Look for well maintained vintage gear like Yamaha, Toshiba or Luxman. They had killer phono stages back in the day when vinyl ruled.
A decent preamp to complete my setup?
Hey everyone! I'm absolutely new to the hobby and am coming along with a turntable setup and have everything besides my preamp. So far I have a Technics sl-1200mkd3 turntable, two svs ultra bookshelf speakers, and a NuForce STA200 160 watt amp. I'm loving the setup so far because apparently the NuForce will do well with the SVS speakers, but I've been cautioned to use a preamp that has as low gain as possible since apparently the NuForce has a lot already (I admit I'm not too sure if this is a big deal or even much of an issue, but initially it makes sense). I've heard somewhere in the 2-3db region is great, but have no idea where to look for something like that. My budget is $300-$350 so I'm hoping that's enough to get something decent, do you guys have any suggestions? I don't want any bells or whistles like streaming, DAC, etc. Just a good preamp with volume control that's simple to run from my turntable to my amp. If the perfect piece of equipment for me is a little outside of my range I suppose I'd have no problem saving up a bit more to get it, but I'm hoping something that gives me the bare bones I'm looking for will be decently in my range.
- ...
- 23 posts total
bacom15 Your NuForce STA200 only needs a minuscule 0.45v input for full wattage output. And it’s got 50kohm input impedance, good for anything. Which makes an ideal candidate for a unity gain or low gain preamp. Schiit Remote controlled Freya+ comes to mind for a combo of 3 x low gain preamps in one, switchable from passive to solid state to tube. https://www.schiit.com/products/freya-1 And they also do a phono stage if you need one. https://www.schiit.com/products/mani All their products come with a 15 day trial period Cheers George |
If you notice those numbers don't add up to $2500 that's because I take $500 right off the top for my time and expertise. @millercarbon Are you really serious? You are charging this lady 500.00? I can only think I must not have read that right. I am always happy to offer advice to a novice. I will even spend my time doing the legwork and send links of equipment I'd recommend. It never crossed my mind to ask for a penny. You should be happy to bring someone else into the fold. Not charging commission. Unbelievable. Oz |
- 23 posts total