Pro-Ject Phono Box MM, Phono preamplifier with metal case and special low-noise ICs

Product Information

In addition, the midband voltage gain of the input stage is adjusted at around 46dB. With that kind of a low input level, it is apparent that low noise transistors (such as the BC109C) are required to get excellent performance. On a car stereo head, which has 4 (line-level) outputs for an amp (FL, FR, RL, RR), I am trying to get another stereo pair, to go into another stereo amp for a third pair of speakers. I am concerned that if I simply take one of the stereo pairs and use passive Y-connectors to get the new pair, each will be quieter, because the power would be shared across two. This is done to boost the gain of the circuit, which as explained earlier, needs to be about ten times higher for a low impedance microphone. Zero Noise Preamplifier Circuit Detail is great, too, uncovering new layers of musicality and texture as it goes, especially with regard to vocals. From Beethoven to Bruce Springsteen, the Rega Fono MM is completely at home. The Pre Box RS2 Digital is the bigger brother of our award winning and ground breaking Pre Box S2 Digital. It uses the same excellent sounding DAC chips as the S2 version, proving once again that the Pre Box S2 Digital was already at the very top of high-end DACs and absolutely beyond its competition. Based on the same core-design principles, the feature set is extended and driven to new heights. The result is a fantastic sounding and very versatile box. The perfect partner for the cream of the crop of high-end amplifiers and speakers alike!

New Tubes: Whether you want to buy brand new or NOS, tube rolling is definitely the way to go if you want to fine tune to your specific tastes your system’s synergy. Knopfler’s Fender seemed to have this percussive bite every time he dug into the strings, yet his tone was so sweet and lush. The expansive reverb started to produce an image I could almost see with my mind’s eye. The image specificity produced as big an improvement as the portrayal of the reverb’s decay. This gave the guitar as well as Knopfler’s voice much better spatial placement and solidity on the soundstage, which made for very involving listening. This circuit is engineered to achieve the necessary roll-off slopes below 300 Hz and above 2 kHz. Notably, the higher frequencies experience a considerably swifter attenuation compared to the lower frequencies. This may well prompt you to ask: if it’s already built-in, why do I need to buy another one? In truth, you don’t. Yes, this is a buyer’s guide for something you don’t need to buy.But that doesn’t mean you won’t want to buy one. Here’s why…If you’ve already got a suitably talented turntable and really want to hear how good it is, this Cyrus combination is a must-buy. Because we are always asked how to connect the equalization preamplifier or phono preamplifier, we would like to write a little guide. Any music as we know is in the form of a consistently varying frequency, therefore when such a varying input is applied across the indicated C1 end terminals, the same is delivered across the base T1 and ground.

When you cut the built-in phono stage out of the loop, and replace it with something better, your vinyl will begin to reveal its true potential. A dedicated phono stage is easy to install: it sits in the signal chain between the turntable and any line-level input on your amp. A word of caution: Don’t take the output from your phono preamp and connect it to the phono stage on an amplifier, as that will double amplify the signal, resulting in catastrophic distortion (which isn’t as good as it sounds). Rega didn't exactly reinvent the wheel with the Mk5 model, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. That new case is certainly attractive enough, while that same agile, punchy performance gives you just the sound you're looking for if you like your music to have a bit of bite. This push pull action ultimately results in an overall amplification of an insignificantly small music or data input into a significantly larger output. Yes, there is also this possibility. You can buy a turntable with an integrated preamp. However, this decision only makes sense in a few cases. For example, if you only want to listen to a record occasionally or digitize old records, a turntable with a preamplifier can be a good idea. After all, this can then be easily connected to an amplifier and used directly, this also applies to the PC or the sound card. If you want to listen to a turntable for music and also the appropriate quality, then a turntable without an integrated preamplifier is the better choice. In this way, you have significantly more control over the individual components of your system and can easily retrofit or replace as required. Information About The Test And The Product Recommendations The Blue Note reissue of Freddie Hubbard’s Hub-Tones (Blue Note 80 Vinyl, ST-84115) is a beautiful sounding record and exactly the type of recording that would sell a lot of Croft units. Really exceptional phono stages should make an instrument like the trumpet come alive without forcing you to reach for the remote because the top end has too much sizzle.This microphone preamplifier features automatic gain control, which maintains the output quality relatively consistent within a broad selection of input ranges.

Applying even the highly sensitive measuring devices at our fingertips we still could not determine virtually any output noise signal whatsoever! The prototype was found to work well with both 200 ohm and 600 ohm impedance dynamic microphones, but it should also work well with electret types which have a built-in FET buffer amplifier, but no step-up transformer. Cambridge Audio AXA 35, Cambridge Audio Edge A, Croft Phono Integrated, NAD C 316BEE, Naim Uniti Atom Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 28th November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.) Cantaloupe Island: An ARP Odyssey synth without any reverb or effects was the first instrument through the speakers. Cleaner, more defined—and dare I say with deeper bass—and texture that somehow seemed to make my subwoofer better get along with my speakers and room.Provided you keep it away from other mains-powered products and power cables, this phono stage will prove suitably quiet and hum-free. Features are basic but it's clear that Moon has focused on the bit that counts – sound quality. Is the performance gap that huge between the two units? No – but the dedicated phono stage has a little more presence overall, a deeper soundstage, and was less noisy than the stage inside the integrated amplifier. Rather than use a series of dipswitches (as many rivals do), the MX-VYNL has a rather elegant control dial to manage the switch between moving coil and moving magnet inputs and their different loading requirements.

The matching amplifier introduced in this article answers these difficulties: it features a high- impedance (1M) input that will stand up to voltages of over 200 V. The output impedance is fairly small. Amplication is X2 (6 dB). Another oldie but still a goodie, the Gram Amp 2 holds its own nearly a decade after first coming on the scene. And you can see why - simplicity is the name of the game here, an approach that ages remarkably well. It's a moving-magnet phono stage with one set of inputs, one output, no bells or whistles. We have state-of-the-art testing facilities in Reading, London and Bath, where our team of experienced, in-house reviewers test the majority of hi-fi and AV kit that passes through our door – including phono preamps (or phono stages).The Phono Signature on its own sounds refined and smooth with plenty of bite when required, but adding the updated PSX-R2 power supply takes sound quality to another plane altogether. The scale is even bigger, bass gains more authority, and the precise positions of the performers and instruments in the beautifully layered sound stage are laid bare. The insightful delivery squeezes the very last drop of emotion from a recording. It is recommended that the voltage gain should be kept within the limits stated earlier. C2 rolls of the high frequency response of the amplifier, and is necessary as instability might otherwise occur. So why do you need one? Your stereo amplifier or turntable may not have one, in which case you won't be able to play records without this crucial component. Or you might just want to upgrade its sound beyond what's possible with the built-in phono stage found in amplifiers or some record players. Because the input signal may climb at a rate of 6dB per octave, the preamplifier must also offer equalization. We love the scale of performance and the way the Vertere delivers the seismic dynamic shifts of the recording with so much enthusiasm. As with the previous generation (also an Award-winner), our main takeaway after hearing this phono stage is that it makes listening to music interesting and, where appropriate, fun. There’s not much we can ask of any piece of hi-fi beyond that.