In my previous blog post, I talked about some of the common vinyl record mistakes made by beginners. One of them was not having the right setup which results in subpar sound quality thereby ruining the listening experience. If you are serious about getting into vinyl, then you should invest in good equipment to enjoy it to the fullest. One of the critical pieces which is often missed is the phono preamp.
In this blog post, we will discuss about the following:
- Why do you need a phono preamp?
- What is phono preamp?
- Do I need a preamp for my turntable?
- How to choose the phono preamp which works with your turntable?
- Best phono preamps in market
Why do you need a phono preamp?
To understand what is a phono preamp, you need to know how a vinyl player works. The vinyl player or turntable is an analog device which converts mechanical vibrations into electrical signals. The player consists of a stylus (needle) which runs in the grooves of the vinyl record and moves back and forth causing vibrations. These vibrations are then picked up the cartridge which converts them into electrical signals. Because these grooves are so minute, the amount of electrical signal generated is very feeble. The signal coming out of the cartridge needs to be amplified 1000x times to be made audible via speakers. In order to amplify the sound, the vinyl player would need an integrated amplifier or an external one.
This is where the phone preamp comes into picture. Vintage vinyl players used to have an integrated amplifier built-in and made it easy to connect to speakers directly. However, modern players may or may not this option built-in. The vinyl player may have some kind of preamp built into them which would amplify to the sound, but not the extent of playing on speakers. Or they may not have any preamp built-in.
What is a phono preamp?
So now that you know how the vinyl player works, you understand the need for a preamp. The phono preamp aka phono stage (pre-amplifier), is a device which amplifies the sound from the vinyl player to an extent suitable for input into a receiver or stereo amplifier. The preamp takes the feeble signal from the player and makes it stronger for it to be further amplified. The output from the preamp is still not enough to drive the speakers. Even if you try connecting to speakers directly, the sound will be so low you will hardly heard it.
The phono preamp aka phono stage, is a device which amplifies the sound from the vinyl player to an extent suitable for input into a receiver or stereo amplifier.
The phono preamp are available in three forms: an integrated prepamp built into the vinyl player. If your player does not offer an integrated one, you will need to buy an external preamp device. The third option is your receiver may already have a phono input. If you have an integrated phono preamp, then you could directly connect the turntable to your receiver or amplifier. If you need an external one, then connect your turntable to the preamp and the output of preamp to the receiver or amplifier. If you receiver has phono input, then you could directly connect your turntable to it.
Apart from amplifying the audio signal from the turntable, preamps (specially external ones) also provide RIAA Equalization to improve the accuracy of the music. Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) set this standard in 1954 for playback via vinyl records. All preamps who adhere to this RIAA Equalization standard provide a clean boost of sound for your amplifier to grab. For more information about RIAA Equalization, visit here.
Do I need a preamp for my turntable?
Many modern turntables come with built-in preamps which make it easier to just plug and play. The easiest way to identify if you need a preamp or not is to look at the connections at the rear of your turntable. If you turntable has a preamp built-in then there would be a switch on the back side which allows you to switch between Phono and Line. If this switch is missing, then most likely the output is only phono and you will need a preamp. However, if you switch to Line, then the built-in preamp will boost your audio signal and then you will be able to connect the turntable to the received directly. You could still bypass the built-in preamp by switching to phono and using an external preamp.
How to choose the phono preamp which works with your turntable?
Choosing the correct preamp is very crucial for the quality of sound coming out of the speakers. Even when you have a preamp there is a possibility that sound quality may not be at par as due to one important factor. The component in a turntable which converts the analog movements to electrical signals is the cartridge. The method used by the cartridges to convert the electrical signal comes in 2 different forms. The cartridge could use a moving magnet or a moving coil to generate the electrical signal.
Moving magnet (MM) cartridges create an electrical signal from the analog inputs of the stylus by a moving magnet set within two copper coils. Moving magnet cartridges are known for their mellower sound in comparison to moving coil cartridges, and are generally less expensive
Moving coil (MC) cartridges are different than moving magnet cartridges in that when the stylus moves, it moves coils around a magnet to produce an electrical signal, rather than moving the magnet itself. Many consider this to offer better tonality and less distortion but are relatively more expensive.
In order to choose the correct preamp which would work with your turntable, you should check whether the preamp supports moving coil (MC) or moving magnet (MM) cartridges or both. Your turntable specification would mention the type of cartridge used by it. Once you have the type of cartridge, you could purchase the appropriate preamp.
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Best Budget Phono Preamps
Here are some of the most popular and affordable phono preamps in market.
Rolls Phono Preamp, Red (VP29)
Pro-Ject Audio Phono Box (MM/MC)
U-Turn Audio – Pluto (MM)
Music Hall Mini (MM)
