Phono Preamp Reviews

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Cambridge Audio's "Duo" Phono Preamp/Headphone Amplifier Outperforms Its Low Price
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 14, 2019  |  15 comments
Cambridge Audio's Duo is a compact, attractive, lightweight (2.1 Lbs) low priced phono preamplifier that will surprise you with its solid sonic performance as well as its low price. It certainly surprised me! It also features a headphone amplifier so it makes for a great desktop or dorm room accessory.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Can Aurorasound’s VIDA MkII Phono Preamp Prioritize Clarity and Detail While Also Achieving Precise Imaging and Neutral Tonal Balance?
Ken Micallef  |  Jun 24, 2024  |  5 comments

The veneer wrap of products from the Japanese manufacturer Aurorasound greatly resembles that of a 1975 Lafayette integrated amp — but that’s certainly no reason to discount this fabulous machine of theirs we see here before us today, the MkII phono preamp. Read on to see how well the Aurorasound VIDA MkII fared when our ace reviewer Ken Micallef cued up a number of his favorite LPs in order to hear just what it could do. . .

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Phono Preamp Reviews
CiAudio's Punchy, Pleasing PEQ MKII Dual Mono MM/MC Phono Preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 04, 2017  |  17 comments
CiAudio (better known as Channel Island Audio) is an American-manufacturer of high quality, moderately priced electronics that you can explore at the company’s website. The PEQ 1 MKII is built to an unexpectedly high standard given its $995 price tag and American heritage. The outside is a sturdy milled aluminum chassis unusual at this price point as are the highest quality panel mounted Cardas™ RCA jacks. Inside is a dual mono design with each input jack going to an identically laid out, independent mono circuit, which helps to eliminate crosstalk.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Classic Audio’s MM PRO by Michael Fidler Phono Preamp Heads to the Top of Its Price Class
Ken Micallef  |  Jul 30, 2024  |  2 comments

Hand-built in Kent, England, Classic Audio’s MM PRO by Michael Fidler phono preamp is a pint-sized bruiser that packs a real punch. This little box — no bigger than a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold phone tucked into a Band-Aid tin — is a serious piece of kit hiding inside a sandblasted aluminum frame. Read Ken Micallef’s review to see if Fidler’s MM PRO makes the grade in terms of clarity, separation, and broad soundstage performance. . .

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Conrad-Johnson Premier 15 phono preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 03, 1999  |  0 comments
At a hi-fi show in Germany a few years ago, an audio club had set up a room filled with a dozen well-known turntable/tonearm combos. I recall seeing the Clearaudio/Souther, Immedia RPM-2 and arm, VPI TNT Mk.IV/JMW Memorial, Basis 2500/Graham 2.0, Oracle/Graham, Linn LP12/Ittok, SME Model 20/SME V, and some others I can't remember, including a few not exported from Germany.
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Phono Preamp Reviews
Does Curl's Jr. Have the Beef?
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 24, 2018  |  14 comments
First released in 2010, Parasound’s JC 3 MM/MC phono preamplifier began as a dual-mono John Curl-designed phono section retro-fit for its JC2 line stage. With vinyl’s popularity on the rise, Parasound’s Richard Schram figured a stand-alone version priced right might find an audience.

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Phono Preamp ReviewsVote
Don't Forget to Vote! Polls Close Friday
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 21, 2017  |  1 comments
Posted stories go to the bottom of the page and then disappear but the eight phono preamps compared story lives on and there's still time to vote for your favorite in this blind listening test.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
EAR 834P phono preamplifier Michael Fremer on the EAR
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 10, 2005  |  0 comments
Michael Fremer wrote about the EAR 834P Deluxe in August 2003 (Vol.26 No.8):

I've been meaning to review this Tim de Paravicini design for years. Finally, egged on by readers, here goes.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Easy to Warm Up to ELAC Alchemy’s $1250 PPA-2 Phono Preamp
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 29, 2020  |  23 comments
ELAC Alchemy designer Peter Madnick is well-known to veteran audiophiles as the man behind, among other companies, Audio Alchemy, the “high end” brand that during the 1990s made high performance affordable. With Madnick designing and the business side run by Mark Shifter—a guy who could sell ham to a Hasid—Audio Alchemy had a formidable, decade long run before it folded.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Eight Phono Preamplifiers Compared (Though Not Yet For Sound)
Michael Fremer  |  May 04, 2017  |  12 comments
Here’s a comparison of eight phono preamplifiers incorporating a variety of features and ranging in price from $399 to $4500. The adjacent “vote” story includes files made using each of them so this write-up will not contain sonic comparisons. Those will follow when the voting closes. When that happens depends upon how many readers participate and how quickly they vote.

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FeaturesPhono Preamp ReviewsVote
Eight Phono Preamps Identified and Votes Tallied!
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 30, 2017  |  24 comments
AnalogPlanet asked the question Should You Buy a MM Only Phono Preamp If you are using a MM cartridge? and then provided readers with capsules of 8 phono preamps followed by 8 unidentified 96k/24 bit files, asking readers to listen and vote "blind".

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Four Phono Preamp File Identities Revealed!
Michael Fremer  |  May 27, 2014  |  15 comments
While in excess of 6000 people read the story and many thousands downloaded the files, for some reason fewer than 100 analogplanet.com readers chose to vote for which phono preamp sounded best reproducing a short segment of Mehmet Ali Sanlikol's big band album what's next.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Four Phono Preamps Reviewed
Michael Fremer  |  May 27, 2014  |  3 comments
You've had the files to listen to, compare and vote on for some time now so here are the capsule reviews.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Gold Note PH-5 Phono Preamp
Ken Micallef  |  Jul 31, 2023  |  9 comments

The Gold Note PH-5 phono preamp comes ready to do the job at hand with nine impedance inputs, four gain options, and a choice of using either an MM or MC cartridge with it — plus, the PH-5 offers three separate EQ curves, something we’ve yet to see at this price point. Read Ken Micallef’s review to find out if the PH-5 was indeed able to deliver clean, smooth, and well-balanced sound and a deep soundstage. . .

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Graham Slee Era Gold Mk.V phono stage
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 30, 2004  |  0 comments
I don't know Graham Slee from Gram Parsons, or which House he was in at Harry Potter's Hogwarts School, but let me tell you: If you'd just been listening to a bunch of budget phono preamps, as I had, then came upon the GSP Audio Era Gold Mk.V, you'd think someone had switched out not just the phono preamp but your entire system. You might think you were listening to a different pressing or a different cartridge. How can this be?
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