Which Phono Preamp for my System????

Calgarian,

What cartridge are you using? If you have a lower output moving coil, gain may be an issue with some of your choices. Two others you might consider are the Cambridge 640p and the Monolithic PS-1/2. I'm currently using the Monolithic PS-1 with the HC-1b power supply and it's been great for that price range.

In any event, the rest of your system is pretty nice, so I would counsel not spending much at this juncture. If you decide you like vinyl and the whole ritual, I suspect you'll want to upgrade the Axis, cartridge, and phono preamp very quickly. If you decide vinyl doesn't work for you, you won't have much invested.

It's always worth the effort to try vinyl - you might just love it. I do!

David

Shortly after reading Grado's white papers on their PH-1, I found one at Echo Audio in Portland, OR and bought it. Grado's design made sense to me and I liked the price and fact that it works with low to high output cartridges.
I haven't seen much feedback on the web on this unit, but I am very satisfied with it's performance and aesthetics.
Howell

Thank you for your reply. I purchased the Linn Axis many years ago, and obtained the Linn K9 moving magnet (I believe this was Linn's entry level MM) cartridge to pair up with the turntable. I know it's not SOTA, and I'm not sure if the turntable, itself, warrants an upgraded cartridge OR a phono preamp beyond the <$500 models I've listed in my original thread. If I were to get an MC cartridge, it would likely be a high-output MC. I'm just planning on using the turntable the odd time I get nostalgic and want to listen to some of my older tunes.

I have very little experience with turntables other than what I've told you. Without having to change turntables (assuming my Linn Axis is still ok...???), what would you recommend for cartridge/phono-preamp? I would prefer not going over $1000 for both (used phono-preamp along with new cartridge) if possible. There must be some good bang-for-your-buck values out there! If I absolutely need to go beyond the $1000 price point to get something decent, what would you recommend?

Thanks again,
Calgarian

If you want to keep the budget down, there are some excellent choices without spending anywhere near $1000 for cartridge and phono pre.

Serious bang for the buck are the following:

DB Systems Phono Pre $165 U.S. (direct order from manufacturer). A review on the MC version of the phono pre is here:

http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/weaver10.htm

Both of the DB Systems phono preamps come without a subsonic filter but you can add a basic subsonic in simply by asking David Hadaway at the time of order for an extra $5 or $10 and I would definitely recommend doing that.

I have both the MM (in a system for my son) and MC versions and they are very good phono preamps for very little money. Not a well known name so resale down the line may not be great. If you're thinking resale, I'd look at the Cambridge 640 or the Project Phonobox SE, although I doubt either one will be better than the DB Systems (one user that I know of prefers the DB to the Lehman Black Cube with upgraded power supply.) I have a basic original Project Phono Box that I am selling for about $60, but frankly, the DB MM stage mops the floor with it.

You can mail order an Audio Technica 120E from Garage-a-Records for $59 or a Shure M97XE if you look on the web for about $69 U.S. Both excellent cartridges-the AT is livelier, more exciting, the Shure is smoother, more laid back. The new AT 440MLA is supposed to be a truly outstanding cartridge around $100 U.S. if you shop carefully.

At the most, in these cases you are looking at $265 U.S. plus a bit of duty and taxes if you are in Canada (as I am) and maybe another $40 or so to have the cartridge professionally installed and aligned. Any of the above cartridges are going to better the Linn K9, which was an AT sourced cheapie with a huge markup courtesy of Linn.

If it's just an experiment to see how much you'll be spinning vinyl that would be a good place to start.

I set up my son with a $5 garage sale Pioneer PL-12D, the AT 120E and the DB MM stage and it is a very adequate performer. Not as refined as my Gyrodec/FT-3/Denon 103R combo, but surprisingly very good and engaging for very little money.

Calgarian,

In my experience, MM cartridges are far less susceptible to age related degradation than MC, so your K9 may be just fine. I'd stick with a solid state phono preamp for now, and stay under $200 used, which would cover most of your list. If you want to buy new, the Cambridge is a steal here:

http://www.spearitsound.com/Cambridge_Audio/Cambridge_Audio_540p.asp

If you taste vinyl and like it, you'll want to replace your whole analog front end to bring it up to the level of the rest of your system - it's very seductive!