Preamp recommendation $300: see desired features


I'm looking for a nice used preamp that can be had for around $250-$300. Any help would be appreciated. Wish list (in order of priority)...remote, quality phono stage, pre-out, decent headphone jack, tape loop, defeatable tone controls.
soulbrass

Showing 3 responses by sugarbrie

Rotel RC-990 is in that price range.
The newer Rotel RC-995 will be $350 to $400

They both do everything on your list. Both MM and MC phono. No tone controls.
On the RC972 phono was an optional add-on board, to you would need to ask the seller. And it would be only MM or MC, not both.

Check eBay weekly in addition to AudiogoN. A RC990 or RC995 appears at least monthly, sometimes more. If you can stretch the RC995 is worth the extra money IMHO.

There is also the Cambridge Audio C500. Phono was an optional add-on. I think it does have tone controls with defeat if you do need tone controls. It would be under $200 used. It is actually pretty decent. It is close to neutral, like having no preamp.
Another reason why I think the RC995 is worth the extra money is that it has a serious phono stage, not just some circuit board to accommodate phono.

The phono circuitry in the RC995 is derived from the stand alone Rotel RHQ-10 phono stage which had an MSRP of $1900.00 back in 1993. The Rotel RH line of products were of a much higher quality than anything they've made before or since. The RC995 is possibly the best non-RH 2 channel stereo preamp Rotel ever sold, although I have not heard the RC1090.