Beginner phono preamp?

[richidoo]

An old friend emailed me out of the blue, remembering I was into audio, asking if I could offer advice on a turntable so he and his wife "can get into this vinyl thing."  He is a web developer, amateur musician/serious music lover, beer brewer, bearded, ultra-intelligent... you know the type, perfect candidate for audiophile! And I intend to reel him in.  (evil laugh)

So he is buying a nice used cart from me AT 150mlx, and I'm giving him a bunch of old unused gear lying around that I have inherited or bartered over the years. SL-Q2 TT and a Sony 100W receiver.  He is buying some new pioneer speakers, either BS-21, or FS-52 if he takes my advice. The last thing that remains is a MM  phono amp since this receiver has none.

The budget as you can guess is low. Amazon has a selection of amps starting at $12, new, delivered.    
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=phono%20preamp&sprefix=phono+pr%2Caps

I think the system will be good enough to warrant a decent mid-fi amp. Vista Phono1 like I use is too expensive. He (thinks he) can't DIY.

Suggestions?

Thanks
Rich

[etcarroll]

Hi Rich -

I'm in same boat, a nephew who plays guitar wants to get into vinyl and asked for advice.

I'm driving up to BOS early Oct for a 6 month checkup and bringing him a Technics tt and my old TCC  TC_760 LC;

http://www.amazon.com/TC-760LC-BLACK-Moving-Phono-Control/dp/B000J2JFWI

I'm intrigued by your speaker recommendations, what is this based on?


G

[mdconnelly]

I wonder if someone is just starting out completely, would it be worth scouring Ebay or the like for a receiver that has a decent MM phono section.  They used to make them all that way and not a lot of cash outlay.   

I may even have one - I think it's an old Denon - that's just collecting dust.   Not sure if I still have it but if I can help, Rich, let me know. 

[richidoo]

Thanks guys!

gene, it was pman pointed me to the pioneers SP-BS22. 5" woofers, big magnet, wafeguide tweet. (freudian slip? waifguide?) They are designed by Andrew jones, but on a very tight budget.  how tight? A new pair of 2way bookshelfs $130 msrp. Amazon warehouse is selling last year's model BS21 for $50/pr delivered with prime. There is a floorstander 3way model too, SP-FS22 @Amazon warehouse $160pr.  That's a three way floorstander. Warehouse sells opened and returned merchandise, with warranty and return privilege. Lots of favorable reviews on them, even in the hifi press. some of the reviews are midfi reviews where these are the best speakers ever, and others are 'for the money you can't beat it." i'll report if i get to hear them.

mike, yes a built in phono pre would be ideal. this sony receiver I'm giving him shares an owner manual with two other models, both of which have phono pre.   


He's looking at ART DJPre2 for $50.

Audiotechnica PEQ3 is well reviewed, but discontinued.

Another I just read about on vinylengine is TCC  TC750.
http://www.phonopreamps.com/tc750pp.html
I think I will recommend this one to him.

[mdconnelly]

Rich - I've got a Denon DRA-25.  30wpc receiver that I bought new from Audio Advice back around 1990 I think for a bedroom system.   The receiver is working fine - tested it tonight.   It does have a phono stage but I haven't a clue how good it is.  I doubt I ever actually used it for that.

Not nearly as much power as your Sony receiver, but I'd be happy to let the Denon go for a song if your buddy is interested.  Overall, it's a pretty nice little unit that's still in great shape.  Denon made some nice gear back then. 

[richidoo]

That sounds nice. Reminds me of my long lost love, the little Onkyo jewel from 84. Sigh...

Thanks, but I already promised this Sony to him for free, same price I paid, so he'll prefer that price. I think he has already bought either the Tcc or the ART phono stage. He seemed pretty eager to buy this morning.

[sleepyguy24]

Man. I'm too late on this one. I have used a couple of the budget phono preamps mentioned in this thread and I found the Audiotechnica PEQ3 to be superior to the NAD PP2 phono preamp. The NAD PP2 had a horrible mid-range and treble in my system when I had it. Not too long ago the ART DJ Pre I found interesting/ well reviewed and almost went for it but then found a used  Pro-Ject Tube Box at a good price and went for that.

[richidoo]

Thanks Sleepy. Not too late, the info is always here for anybody looking for a cheap phono stage. I looked at the AT stage, but it is out of production, so I figured he'd rather buy current in case he needs repair. There are still some AQ PEQ3s available on the web. Fremer gave it a great review among the cheapies.

[hometheaterdoc]

not cheap in terms of $20, but cheap in terms of mega buck stuff.... and I'm no longer in a position to say one way or the other since I refuse to go back down the rabbit hole of vinyl by spending retirement savings to build a whole new addition on the house to house the records and fret about tracking angle, etc....

but everyone that does have vinyl and has heard it loses their mind about the little iFi Audio iPhono...  Take the appropriate pound of salt with the giant killer comparisons... they rarely are as extreme as some folks would have you believe....but some customers have replaced pretty pricey stuff with this little $299 piece...  so there's at least something to it...

I can speak to the DACs and headphone amp sections of their gear and it is definitely a superb value for the asking price.  Sooooo... there's that...

wish I could contribute more to the discussion... but I'm trying to stay blissfully ignorant of how much superior vinyl can sound.... I can only imagine what an inquisitive little 2 year old boy would do to a turntable if I had one out in the open.....

[BobM]

I ran into the same dilemma for my daughter 2 years ago. Pumpkinman (thank you again) helped me out big time. He found an old Marantz receiver that put out 25 watts and an old Pioneer turntable for a more than reasonable price. I just had to attach some bookshelf speakers I had in the basement and grab an inexpensive cartridge to mount. Of course I threw her a few records to start her off also.

She was so happy. A perfect beginner system.

[StereoNut]

... I can only imagine what an inquisitive little 2 year old boy would do to a turntable if I had one out in the open.....

Hmmmnnn, was that tonearm always "S" shaped!?!