Phono Preamp Reviews

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Phono Preamp Reviews
CiAudio's Punchy, Pleasing PEQ MKII Dual Mono MM/MC Phono Preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 04, 2017
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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FeaturesPhono Preamp ReviewsVote
You Should Buy a MM-Only Phono Preamp If You Are Using a MM Cartridge! At Least Based on These Results
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 17, 2017
First let's all agree that these short clip tests are useful and fun but must be taken as "for entertainment purposes only."

For those joining late, we twice asked the question "Should You Buy a MM-Only Phono Preamp If You Own a MM Cartridge"?, each time offering "blind listening" and voting. The first time was way back in May of 2017 where you could listen and vote for one of eight phono preamps, some MM-only and some MM/MC running in MM.

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FeaturesPhono Preamp ReviewsVote
Eight Phono Preamps Identified and Votes Tallied!
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 30, 2017
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 ReviewsVote
Don't Forget to Vote! Polls Close Friday
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 21, 2017
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
Eight Phono Preamplifiers Compared (Though Not Yet For Sound)
Michael Fremer  |  May 04, 2017
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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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