Preamps & Your Turntable

When you buy a turntable you may be faced with the choice on whether to go with an external or internal preamp. You might also wonder - what the heck is a preamp anyway?

Written & Produced by Rick Coste

[IDPhotoMan]

I'm a poor newbie, new to the wonderful world of vinyl records and "good" turntables. I'm very far from an audiophile lol. I picked up and repaired a Denon DP-11F for $30, added an Audio Technica AT3600L for $15 (not the best by Far, but ok for now) after i found out it is the exact same rebranded cartridge as the $65 Rega Carbon, and bought a Douk Audio T3 Pro pre-amp for $50 (granted, the tubes are only there to smooth the sound a little, it's not a true "tube amplifier"). Hooked up to my old Yamaha CR-420 i picked up from a thrift store years ago for $20, i'm loving the experience. I do plan on slowly upgrading things as money permits. I have all of my mom's old records, and am starting quite a collection of my own. Thanks for the videos, just subscribed today.

[TheReal]

This is one of the easiest upgrades you can do...external phono preamp. After a lot of deliberation and not having terribly deep pockets, I went with the iFi iPhono2. Running a nice MM cart now, but this preamp will allow me to run the MC Hanna ML when I can save enough. Tube input stage only. Using this against a built-in preamp was like opening the door to Alice's garden with the key. Great explanation of what phono preamps do, cleverly without getting into the tube versus solid state dungeon.

[NoEggu]

The pre-amp (#1) for a turntable is not the same as the pre-amp (#2) that feeds your amp(s).
They share similar functions, but they differ, too, mainly as it pertains to the RIAA equalization, which is not present in #2. Also, #1 has no volume control.

My understanding of why the RIAA equalization is necessary for #1 is that when the groove in a record is created, the bass notes are what determine the width of the groove. The lower the frequency, the wider the groove needs to be. If the record was pressed with no equalization, then the groove would be far wider than what we have on our records, and the stylus would have a heck of a time navigating that canyon of a groove, and the amount of time a side of a record could play would also be far less, due to the wider groove.

So along comes RIAA, that diminishes the low frequencies (via a standardized equalization curve) that gets pressed into the record (resulting in a narrower groove), and then pre-amp #1 reverses that process, via boosting the low frequencies back to their original levels.

As is the case when it comes to stereo components, there are mass produced parts, and there are hand-build, custom parts, built by people with a passion for excellence.
As such, there are pre-amps (#1 and #2), as well as power amps, that reach the sky in pricing. But price does not always mean better sounding. There are examples of gear where one box, that is ½ the price of some other competing box, and the lower priced box sounds better. But high-end boxes will almost certainly sound better, and will be more costly. And as with any quality product, you reach a point of diminishing returns, where a 2% improvement could cost 25% more.

One of the advantages of a separate box for each pre-amp (and power amp) is that you will get a power supply that is dedicated to serving that box, and only that box. Quality power supplies get very expensive, but they are a key component in why a pre-amp / power amp will sound the way it sounds.

I am sharing the above, for those that might be wondering why some equipment costs so much. Sometimes it is simply overpriced. But for truly quality gear, the design, engineering, labor and quality control that goes into every nuance of each part within the box is done by people that are tops in their field, and ensuring that each part is thoroughly tested, and the finished box is thoroughly tested simply costs more. It could takes weeks to build a single box vs a few hours (or less) for mass produced, assembly line, low cost boxes. There is nothing wrong with the latter, if you choose wisely. At any price point, read reviews and if possible do a listening test.


Cheers!

[aussierob]

Since a phono stage preamp is the first component that the signal goes to, it is necessary to purchase the best phono stage you can afford to lessen the degradation of the signal.

[memeik]

Great video and informative as always!

[VintageStereoCollectorChannel]

Nice vid with good explanation. I’ve relied on internal phono stages in my preamps. My brother-in-law talked about needing an external phono preamp which got me thinking about one for myself. There are so many choices and price points to chose from.

I settled on a Sun Valley All Purpose Phono Equalizer (SV-EQ1616D) from Japan. It is a tube phono stage with MM and MC capabilities and has two inputs for TTs and one output. I run a Bob’s Devices Sky 40 SUT from my TT to the Sun Valley. I have two TTs, on with an MC cart and the other MM or MI cart. Wonderful sound👍👍

[TBNTX]

I appreciated this video. It helps clear-up the confusion.

I've owned both solid-state pre-amps and tube-based. models. I've put aside the solid-state models, and I use the tube model exclusively. The solid-state version just wasn't to my liking.

I won't mention the makers or models, but - at least for me - the tube-based models are smoother and louder.

Everyone will have their opinions, I'm sure, but I'm sticking with my tube-based pre-amp.

[brittnipiercey]

If mine has a switch bt and pt does that mean I have a pre amp?

[heartdaaji]

Great piece of information
Any suggestions on pre amp which can play 78 rpm with perfect equalization along RIAA curve.

[garyausten]

When it comes to my first TT upgrade (Rega Planar 2, AT-VM540ML, Rega Fono MM Mk5) would you recommend a higher-end MM cart or a more premium preamp?