I'm thinking of adding an external phono stage is because my Sansui NRA 907 plus the other amps I own have a really nice phono stages built into them BUT the output gain is much lower than say the digital side of the system. I understand this is normal but running the phono volume at 1 o'clock to get some good listening volumes similar to 10 o'clock using the digital side of the system is enoying. Both carts output 4mV (AT540ML) & 4.5 mV (AT440MLB). I've been thinking of going the DIY route and was looking at Pass Labs Pearl II. Your recommendations? Edited April 19, 2021 by Sansui77 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 5 minutes ago, Sansui77 said: Thanks for all your replys. Really appreciate them. Why I'm thinking of adding an external phono stage is because my Sansui NRA 907 plus the other amps I own have a really nice phono stages built into them BUT the output gain is much lower than say the digital side of the system. I understand this is normal but running the phono volume at 1 o'clock to get some good listening volumes similar to 10 o'clock using the digital side of the system is enoying. Both carts output 4mV (AT540ML) & 4.5 mV (AT440MLB). I've been thinking of going the DIY route and was looking at Pass Labs Pearl II. Your recommendations? A phono preamp with variable gain is handy in these situations. (another advantage of the cheap Jaycar one) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Sansui77 said: Thanks for all your replies. Really appreciate them. Why I'm thinking of adding an external phono stage is because my Sansui NRA 907 plus the other amps I own have a really nice phono stages built into them BUT the output gain is much lower than say the digital side of the system. I understand this is normal but running the phono volume at 1 o'clock to get some good listening volumes similar to 10 o'clock using the digital side of the system is annoying. Both carts output 4mV (AT540ML) & 4.5 mV (AT440MLB). What this suggests is that the MM phono stages in your Sansui NRA 907 and the other integrated amps you own, have the standard MM 40dB gain. So what you need, to be more equal to the output of your digital side, is an MM phono stage with 43-46dB gain. Quote I've been thinking of going the DIY route and was looking at Pass Labs Pearl II. Your recommendations? Pass 'Pearl' - an excellent phono stage. Whether it would sound better than Rod Elliott's P06 is something you would need to find out ... by building both! And whether either of them delivers >40dB gain ... is perhaps unknown? Andy Edited April 19, 2021 by andyr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sansui77 Posted April 19, 2021 Author Share Posted April 19, 2021 (edited) 13 minutes ago, andyr said: What this suggests is that the MM phono stages in your Sansui NRA 907 and the other integrated amps you own, have the standard MM 40dB gain. So what you need, to be more equal to the output of your digital side, is an MM phono stage with 43-46dB gain. Pass 'Pearl' - an excellent phono stage. Whether it would sound better than Rod Elliott's P06 is something you would need to find out ... by building both! And whether either of them delivers >40dB gain ... is perhaps unknown? Andy I might have to do some research on those phono stages. Building them no problem with my background. Most of my integraded amps can be feed line or balance direct bypassing the pre running just the power amp section. Edited April 19, 2021 by Sansui77 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 1 minute ago, Sansui77 said: I might have to do some research on those phono stages. Building them no problem with my background. Most of my integrated amps can be feed line or balance direct bypassing the pre running just the power amp section. Nono ... a phono stage needs to feed into a preamp - or the preamp section of an integrated amp - not straight into a power amp! Without a preamp: you won't get enough signal level to feed the power amp, and you won't have volume control. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sansui77 Posted April 19, 2021 Author Share Posted April 19, 2021 (edited) 51 minutes ago, andyr said: Nono ... a phono stage needs to feed into a preamp - or the preamp section of an integrated amp - not straight into a power amp! Without a preamp: you won't get enough signal level to feed the power amp, and you won't have volume control. Andy Sorry, it's getting late. Yes, phono stages require a preamp but I'm pretty sure that the line direct feature on my amps can still be controlled by the 4 or 6 gang volume potentiometer so a phono stage without volume would be ok to use. Either way AUX or Line direct would work. Edited April 19, 2021 by Sansui77 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sansui77 Posted April 19, 2021 Author Share Posted April 19, 2021 (edited) Edited April 19, 2021 by Sansui77 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batty Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 The Akitika DIY MM stage https://www.akitika.com/PhonoPreamp.html is very good too seeing as you have no problem with DIY, also I have heard good things about the Muffsy gear https://www.muffsy.com/. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illusion Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 I'm they the type of guy that chops and changes audio equipment at a whim. But I been using the Lehmann Audio Black Cube SE for nearly 10 years now. Great value. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian McP Posted April 20, 2021 Share Posted April 20, 2021 https://www.passdiy.com/gallery/preamplifiers/pearl-2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batty Posted April 20, 2021 Share Posted April 20, 2021 (edited) The pearl bare pcbs are $200 US which I think is a lot. I think you get 12 matched JFETs as well which is a sweetener. Edited April 20, 2021 by Batty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts