Choosing a phono pre-amp…
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mrwood200
Well-Known Member
Hello & Welcome!
What preamp are you using now? Stanton cartridge/stylus in good shape?
Everything sound good today? or are we building a new system?
Both of your options are good preamps. Duo has better features & probably would be my generic choice, but not this time......
The Stanton cartridge is a bit odd with a low 1mV output for a MM cartridge.
Preamp specs:
Rega appears to be a better fit to provide the rest of your system with adequate signal.
You may want to consider an entry-level phono w/adjustable gain - Fosi X5 or ART Pre II?
What preamp are you using now? Stanton cartridge/stylus in good shape?
Everything sound good today? or are we building a new system?
Both of your options are good preamps. Duo has better features & probably would be my generic choice, but not this time......
The Stanton cartridge is a bit odd with a low 1mV output for a MM cartridge.
Preamp specs:
- Duo input sensitivity 3.35mV w/39dB gain
- Rega 1.7 @ 41.4
Rega appears to be a better fit to provide the rest of your system with adequate signal.
You may want to consider an entry-level phono w/adjustable gain - Fosi X5 or ART Pre II?
Thanks MrW!
Reigniting an old system. Rega was where I was leaning towards and your spec here is truly valuable. B
This member is rocking an ART pre Post a picture of your turntable
lini
just me...
You've misinterpreted that. Official spec for the 881S is 0.9 mV per cm/s, which is a so-called Übertragungsfaktor (= transmission factor). Whereas the most usual spec style is the effective output voltage at a modulation velocity of 5 cm/s (at 1 kHz and in 45°/stereo modulation). So to convert the given transmission factor into the usual voltage spec style you'd need to multiply the 0.9 mV by 5 cm/s = 4.5 mV, which would be a pretty typical output voltage for an MM catridge for hifi purposes. Hence an unusually high gain isn't required for the 881S, unless the line input, the phono stage would be connected to, would have an unusually low input sensitivity.
Greetings from Munich!
Manfred / lini
Nice to meet! Wow. That’s serious info and truly appreciate it. What would your redo for a phono preamp. It’s on a technics sl-5200 and going to end up through a rotel rap-1066 preamp. Thx!
mrwood200
Well-Known Member
Agreed - I will defer to you.
All of my initial searches indicated 'low voltage'; a deeper search indicates a higher voltage per your notes
Oh, my.... The Stanton 881S is one of my favorites. I would recommend you consider going up the food chain a bit more in buying a phono preamp, at least to $600 if you can swing it. Or maybe buy used?
Thx! Please feel free to reco a phono preamp in the $500-$1000 range w the Stanton 881S in mind….
A couple brands come to mind, Darlington Labs and Graham Slee.
At the top of your budget, the Darlington Labs MP8B is easy to recommend. Highly adjustable, MM/MC capable, it also has a dual-mono power supply, mono switch, rumble filter, etc., and it's made in America. The MP7B is nearly as good, but without the power supply upgrades. It's also noticeably cheaper. I have the MP8B, and I'm not looking for anything better. MM or LOMC, this one treats my carts right.
If you plan on sticking strictly to MM, however, the DL MM6B would be my recommendation. Again, highly adjustable, it's as good as the MM cart you plug into it. And if, in the future, you want to try MC carts, you can plug a SUT or head amp into it with excellent results.
If you plan on sticking strictly to MM, however, the DL MM6B would be my recommendation. Again, highly adjustable, it's as good as the MM cart you plug into it. And if, in the future, you want to try MC carts, you can plug a SUT or head amp into it with excellent results.
lini
just me...
Well, in case you'd actually mean the RSP-1066, we'd be talking about a surround/AV pre-amp with a specified input sensitivity of 200 mV (= not an unusually low input sensitivity at all). Unfortunately its specs don't include the maximum input level, though - but such surround/AV pre-amps not rarely have a comparatively low maximum input level of just a bit above 2 V (at least for the signal path through the ADC into the DSP). Hence I'd suggest you to better be careful and choose a phono stage with comparatively conservative gain, so that you won't run into clipping problems with hot cuts or/and loud pops and clicks. If you'd like not to spend much money for a start, you could for example consider the Art Precision Phono Pre (which sports convenient, stepless gain adjustment from very low up to quite high) or the Schiit Mani 2 (the lowest gain setting of which should be low enough to avoid clipping). Both of these would offer pretty decent quality and also a good feature set.
Uhm, really? That would mean an overall gain of 120 dB. I mean, think about it: For a typical MM or MI cartridge with an output voltage of 4.5 mV (at 1 kHz and 5 cm/s) that would mean an output voltage of 4.5 kV or respectively an output power of a bit over 2.5 MW (yes, really Megawatts) into an 8 Ohm load. But even for a very low output MC with just 0.1 mV that would still mean an output voltage of 100 V or respectively an output power of 1.25 kW into an 8 Ohm load.
Greetings from Munich!
Manfred / lini
In dB, not voltage.
I've owned the Rega Fono MM Mk5, the Alva Duo and also an earlier Darlington MP7. I didn't like the Darlington at all and sold it off within days of listening to it. I liked the Cambridge unit but moved it along after a couple of years. I still use and enjoy the Rega Fono and recommend it.
FWIW, phono amps are one of those things that hobbyists on forums like this (which are, more than anything, GEAR forums) always feel comfortable upselling, as in whatever you're thinking about there will soon be hobbyists recommending that you spend more, and then more. Hold onto your wallet when hanging out in audio forums!
FWIW, phono amps are one of those things that hobbyists on forums like this (which are, more than anything, GEAR forums) always feel comfortable upselling, as in whatever you're thinking about there will soon be hobbyists recommending that you spend more, and then more. Hold onto your wallet when hanging out in audio forums!
FWIW, I liked my MP-7, and upgraded to the 8B mostly for the better power supply, and adjustment capability. It's been my observation that far more folks like their DL gear than dislike, but to each his own. OP asked for suggestions between $500-$1000. DL has that segment covered. I even suggested their MM-only model. Any one of them would be worth the 30-day audition. In my opinion.
Thanks!
All set here and thanks, everyone. Going w the CA Alva Duo and it’s on sale on their site from $399 > $249 w free shipping
