Nikko beta 30 pre...any good?

markpilk

markpilk

Active Member
I just ended up with this Nikko in a batch of studio gear. It was marked as a switch, but it is a pre amp and has the option for mm/mc carts. There was also a Technics SL-5 turntable. They included the turntable for free and said it lights up, but doesn’t work. I’ve just purchased an older SOTA Sapphire that is having some work done. I plan to add the SOTA to a Marantz 2285 and only use Marantz phono amp until I can do a quality pre. The cart I have is a mm Ortofon bronze. Would this Nikko add any quality to my setup?
 

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You can try the nikko phono pre into the marantz to see what you can tell about the differences. May be a fine unit.
 
Tastes differ. Try the Nikko into the Marantz power amp input (pull out the pre/power jumpers) and see how it sounds. I wouldn't be surprised if it were better, as well as more flexible, though obviously you'd need a tuner if you listen to radio. Nikko separates were excellent. The Gamma tuners have a first rate reputation, as do the Alpha amps. The Beta preamps are more variable, and I was a little disappointed by the first model (granted, I did not think about aging caps or anything of that sort) , but the disappointment was in comparison with the later Beta I had, which was flexible and sounded great.
Used power amps of all makes, even excellent ones, are thick on the ground, and cheap, so you might consider picking one up and going that route if you like what you hear in the initial test.
Curious what is wrong with the turntable - post about it, too.
 
Thanks guys, I don’t expect much from it. I’ll give it a try once I have my Sapphire up and running. I might have time next week to look and see about the technics, but don’t expect much out of it either. I’ll post back on turntable Nat.
 
I have always considered the many Nikko units I heard as a bit sterile to me.
Regards,
Jim
 
ehoove said:
I have always considered the many Nikko units I heard as a bit sterile to me.
Regards,
Jim
Click to expand...

It's not an inaccurate assessment, but for me I feel they dissappear into the silence very nicely.

I've a beta 2 and a beta 40. They both have very convenient phono sections, and nice sub filters. Adjustable loadings. They do utility very well. They also couldn't be more different inside. The X0 series is newer tech, but the insides of the beta 2 will bring you back to a simpler time.
 
I was talking Nikko with my tech recently, he was very fond of Nikko in general, it was actually just the Beta 30 that both of us found dull.

I have a Alpha 450 power amp that is very lively with my Marantz 2240 in front of it. With the Beta 30 in front it's much more clinical.
 
As I posted earlier, there were a bunch of Betas over the years, and their features, and hence their circuits varied, so the sound quality may have also.
 
Any suggestions? I don't have a Beta right now, but I do have a SpectroAcoustics that I picked up from another AKer, which while sounding okay, might benefit from a different opamp.
 
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