Vinyl Guru's, recommend me a quality phono preamp

[proglife]

don't not buy a vinyl rig because you don't want to spend big bucks on a phono stage. you'll be MORE than happy with a parasound/nad/cambridge unit for 150 bucks or so

[scott_d_m]

Originally Posted by proglife

don't not buy a vinyl rig because you don't want to spend big bucks on a phono stage. you'll be MORE than happy with a parasound/nad/cambridge unit for 150 bucks or so

I'm still going to get into vinyl, I'm just going to wait until I can afford to spend a bit more money on quality equipment and resisting the temptations of upgradis.

[jsaliga]

Perhaps you shouldn't buy a turntable at all. If you are going to let forum members talk you out of it then you probably just aren't ready, and having more money to invest in it later isn't likely to make you any more ready than you are now. Someone will just come along later and tell you that your budget will leave you with a poor sounding setup. Easy for them to say when they're spending your money for you. There will always be people who have very deep pockets and will no doubt judge your choices by their lofty standards.

You may fear that affordable gear has to sound bad, but it just isn't true. I'm using a $73 phono preamp that I tried on whim, that replaced one that costs $750, with a $2,700 turntable and it sounds incredible. If someone else thinks that an inexpensive phono preamp is crap...let them. That little preamp makes me wonder whether or not I needed such an expensive turntable. Probably not is what I'm thinking.

The guy you should be seeking advice from is memepool. He's a fountain of knowledge where analog setups are concerned and can most likely point you in the direction of a budget setup that can give you excellent sound for the money.

You're going to need some vinyl to feed your turntable and if you save up you might just be able to buy that expensive rig, and then in another three or four months perhaps you might be able to afford a few records to play on it. Or you can wade into it with a good budget rig and leave yourself with some cash to go buy records to enjoy on it.

--Jerome

[Yikes]

He asked for advice, people gave it. He can make up his own mind without your belittling him into doing what you believe he should do now. It all comes down to whether he wants new toys now or later. Will a more expensive rig sound better? If properly assembled, sure. Can an inexpensive system sound good? Sure, if properly assembled.

If the budget is tight I'd suggest buying used for all but the cartridge. If you are patient suitable tables come up on ebay or audiogon all the time. Buying used you avoid the New to used depreciation.

I'm personally not the biggest Thorens fan. Back in the 80's I sold them and the Ariston tables absolutely trounced the Thorens tables up to 2x the price. I always found the Thorens Tonearm were kind of overly flexible. It kind of limited the overall performance of the tables. Some people still like them though. The Aristons unfortunately are not a good option, there's no parts available.

jsaliga is correct in that you'll need some software to play.

Have fun

[gz76]

Originally Posted by Yikes

jsaliga is correct in that you'll need some software to play.

Yep, you could actually start to build a small collection now, that way you'll have something to play when you do get one. Anyway, most of the fun in having a turntable is the hunt for great records to play on it, and not having a turntable yet shouldn't stop you from doing that!

[jsaliga]

Originally Posted by Yikes

He asked for advice, people gave it. He can make up his own mind without your belittling him into doing what you believe he should do now. It all comes down to whether he wants new toys now or later. Will a more expensive rig sound better? If properly assembled, sure. Can an inexpensive system sound good? Sure, if properly assembled.

I wasn't belittling the OP. And I also didn't suggest that he consider a $1,400 phono preamp to go with that $500 turntable either.

Look, there's advice that people fire from the hip and then there is advice someone can really use. I'm not trying to beat up on you, because I see this sort of thing all the time on head-fi. Telling people to throw money at audio gear isn't particularly helpful. By some of the logic on display here we should suggest the OP buy a $5,000 phono preamp and $2,500 cartrige for his $500 turntable. That way when he is ready to work his way up to a $15,000 turntable he will have those two components covered. I referred him to memepool because he is the most knowledgable person on this board when it comes to analog gear, and he is also the most level-headed and even-handed in his approach to vinyl rigs. I don't necessarily agree with everything he says, but there is no denying that there are bucketloads of wisdom in his posts, and that is preciesely the sort of thing someone starting out with vinyl needs - the advice of someone like memepool who has been at it for a very long, long time.

--Jerome

[gz76]

jsaliga, I gave my opinion based on my experience. Being a seasoned listener, not someone who has just started with hi-fi (which looks to be the case with the OP too), I made the mistake of buying cheap (read: below my level of appreciation) components. Now I am in the process of upgrading which is going to cost me. I am offering my advice based on my experiences. The OP can take or leave it, but I think there is value in him being as informed as possible.

Btw, my suggestion with preamps was specifically directed at accommodating for future needs, not as the best match for his proposed turntable as you've indicated:

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.

Please don't put words in my mouth.

[jsaliga]

Please don't suggest I'm putting words in your mouth. My posts were not addressed to you; I never quoted you in any of my replies nor have I made a direct response to anything specific that you said.

Feel free to give the OP any advice you wish. I'm done with this thread since I have already given the OP the best advice I have to offer and don't think I have anything else constructive to add.

--Jerome

[gz76]

Apologies for the misunderstanding Jerome, after re-reading page 1 (which I haven't read since I initially saw this thread) I see that others also suggested non-budget preamps. However, by not addressing anyone specifically, your comment did indirectly include my suggestions!

[scott_d_m]

Originally Posted by jsaliga

Perhaps you shouldn't buy a turntable at all. If you are going to let forum members talk you out of it then you probably just aren't ready, and having more money to invest in it later isn't likely to make you any more ready than you are now. Someone will just come along later and tell you that your budget will leave you with a poor sounding setup. Easy for them to say when they're spending your money for you. There will always be people who have very deep pockets and will no doubt judge your choices by their lofty standards.

You may fear that affordable gear has to sound bad, but it just isn't true. I'm using a $73 phono preamp that I tried on whim, that replaced one that costs $750, with a $2,700 turntable and it sounds incredible. If someone else thinks that an inexpensive phono preamp is crap...let them. That little preamp makes me wonder whether or not I needed such an expensive turntable. Probably not is what I'm thinking.

The guy you should be seeking advice from is memepool. He's a fountain of knowledge where analog setups are concerned and can most likely point you in the direction of a budget setup that can give you excellent sound for the money.

You're going to need some vinyl to feed your turntable and if you save up you might just be able to buy that expensive rig, and then in another three or four months perhaps you might be able to afford a few records to play on it. Or you can wade into it with a good budget rig and leave yourself with some cash to go buy records to enjoy on it.

--Jerome

Jerome, I hear what your saying, and you make a valid point but I haven't let anyone talk me out of buying a vinyl rig nor am I gonna spend thousands of dollars on starter setup. The reason why I've decided to wait a little bit was simply because there's a ton of stuff out there to consider. And yes, it will also give me a bit of time to save as well. I have no doubt that a nice budget setup can be had if I do my home work. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Also thanks to everyone else as well. After all I did ask for a recommendation without giving any specifics about budget but I still appreciate the advice none the less and it has given me phono preamps to look out for no matter what price they cost.

I will say this however, the attraction to vinyl is a strong one for me. When I was very young(in the late 70's) I can vividly remember listening to some of my parents records they had laying around. I was exposed to the likes of Elvis and The Beach Boys(to name a couple) in my very early years as kid which is the reason for wanting to purchase a TT now. In my home town we have a pretty decent used record store and loved the idea of spending my lunch hours browsing their shop looking for old records from Bowie, Alice Cooper, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Cat Stevens and on and on. The thought of playing some these old records on a TT like a classic mint Thorens was quite a romantic one. There are still other Thorens out there that I have my eye on and there will always be more that will pop up.

Now don't get me wrong, Thorens aren't the only TT's that I'm looking at, it's just that they're the ones that I have been drawn to. Sooner or later, I'll get what I'm looking for and in the end will be much happier waiting for the right real.

Thanks to all,

Scott