Preamp for someone who's never needed one?


I've had a vinyl only system forever which includes an Art Audio Vinyl One phono pre with a volume control hooked directly to my amplifier. Recently I've made changes which have boosted the output level of my amp and phono stage and now I have very little play in my volume control before it gets too loud. The Art Audio sounds best when it's at 3 o'clock and it never gets above 9 now. So I guess I need a preamp and I'll start using the non attenuated output of the phono pre. What should I buy? I'm looking for simplicity. I don't need more than 2 inputs. Just looking for something that doesn't mess with what I already have. Amp is custom Rogue Atlas using KT120 for use with my Quad ESL57. Thanks!
dhcod

Showing 1 response by rrog

You needed a preamp you just didn't know it. Try an Audio Research SP-11, SP-14 or SP-15. These preamps are designed for phone and they have separate gain and attenuator controls.

The Rothwell attenuators did not work for me either. I was attempting to reduce the gain of a 7 volt output CD player (2 volts is typical) and the Rothwell attenuators significantly reduced system resolution.