Phono Preamp Reviews

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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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Phono Preamp Reviews
68 Years Later, McIntosh Launches Its First Stand-Alone Phono Preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 29, 2017  |  12 comments
Some may find it difficult to believe, but the new $2000 solid-state McIntosh MP100 phono preamplifier is the sixty eight year old company’s first stand-alone phono preamplifier.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Audio Alchemy's High Performance PPA-1 MM/MC Phono Preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 05, 2016  |  6 comments
Audio Alchemy was one of the premier “go to” budget priced audio companies of the late 1980’s through the 1990s, at which point it went out of business for reasons having little to do with the quality of its products.

What some people forget is that aside from producing reasonably priced, high performance gear, the company also issued some truly high tech products like the Digital Transmission Interface Pro32, which included an I2S interface that produced a low jitter connection between a transport the company also made that had an I2S output and DAC.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
The Even More Amazing ifi Micro iPhono 2 MM/MC Phono Preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 26, 2016  |  42 comments
While the new iPhono 2 appears on the outside to be identical to the original iPhono, reviewed back in 2012 on analogplanet.com, don’t let the similar appearance fool you: the iPhono 2 is a completely new and vastly improved phono preamplifier—and the original was already plenty good.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Pro-Ject’s MM/MC Phono Box RS Is A Chronic Overachiever
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 23, 2016  |  32 comments
You might be skeptical about electronics products from a company best known for its mechanical ones but Pro-Ject’s extensive Box-Design electronics series has gotten rave reviews over the past few years. The company has assembled a skilled electronics team to design and build a full electronics line in both the analog and digital domains.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
pure audio "vinyl" Phono Preamplifier From New Zealand
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 28, 2016  |  8 comments
New Zealand-based pure audio is a partnership between former Plinius Audio co-owner and chief electronics designer Gary Morrison and industrial designer Ross Stevens.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Luminous Audio Technology's Remarkable Arion Phono Preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Aug 11, 2015  |  10 comments
Much to the probable consternation of Luminous Audio Technology, I’ve sat on this MM/MC preamplifier review for more than six months. I probably could have literally sat on the Luminous Audio Arion too, so solidly is in constructed, but I didn’t.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
U-Turn Pluto Versus Schiit Mani: The Votes Are In!
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 16, 2015  |  14 comments
With nearly 500 votes cast, File "A" received 23% (104 votes). File "B" garnered 54% (240 votes), while 23% of respondents (103) felt the two phono preamplifiers were either "identical" sounding or it was "too close to call."

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Phono Preamp Reviews
A Mono Set-Up That Won’t Break the Bank
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 02, 2015  |  5 comments
The Italian-built Tektron Italia Mono Phono preamplifier manufactured exclusively for Robyatt Audio is an all-tube design housed in a wooden box topped by a solid copper plate that serves as the unit’s ground plane.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
A Current Affair: The Intriguing MR Labs VERA 20 MC Phono Preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 24, 2014  |  9 comments
The compact, two piece VERA 20 Phono Preamplifier from MR Labs may look more like a piece of medical technology and less like high performance audio gear, but don’t let its plain looks deceive you.

It consists of two relatively small chassis, one containing the amplification and signal processing electronics and the other the power supply. The power supply chassis (which at approximately 6 pounds weighs 3 times more than the amplification chassis) is capped at one end with a beefy heat sink more typical of a power amplifier. The two chassis connect via a pair of multi-pin umbilicals.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Balanced Audio Technology VK-P6 Phono Preamplifier Does MM
Michael Fremer  |  Aug 20, 2014  |  2 comments
First off, to clarify: I am a big Mel Tormé fan. If I describe a product as producing a "velvet fog" (Mel's nickname), it's meant as a compliment! Some readers emailed wondering how I meant the expression. I meant it as a compliment and I used it because the VK-P6's sonics reminded me of Mel's smooth, sonorous voice. If you want a phono preamp more in the Axl Rose camp, there are some. And there are some that manage neutrality or close to it.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Balanced Audio Technology VK-P6 Phono Preamplifier Produces A Luxurious, “Velvet Fog”
Michael Fremer  |  Aug 06, 2014  |  9 comments
Last year's purchase of Balanced Audio Technology by Jim Davis, who also owns Music Direct and Mobile Fidelity has resulted in major product upgrades and lower prices. This new VK-P6 phono preamplifier is an example of what the newly revitalized company can do given an adequate infusion of resources.

The new $3495 VK-P6 is the company’s entry level phono preamplifier, yet in terms of build and parts quality it shares a great deal with the top of the line $12,495 VK-P12SE, though trust me, you’d have little trouble hearing the differences between the two.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
The DSA Phono II MM/MC Phono Preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 31, 2014  |  13 comments
I reviewed Dynamic Sound Associate's $12,000 solid-state phono preamp in Stereophile's "Analog Corner" October, 2013. It was a "Class A" product all the way other than a few "burps".

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Phono Preamp Reviews
Reite Audio PS-1 MC Phono Preamplifier and PSU-1 Power Supply
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 30, 2014  |  20 comments
Reite Audio is a relatively new company created by electronics designer Bob Reite and musician Ed Sheftel. Sheftel first imported to America and distributed the Welsh-made Tom Evans Audio Design line of electronics. One of its products, The Groove phono preamp had, at the turn of the century, what could fairly be described as a “cult following”.
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Phono Preamp Reviews
Is Swan Song Audio's New Cygnet Phono Preamplifier Worth Its Weight In Copper?
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 23, 2014  |  50 comments
Swan Song Audio (www.swansongaudio.com), newly arrived in the audiophile electronics market will make its show debut at October’s Rocky Mountain Audio Festival 2014. Earlier this year Anthony Crocker (who I think at this time is Swan Song Audio), emailed and offered for review his Cygnet Phono Preamplifier.

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