Vinyl Guru's, recommend me a quality phono preamp

[jsaliga]

A $1,400 phono pre-amp moderately inexpensive? Why would you even suggest it for a $500 turntable??

--Jerome

[Yikes]

At some point the other components could always be upgraded.

[scott_d_m]

To be honest, I really don't know how far I'm gonna go with vinyl. All I'm looking at is a decent TT w/a good tone arm, good cart and phono stage.
Basically, for now, I just want a better than average vinyl setup.

So here's what I'm thinking,

A mint THORENS TD-166 Mk II w/Thorens tonearm(still top bidder on ebay)
Grado Red cart(will be buying new)
Cambridge Audio 540P phonostage (will also be buying new)
Total set-up should cost roughly $600 CAD (give or take $50)

I would like to thank everybody who suggested a quality phono. I researched them all, but settled with the 540p simply because it's inexpensive and the easiest for me to acquire, (plus I heard its pretty good for it's price). I would also like to point out that I'm still taking suggestions or tips on any of the equipment I mentioned above.

The next week or so should be quite fun.

[ZepFloyd]

i'm in the same boat....i am looking to get into vinyl...not looking to get into it really heavy...just a pretty decent setup...i am new to vinyl..as i am to young to know anything about it...what parts are all needed....the record player itself, cartridge, pre-amp...i am looking at getting the Technics-SL1200...based on recommendations from here and everywhere....but still need advice on what else i need and or should look at.

again..not looking for some really expensive setup..just one thats good enough.

any help is appreciated. thanks.

[Tiemen]

For my Thorens TD166, also with Grado cartridge, I used the
TC-750. Cheap and effective.
Now I have a pre-amp with phono entrance.

[scott_d_m]

Originally Posted by ZepFloyd

i'm in the same boat....i am looking to get into vinyl...not looking to get into it really heavy...just a pretty decent setup...i am new to vinyl..as i am to young to know anything about it...what parts are all needed....the record player itself, cartridge, pre-amp...i am looking at getting the Technics-SL1200...based on recommendations from here and everywhere....but still need advice on what else i need and or should look at.

again..not looking for some really expensive setup..just one thats good enough.

any help is appreciated. thanks.

I realize getting into something that is completely unfamiliar to you can be a daunting task to say the least. If you do your resaerch, you can find a ton of info, sometimes too much that it can be overkill. It wasn't easy coming up with the equipment that I did, but I feel after doing my homework, it should be a pretty decent setup. Who knows, maybe after a few years of vinyl spinning and collecting, the hobby will get the better of me and I'll end up spending alot more money that I ever anticipated.

[LFF]

For the money, the Hagerman Bugle is tough to beat. I don't own one but I have heard it and I think it can beat out phono amps in the 3k + range.

[proglife]

I've read of many positive experiences with the Cambridge 640p, but I haven't tried it myself. If I were buying a budget phono pre, that's definitely the one I'd try.

[gz76]

Okay, here's my 2¢... spend as much as you can! Seriously, if you get into vinyl, and go for a budget pre now, then you're just going to have to upgrade it later. This is true with most things, however the thing with vinyl is you have to invest in so many bits and pieces, that once you start, you're committed and unlikely to walk away from it (not that there's anything wrong with that!). I think if you invest in a better than average pre now, then you won't have to worry about it down the track when you're busy tweaking other aspects of your rig. You seem to have a decent setup at the moment, so why start at the bottom analog rung when you obviously have some appreciation of better quality gear.

I'm not sure if you're after a valve or solid state pre, but maybe try looking at something around the level of TTVJ's new valve phono if you're after something new (I should be getting my hands on one of these shortly and look forward to putting it through it's paces.), or sink your money into something secondhand... analog is a slow moving beast so there's lots of good options out there that aren't out of date.

[scott_d_m]

Originally Posted by gz76

Okay, here's my 2¢... spend as much as you can! Seriously, if you get into vinyl, and go for a budget pre now, then you're just going to have to upgrade it later. This is true with most things, however the thing with vinyl is you have to invest in so many bits and pieces, that once you start, you're committed and unlikely to walk away from it (not that there's anything wrong with that!). I think if you invest in a better than average pre now, then you won't have to worry about it down the track when you're busy tweaking other aspects of your rig. You seem to have a decent setup at the moment, so why start at the bottom analog rung when you obviously have some appreciation of better quality gear.

I'm not sure if you're after a valve or solid state pre, but maybe try looking at something around the level of TTVJ's new valve phono if you're after something new (I should be getting my hands on one of these shortly and look forward to putting it through it's paces.), or sink your money into something secondhand... analog is a slow moving beast so there's lots of good options out there that aren't out of date.

I think that is some very solid advice. Since I did not win the the Thorens td166 mkII on ebay, I have given this some more thought and decided that I will get into vinyl at a time when I can invest more money in a setup that I can be completely happy with and not have to upgrade in the future. So here's to happy hunting and saving at the same time.

Thankyou all for your advice, it has been greatly appreciated.