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Preamps with phono stages used to be common. Now they are rare. I have been looking for one for while. Which one's have worked for you?

Isotonic

Isotonic

A life soaked in Music and Sound
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I have been looking for one for while. I have a system in a room with limited space. I have been looking at Conrad Johnson and also the Ayre K1xe. Aesthetix makes one. Which one's have worked for you and why?
 
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I grabbed a Realistic 42-2101a phono preamp as a short term solution for a system that lacked a phono input.
It’s still there and has not been replaced.
So a separate phono pre is an option to consider as well.
 
Separate also grants you mobility, allowing you to move the table farther away from other possible sources of interference.
 
One of my favorites has been Croft Acoustics Micro 25 tube preamp with MM phono stage. It is not loaded with “features”, but what it has works quite well, and sounds very good. The built in phono stage is very good. Most people are put off by the twin volume controls, I find them to be very useable, volume plus balance control built in. Uses 3 12AX7/ECC83 preamp tubes which can be had very reasonable, providing you aren’t going off the deep edge with NOS etc. Well worth tracking one down if it fits your system.
 
Forte Model 2 has a superb phono stage, as does any Threshold preamp from the Nelson Pass era that has one on board. I sometimes wish I hadn't sold my Model 2.
 
Audible Illusions, if you can find one, mines been on pretty much 24/7 for 28 years now....just use EH 6922 tubes and find a set of Pearl Tube coolers to fit the tubes and you'll be set.

I know the newest Modulus 3B has gotten kind of pricey, but the 3a is a really great preamp if you can find one.
 
I used a Dynaco PAT5 for over 40 years and enjoyed it greatly. Replaced it only after getting a Mac.

It also had a very versatile switching setup. The down side of it was the input jacks were placed too close together for modern interconnects.

Shelly_D
 
Love my McIntosh C22MKIV. Has adjustable MM and MC loads. It’s not the be-all/end-all of phono stages, but it easily rivals ones costing $2-3K.IMG_0808.jpeg
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What are you actualy in need of a pre-amp or a phono pre-amp? You said space is limited no need to get another huge box if your old preamp is working and you just need to add a phono stage. There are some really decent phono stages today that are not very big or very expensive. Modern opamps make for a low cost high performance amp section for weak signals. 8 opamps and a hand full of jelly been passive parts and a discrete linear power supply for each opamp section and you could easily build a phono stage some might pay $10,000+ for! Many paid that for just what I described and all in you are looking at $200 in parts if that!
 
Isotonic said:
I have been looking for one for while. I have a system in a room with limited space. I have been looking at Conrad Johnson and also the Ayre K1xe. Aesthetix makes one. Which one's have worked for you and why?
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I have Parasound P6 Halo... supposedly it has a really nice phono stage. I don't have a turntable though. :oops:
 
I had a Yamaha C6 preamp that I was happy with. its MM/MC phono stage included a sub Sonic filter. It also included a very useful Parametric EQ to fine tune a systems frequency response to the rooms accoustics. This was probably a bit better sonically then the NAD 1600 pre-amp/Tuner I bought to replace it.

I wanted Remote control, so I bought the NAD It also included a switchable MM/MC Phono stage w/sub Sonic filter. The NAD made a nice mid- fi preamp with a decent FM tuner.

Today I use a small, stand alone Rega Fono MK5. Bryston's well regarded phono stage module was optional with the Bryston, which I didn't need at the time.
 
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Isotonic said:
I have been looking for one for while. I have a system in a room with limited space. I have been looking at Conrad Johnson and also the Ayre K1xe. Aesthetix makes one. Which one's have worked for you and why?
Click to expand...
I had an Audio by Van Alstine OmegaStar preamp built into a Dynaco PAT-5 chassis. I was very pleased with it, and it replaced and improved upon the Linn LK1 that I had previously enjoyed. The OmegaStar's phono performance was better than the Linn's and better than stand-alone units I tried from Dynavector and Grado.

The OmegaStar is a few generations old, now, and the current model is the Audio by Van Alstine Vision SLR. With the optional Vision phono circuits installed, it sells for $1778. The Vision SLR no longer has the bass and treble controls that my OmegaStar included, but it does have potentially useful features like a mono/stereo switch and both high and low filters. They just sell directly to the customer, but they do have a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. I found their customer service to be exemplary.
 
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