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Best phono pre-amp ? ::

post #1 of 18
8/21/02 at 5:24am
Thread Starter 
I was thinking, maybe it would be better to take a phono signal [technics 1200] and use a separate pre-amp and bring it into the mixer @ line-level, then letting the mixer do the phono-preamp......


would this yield better sound quality? [for recording/etc.?]


any phono pre-amps I should loook into?
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post #2 of 18
8/21/02 at 11:22am
A phono stage does more than just amplify the signal. It also performs standard RIAA equalization since almost all records are cut with less base to reduce groove size. When you play records without the equalization you hear very little bass.

There may be some software that performs RIAA equalization while recording to the computer or you can order a $50 or so battery operated radio shack phono stage off their web site. I've never heard it, but most everybody says it does a good job especially for the money.

Another option is to check whether your integrated amp has a phono stage built in and use the tape out of the integrated amp to get an equalized and amplified signal. Make sure your integrated amp has a phono stage and not just an normal input with a "phono" sticker on it.

Good luck and keep that vinyl spinning...
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post #3 of 18
8/21/02 at 5:30pm
Thread Starter 
is the preamp from the mixer [pioneer djm-600 for instance] good?

or should one get a separate pre-amp and bring in @ line-level?
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post #4 of 18
8/21/02 at 7:00pm
I don't know what a pioneer djm-600 is. If it's just a mixer and not an amp, chances are that it does not do RIAA equalization.

What happens when you listen to it? Does it sound pretty normal or does it sound thin and without much bass?
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post #5 of 18
8/23/02 at 4:20am
Badtz: Yes, you can exspect a separate phonostage to surpass the quality of the integrated ones in typical dj mixers - provided it's a decent unit, that is... I've got fairly good phono stages in my pre- and integrated amps myself, though, so you should ask the others around here for recommendations for good and priceworthy models (NAD? QED, maybe? Lehmann or Clearaudio would probably be overkill for being used with your Pioneer mixer... )....

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
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post #6 of 18
8/23/02 at 6:09am
Thread Starter 
If using a phono pre-amp and bringing it into the mixer @ line-level, that should make the sound a lot better right?

any specific models you'd recommend?

thanks !
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post #7 of 18
8/23/02 at 1:09pm
it should make it sound better, but I do not know for sure.

I would recommend the little rat to you, but those are out of production now. It seems like you are into pro audio... I think rolls makes a decent phono preamp.

It also might help to check out this thread at harmonic discord:

http://www.harmonicdiscord.com/forum...pic.php?t=6010
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post #8 of 18
8/23/02 at 2:42pm
Quote:
Originally posted by Badtz
is the preamp from the mixer [pioneer djm-600 for instance] good?

or should one get a separate pre-amp and bring in @ line-level?
the pioneer djm-600 is revered as one of the better mixers out there. but, its reputation does not come from having quality components. if you were to crack one of those things open, i'm sure your jaw would drop when you saw the crap they put in it.

that said, the phono stage on a djm-600 won't match the quality of a hi-fi phono stage, but, those cost a lot of money. diy a pearl phono preamp from www.passdiy.com. that _will_ sound better.
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post #9 of 18
8/23/02 at 3:33pm

Re: Best phono pre-amp ? ::

Quote:
Originally posted by Badtz
I was thinking, maybe it would be better to take a phono signal [technics 1200] and use a separate pre-amp and bring it into the mixer @ line-level, then letting the mixer do the phono-preamp......


would this yield better sound quality? [for recording/etc.?]


any phono pre-amps I should loook into?
I am not clear what applications your are using your 1200 for. If you are speaking strictly home audio the philosophy I've followed is KISS - the shortest possible signal path to minimize corruption.

An example - one of my systems is as follows:

1200 TT -> phono stage -> amp -> speakers.

I even took out the preamp (amp has vol control).

The result was breathtaking - detailed, big soundstage and 3-d image with good instrument seperation.

If your application is commercial - disregard the before mentioned comment.

Good luck

~Michael~
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post #10 of 18
8/23/02 at 10:03pm
Thread Starter 
i was wanting to record my playing on turn tables with the best sound re-production......

i was thinking........

1200s -->> phono pre-amp -->> mixer [@ line-level] -->> cpu [record]

i'm just unsure of which brand/type of phono pre-amp to buy?????

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post #11 of 18
8/30/02 at 10:56am
Thread Starter 
?
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post #12 of 18
8/30/02 at 12:30pm
If you're recording from LP to computer, there are a number of ways to do it. Mixer is not necessary if you've got appropriate software on computer. Simplest is turntable->phono preamp->soundcard. Any mixing and editing can be done after the recording.

I use a more complex setup. I base my external system on an Adcom GFP-565 preamp, that has a good phono section. My system goes:

Turntable->preamp->ART DI/O (A to D section via processor out on Adcom)->digital input on sound card (does not resample). Once I've got a clean digital signal recorded, I can do any mixing and editing I want in the digital domain. I use CDWave to break album sides into tracks, and DiamondCut Millenium software for editing, but there are other programs that are very good as well.
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post #13 of 18
8/30/02 at 2:40pm
I have the Radio Shack phono preamp referred to above. It costs all of $25. The sound quality is amazingly good. I wouldn't expect anything - no component, no interconnect (except maybe DIY), not even a single vacum tube - to sound worth a darn for $25, but this little unit can do amazing things, so long as you put a linestage of some kind after it. I'm using it with a Music Hall MMF-5 and a tube linestage of my own making, while I wait for Electric Tonalities to release their tube phono stage.

I don't think it has been discontinued -- every time Rat Shack runs out of stock, the catalog shows it as discontinued. Then it pops up again a couple weeks later.
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post #14 of 18
8/31/02 at 5:15pm
Thread Starter 
This is going to be primarily to record dj "sets".....


it'll be going into a motu 828


is the mixer's phono pre-amp that bad?

pioneer djm-600/500/300
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post #15 of 18
8/31/02 at 10:47pm
For what you're doing, a DJ mixer's phono preamp is preferable. Kid Koala and the rest would do the same and not get a dedicated phono stage: that would be for listening to music at home, not for mixing or tracking.

The best DJ mixer I've worked with personally is the Rane TTM 56. It's expensive, but the phono stage has cohones, the EQ is butter and it will twist vinyl in ways you've grown up hearing and appreciating. You'll be able to do all manner of nasty filter-opening tricks and have them sound deep. And the 56 will give you signature sounds (such as grainy chain reaction) on cue.
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