Little Advice needed

[Evan Hecht]

Hi All

So here is my question. I just had my Sansui 5000x professionally recapped and restored by Arnel Bautista. It is beautiful and ready for another 40 years. Highly recommend his work. I recently picked up a pair of ultra rare Sony ULM SS-7330 speakers that sound amazing. I am getting a VM95ML for Xmas from the wife. Do I need or would I benefit from a MM preamp in this setup? And if so, what would be a good one for $200 and under?

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• Evan Hecht
• Dec 20, 2021

Sony ULM SS-7330

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• Evan Hecht
• Dec 20, 2021

Sony ULM SS-7330

 

[spark1]

You don't need one, as the 5000X has a built-in phono amp. As to whether or not an external phono amp would be an improvement; there are certainly better ones available, but at $200 I don't think you will do significantly better than what you already have.

 

[Hoytis]

Definitely don't need one. Stick with the Sansui phono input for now. It's quality. If it doesn't float your boat then start looking for a pre. But to be honest, I would think any sub-$200 would just be a lateral move. Might sound slightly different. Better? Doubt it.