A thorens TD160 is hard to beat for what it can do. I should know...I had a TD160 Super. Try Stanwal's suggestion. If gain is too low for your liking, a step-up will work just fine. Now, if pulling the hair out of your head is more your style (typical audiophile behavior,like yours truly), then we can talk about phono pre's later.
Phono stage direct to amp?
I'm thinking about using HDMI for CD, SACD, and surround SACD, so that leaves only my phono stage in analog. I'm using a CIA VPP-1 phono stage with a VAC-1 power supply with my Proceed PAV/PDSD. I propose plugging the VPP-1 into the pass-through of an Integra 9.8 or 9.9 processor, thereby replacing the PAV/PDSD. Is the level generally sufficient out of a phono stage for this? If it matters, the cartridge is an Ortofon SME 30H. I'm obviously not a vinyl head, but the phono setup sounds surprisingly good, especially with one of the $50 45 RPM LPs, and I enjoy the Thorens TD160 turntable and SME arm with its adjustments and dangling weight as a toy.
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