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But you can get the bulk of that versatility amps like Pro-Ject’s Phono Box S2 Ultra ($349), that are a fraction of that sky-high price. Where the Pro-Ject Phono Box E ($89) requires little more interaction than plugging your wires straight in and only supports Moving Magnet cartridges, the McIntosh MP100 has individual inputs for both cartridge types, with adjustable loading for each. Higher-end phono preamps, according to Randall, are “also capable of accurately amplifying a wider range of cartridges.” In particular, they can more adeptly handle rarer Moving Coil (MC) cartridges, which require much more gain and have different electrical requirements than their more common Moving Magnet brethren. With a more expensive preamp, you’re also paying for versatility. And more expensive preamps bring customization to the table. “The best phono preamplifiers, such as the McIntosh MP100 ($2,000), will precisely amplify and equalize the very small phono signal to duplicate the original recording without adding any noise or distortion,” Randall explains. “They sound flat, lifeless and don’t provide the wonderful warm experience that people covet with vinyl playback.” Owing to cheaper components and less engineering care, less expensive preamps may also introduce noise as they do their job of increasing the signal. “Cheap, poor-performing phono preamps don’t convey the magic of music on vinyl,” says Randall. The cheaper the phono preamp, the less accurate it corrects for the RIAA curve and the worse the record will sound. Pro-Ject But cheaper preamps can lose details and introduce noise. Depending on which one you want to use you may need to bypass the pre-amp in your turntable if you wanted to use the one in the receiver. You can plug any turntable into one of these systems and either use the preamp built into your turntable, or the one in your receiver. The phono preamp essentially needs to apply the opposite EQ, as well as drastically boosting the signal’s lowest frequencies and attenuating the higher ones. The other is you will see an input on the back called a ground terminal.
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This curve is called the RIAA playback equalization curve.
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“The actual signal on the record is not flat but follows an agreed-upon equalization curve that allows deep bass and extended high frequencies to be cut into the record groves,” says Randall. Orbit Plus Turntable with built-in preamp (Black) Turntable other,Turntable Turntable. A phono preamp also has to also equalize the signal so that the record sounds as true as possible to the original recording. Of course, that is not quite as simple as it sounds. 7 Good Reasons to Choose a Graham Slee Phono Preamp 20+ years of making some of the best sounding phono preamps in the world The only manufacturer granted a. The McIntosh MP100 ($2,000) is jam-packed with features, such as switchable inputs for MC and MM cartridges, balanced XLR outputs, and a built-in 24-bit/96kHz DAC so you can digitize your records.īudget or luxe, every phono preamp does the same job: amplification.Įvery phono preamp takes the tiny, weak signal from the phono cartridge and amplifies it so your speakers can play it as a reasonable volume.