Need advice regarding a good phono preamp

Sorry i cant answer your question but ive got one for you! im going to aquire a turn table, do i need the preamp to run if im going to use a heapdhone amp with rca inputs?

The Dynavector P75 and the Musical Fidelity V-Dac also seems to be quite highly regarded.

The Cambridge Audio 540p and 640p are great low cost phono stages.  Very well reviewed at the price level.  (640p adds MC input, your cartridge is MM and will work on either.)

 

You should be able to run the output of your phono stage straight into your amp.  A pre-amp would be to switch between sources or add in a volume control.  The phono stage out is a line level source.

 

 

 

The Pro-ject doesn't have a DAC, it's got an ADC which is the reverse of a DAC. It converts the analog signal from the turntable to digital for recording to a computer via the USB output.

 

Pro-Ject also sells a Phono Box II without USB for $159:

http://www.needledoctor.com/Pro-Ject-Phono-Box-II-Phono-Preamp

I've got a Pro-Ject Phono Box II USB and an RPM 1.3 Genie turntable on order. I should be getting them sometime next week, I'll report back on the Phono Box.
 

Edited by pfink - 8/6/10 at 5:56pm

doest matter anymore 

 

was going to buy the turntable on ebay but got outbid by 2.50 because i had to take my mother out for lobster rolls. The thing was being sold by a guy who's late wife had it. it was a   denon DP - 45F with grado symphony cart rage. i lost to a guy by 2.50$. he spent 127.50$ i am completely enraged. utterly speechlessly enraged 

Yes, but your you can never be too nice to your mother.  Some day, the memories of those lobster rolls will mean more to you than a turntable.
 

Another phono stage worth looking at is the NAD PP2. I had one at the beginning and was very happy with it. They're reasonable and get good reviews.

You should also browse the used phono stages at Audiogon. You might turn up a nice deal. My second phono stage was a Conrad-Johnson PV2 preamp. I think I grabbed it for around $300. Those are great because you get tubes, as well as the opportunity to connect two headphone amps to the tape loops out. Very handy. I kept the PV2 for a second system in the desert - couldn't bring myself to part with it! So look at some of the used preamps at Audiogon, too. You might get a good phono stage and a lot more.

that lobster roll was not worth 400$ xD

i have the cam 640p, and i say meh,  gets job done but isnt quiet and is overpriced imo.   i do like its chasis,  and i may keep for my other room because of mc capability, but i want to upgrade to a ps audio phono stage or something better if anyone has suggestions to better the ps audio, let me know

 

good luck

My advise: after the $60 mark, you're wasting your money. And $60's still pushing it.

I've compared the tcc-750 to the Project Phono Box SEII, which is nothing special but still 4x as expensive, and i struggled hard to find any difference, perhaps the Project sounded a bit warmer but it's probably just placebo; I even recorded some samples and compared the spectra, they look exactly the same.

 

This led me to draw two possible conclusions : either it's just that the Project is an overpriced unit or you have to spend much more on a phono stage to get something better than the surprisingly good tc-750.

 

Buy the Tc-750 and try it, if you're not satisfied you can just upgrade with close to no loss as it's really dirt cheap.

 

 

All above referred to MM amplification, MC can get much more critical obviously.

I've got a ProJect Phono Box SE sitting on my desk behind me which I bought new and used from 2004 to 2010. When I moved from High Output Moving Coil Cart (Sumiko Blue Point Special) to the Denon 103 (low output moving colil) I went ahead and bought a ProJect Tube Box II from a guy on Audiogon for $250 (I've ordered two sets of tubes for it since then and have had a lot of fun).

I paid $200 for the Phono Box SE back in 2004 and I would be willing to sell it for $80 if you are interested. I find there are tons of opinions on Audiogon and I would suggest you read what you can first. There are a lot of people who swear Project stuff bites but that is their opinion (and some of them might not have ever listened to one).

 

I have a Project RPM6SB turntable and have enjoyed it almost daily since 2004 so I have no complaints about Project Stuff, but Unkle Eric is right Audiogon is a fantastic place for info on analog (right now I am waiting for my Sumiko Talisman S cart to get here that I bought from someone on Audiogon)...