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Arcam’s Surprising rPhono Offers Up to 82dB Gain, Rumble Filter and Variable MC Loading

February 24, 2018, 1:03 pm
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Phono preamps arrive here by the stack. It’s difficult keeping up. To be honest, Arcam’s rPhono arrived before the JC3 Jr. but here, anything with John Curl’s name attached automatically goes to the head of the queue, especially considering the Jr.’s remarkable $1495 price.

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Lejonklou's Smooth Sounding Gaio Moving Magnet Phono Preamplifier

September 4, 2018, 3:14 pm
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The Lejonklou Gaio MM phono preamplifier is as simple to use as Swedish designer Fredrik Lejonklou’s name can be difficult to spell or pronounce until you get the hang of it. The Gaio has been referenced in various AnalogPlanet moving magnet phono preamp shoot-outs but it’s never been given a stand-alone review.

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Cambridge Audio's "Duo" Phono Preamp/Headphone Amplifier Outperforms Its Low Price

January 14, 2019, 12:03 pm
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Cambridge Audio's Duo is a compact, attractive, lightweight (2.1 Lbs) low priced phono preamplifier that will surprise you with its solid sonic performance as well as its low price. It certainly surprised me! It also features a headphone amplifier so it makes for a great desktop or dorm room accessory.

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This $19 Pyle Phono Preamp Is Anything But Crap

February 25, 2019, 4:28 pm
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An Amazon search for “phono preamp for turntable” (the last two words theirs) will yield approximately 395 results, and above most affordable Pro-Ject, Cambridge Audio, U-Turn, and Music Hall phono preamps are those of Pyle, a company that makes most every kind of easily affordable product; hifi and A/V components, pro audio products, fitness trackers, subwoofers for boats, kitchen appliances, pest controlling devices, and even security systems! Pyle makes several budget phono preamps with the same specifications, including the $18.99 (MSRP) PP444. Two of Pyle’s preamps have well over 1,000 reviews on Amazon (mostly from real humans as far as I can tell), so quite a few people are buying these for their audio setups. Pyle’s audio products haven’t gotten much coverage, so I gave the PP444 a try.

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Pro-Ject's Versatile DS2 USB MM/MC Phono Pre Sounds Good And Digitizes Too

April 24, 2019, 5:26 pm
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Pro-Ject’s DS2 USB combines in one chassis a versatile MM/MC phono preamplifier and a high resolution A/D converter capable of digitizing at up to 192/24 bit PCM or 128 DSD (A/K/A “double DSD”). It’s a feature-packed unit that includes 2 independently adjustable phono inputs and a line input and both USB and optical TOSlink digital outputs as well as an analog output. An outboard 18V “Wall Wart” powers it.

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Graham Slee's $1449 Accession Raises the MM Playback Bar

April 25, 2019, 5:44 pm
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For almost two decades now British phono preamp manufacturer Graham Slee has been designing, producing and selling specialized high quality phono preamplifiers. His latest is the $1449 Accession, an unusually versatile model that includes a volume pot, which means the Accession can be used as preamplifier to drive a power amplifier. If all you plan on doing is playing records using one turntable and a moving magnet cartridge (or a high output MC or moving iron), the Accession obviates the need for a separate preamplifier.
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Liberty Audio’s $1995 B2B-1 Phono Preamp Is Sneakily Stunning

January 30, 2020, 2:07 pm
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Last year Peter Noerbaek offered me a review sample of the Liberty Audio B2B-1 phono preamp. “I’m happy with my MoFi UltraPhono,” I told MF, “but I’ll try the B2B-1.” Not necessarily thinking it would at first make a significant difference in my system, I soon instead found that in terms of imaging, punch, dynamics, and sonic cleanliness, it greatly enhanced my hi-fi’s performance.

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Pro-Ject's Tube Box S2 MM/MC Phono Preamp Beats the Built In

March 13, 2020, 1:23 pm
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Pro-Ject Audio Systems is undoubtedly the king of budget friendly, entry-level, high performance analog components. A definite go-to for sub $1000 turntables and bang for your buck phono preamps. Founded in 1991 by Heinz Lichtenegger during the evil reign of the CD, they fought their way to vinyl success and made it!
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Parasound Z Phono XRM MM/MC Phono Preamp Offers A lot For $595

March 27, 2020, 2:46 pm
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Parasound’s $595 ZPhono XRM is a compact, versatile MM/MC phono preamplifier that offers flexibility and features not usually found at this price point including gold-plated balanced XLR outputs (and gold-plated single-ended RCA outputs), a mono switch, an 18dB/octave rumble filter and for its MC input, continuously variable loading from 50ohms to 1050ohms.

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Easy to Warm Up to ELAC Alchemy’s $1250 PPA-2 Phono Preamp

March 29, 2020, 12:55 pm
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ELAC Alchemy designer Peter Madnick is well-known to veteran audiophiles as the man behind, among other companies, Audio Alchemy, the “high end” brand that during the 1990s made high performance affordable. With Madnick designing and the business side run by Mark Shifter—a guy who could sell ham to a Hasid—Audio Alchemy had a formidable, decade long run before it folded.

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iFi's iPhono 3 MM/MC Phono Preamplifier Takes A Giant Sonic Leap Forward

September 1, 2020, 7:20 pm
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The recently introduced iPhono 3 is the third iteration of the remarkably compact, full-featured phono preamp iFi first introduced in 2012 that AnalogPlanet most positively reviewed. The original unit sold for $399.

iFi introduced in 2016 the seriously upgraded iPhono2 more positively reviewed on this website. The company made significant upgrades to both parts and features. Despite the many improvements, the price increased a scant $100 to $499.

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iFi's "Cost Is An Object" Zen Phono MM/MC Phono Preamplifier

March 8, 2021, 2:07 pm
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iFi’s Zen Phono preamplifier replaces the busy, but super-adjustable dip-switch laden operating system found on the company’s far more costly ($999), feature-rich iPhono 3 for a much simpler one, yet the Zen offers an impressive feature set, and high build and parts quality, all for $149.99.

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Hagerman Audio’s “Tubey” But Quiet Trumpet MC Phono Preamplifier

April 10, 2021, 2:26 pm
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Hagerman Audio Lab’s 3rd generation fully balanced from input to output 3 pound Trumpet MC combines a differential JFET input front-end with a more conventional 6 dual-triode vacuum tube (4X 12AX7, 2X 12AU7) gain/ phase-splitter/driver/output (if I misread the schematic, which is possible, Hagerman will correct me!). Each tube came fitted with a damping ring.

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QHW Audio’s Surprising “The Vinyl” MM/MC Phono Preamp

April 12, 2021, 3:33 pm
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What’s “surprising” about QHW Audio’s “The Vinyl” phono preamplifier? More than a few things, starting with its Made In Spain origin. Perhaps I’m just ignorant but other than the highest tech WADAX brand of digital electronics, an older piece of which I reviewed for Stereophile, I’m not aware of a burgeoning Spanish audio manufacturing scene. Perhaps I’m mistaken. If so, I’d be happy to stand corrected.

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Does Curl's Jr. Have the Beef?

February 24, 2018, 11:26 am
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First released in 2010, Parasound’s JC 3 MM/MC phono preamplifier began as a dual-mono John Curl-designed phono section retro-fit for its JC2 line stage. With vinyl’s popularity on the rise, Parasound’s Richard Schram figured a stand-alone version priced right might find an audience.

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Arcam’s Surprising rPhono Offers Up to 82dB Gain, Rumble Filter and Variable MC Loading

February 24, 2018, 1:03 pm
$
0
0
Phono preamps arrive here by the stack. It’s difficult keeping up. To be honest, Arcam’s rPhono arrived before the JC3 Jr. but here, anything with John Curl’s name attached automatically goes to the head of the queue, especially considering the Jr.’s remarkable $1495 price.

↧

Lejonklou's Smooth Sounding Gaio Moving Magnet Phono Preamplifier

September 4, 2018, 3:14 pm
$
0
0
The Lejonklou Gaio MM phono preamplifier is as simple to use as Swedish designer Fredrik Lejonklou’s name can be difficult to spell or pronounce until you get the hang of it. The Gaio has been referenced in various AnalogPlanet moving magnet phono preamp shoot-outs but it’s never been given a stand-alone review.

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Cambridge Audio's "Duo" Phono Preamp/Headphone Amplifier Outperforms Its Low Price

January 14, 2019, 12:03 pm
$
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Cambridge Audio's Duo is a compact, attractive, lightweight (2.1 Lbs) low priced phono preamplifier that will surprise you with its solid sonic performance as well as its low price. It certainly surprised me! It also features a headphone amplifier so it makes for a great desktop or dorm room accessory.

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This $19 Pyle Phono Preamp Is Anything But Crap

February 25, 2019, 4:28 pm
$
0
0
An Amazon search for “phono preamp for turntable” (the last two words theirs) will yield approximately 395 results, and above most affordable Pro-Ject, Cambridge Audio, U-Turn, and Music Hall phono preamps are those of Pyle, a company that makes most every kind of easily affordable product; hifi and A/V components, pro audio products, fitness trackers, subwoofers for boats, kitchen appliances, pest controlling devices, and even security systems! Pyle makes several budget phono preamps with the same specifications, including the $18.99 (MSRP) PP444. Two of Pyle’s preamps have well over 1,000 reviews on Amazon (mostly from real humans as far as I can tell), so quite a few people are buying these for their audio setups. Pyle’s audio products haven’t gotten much coverage, so I gave the PP444 a try.

↧

Pro-Ject's Versatile DS2 USB MM/MC Phono Pre Sounds Good And Digitizes Too

April 24, 2019, 5:26 pm
$
0
0
Pro-Ject’s DS2 USB combines in one chassis a versatile MM/MC phono preamplifier and a high resolution A/D converter capable of digitizing at up to 192/24 bit PCM or 128 DSD (A/K/A “double DSD”). It’s a feature-packed unit that includes 2 independently adjustable phono inputs and a line input and both USB and optical TOSlink digital outputs as well as an analog output. An outboard 18V “Wall Wart” powers it.

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