Phono stage with gain control?

Wright Sound WPP200C. It's exactly what you're seeking.

There is one for sale now, but it has a sale pending. Too bad.

My Wright Sound WPP200C sounds tremendous plugged directly into the preamp inputs of my Leben CS-600.

The Wright is designed to be used directly into an amplifier. It's essentially a single-source preamp.

At the used price, it's a zero sum game. Try it, and if it doesn't work as you hoped, then sell it for what you paid.

06-10-07: Eldartford
Maybe I missed something, but a phono stage with a gain control is called a preamp.

Yup. Wright Sound Company calls its WPP200C a phono preamplifier.

Works as advertised.

Ed_sawyer, I read that the WPP100C was inherently noisy due to the tubes used, which prompted the design of the quieter WPP200C. Never heard both. I own the WPP200C, and it's fine for my purposes.

I suppose a call to George would provide the definitive answer.

Mingles, I cannot offer a quality comparison because I used the two phono pres only a short time with the same table/cart, but overall, I can say the Lehmann was a strong performer. I'd not hesitate to own another. The Lehmann was quieter. The Wright has a bit more "life" in the music provided by the tubes, but the diference is not night and day. Of course, because of the availability of tube swapping, the sound of the Wright can be tailored whereas he Lehmann's cannot.

I also like the dual gain controls of the Wright.

Dean_fuller...If your pickup yields sufficient volume when the power amp is fed directly from the phono stage there is no need for extra gain, which you will just "throw away" using the volume control pot.
Eldartford (Reviews | Threads | Answers)

Which is exactly why I'm running my Wright WPP200C into the preamp inputs of my Leben CS-600.

Sweet.