Phono preamp

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Tomas
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Phono preamp

Post by Tomas » Sat Jan 22, 2005 9:50 am

Hey guys

I'm trying to get some information on this topic. I know that people who sample usually have their turntable hooked up to a DJ mixer and use that as a phono preamp. I was thinking that if I got a better quality preamp and then run the signal through my mixer, I could get a better quality samples (sonically).

I know that phono preamps go from $50 to $10000, but what would be some good ones in the $200-$400 category?

Another thing, my mixer is Tascam M-320 and there was a thread just recently saying that it was not a good board at all, very noisy, etc.

Would getting a nice preamp make sense if I then run the signal through the Tascam? Or would one of the DJ mixers give me better quality samples?

Thanks for your help...

Tomas

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Re: Phono preamp

Post by Girl Toes » Sat Jan 22, 2005 1:08 pm

I don't know many brands off hand, we had an NAD for a while that we liked a lot.


Try http://www.acousticsounds.com
I haven't tried most of it, but they deal with audiophile stuff.

If you can, go to an audiophile store near you and take a listen. You will notice a difference in the more expensive models.

Zoltar
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Re: Phono preamp

Post by Zoltar » Sat Jan 22, 2005 1:15 pm

Good preamps seem to really improve separation in particular. Do you really need strong separation for the samples you are using?

I have used mic preamps for phono preamps, and thet sounded ok. I don't know the impedences offhand, but as long as those match, phono is just two dynamic mics without the diaphrams, right? I am curious about this myself.

zoltar

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Re: Phono preamp

Post by BroAudio » Sat Jan 22, 2005 4:04 pm

Hi, depending on what you are sampling with you should be able to skip the mixer altogether with a nice phono pre. I found that using a good phono pre straight into my sampler gave me a much better signal than running through my dj mixer or board. You can get old broadcast pre's like a Stanton 310 for usually under $150. I have one of these and the difference between that and either my old school pioneer receiver or newer Numark dj thingy is really noticeable. Hope that helps....

matt

Tomas
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Re: Phono preamp

Post by Tomas » Sat Jan 22, 2005 4:12 pm

Thanks for your tips everyone...

Matt, I have a few samplers - SP1200, S950 and MPC-60. The reason I mentioned the mixer was in case I want to EQ before sampling.

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Re: Phono preamp

Post by wardshorsehead » Sat Jan 22, 2005 5:12 pm

andy hong favorably reviewed that new soundcraft compact mixer recently in the magazine.

about $100, two phone / line (switchable) stereo channels, and two mic amps.

i'd check that out.

frank

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Re: Phono preamp

Post by antonlamont45 » Sat Jan 22, 2005 9:40 pm

i use a rotel preamp, about $150 on ebay, excellent sound, i'd definitely recommend it. i'm sampling into similar machines (sp1200, s950) i've heard that creek makes some of the best in that price range, but they're around $300. any quality preamp will do for those 12 bit machines; spending more than $150 won't make much difference for mono 12 bit sampling.

i'd recommend getting a nice stylus/cartridge as well just for sampling/recordign.

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Re: Phono preamp

Post by ivanovich » Sat Jan 22, 2005 9:46 pm

yep. a nice needle is always nice. i got a grado a couple of months ago and it nicely broken in. i run that through my arcam preamplifier. before that i had an adcom preamplifier with a phonostage. big difference.

adcom- lots of watts but no bawlllllzzzzz

Tomas
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Re: Phono preamp

Post by Tomas » Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:01 pm

Thanks guys ..... could you tell me the specific rotel and arcam models? I tried to look them up, but didn't really find anything.

Also, what cartridges would you consider nice for sampling? If you get some audiophile cartridge, you can't backcue with it, right?

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Re: Phono preamp

Post by ivanovich » Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:12 pm

yeah with the non dj type i dont think it would be a good idea to try it. although they are not meant to do that i suppose you could try it and see how it sounds/fucksuprecord/fucksupneedle.

the arcam fmj integrated amplfier is what i use......god i love that thing....it was within my pricerange

and as far as needles i've only used a shure and the grado. i love my grado. both needle and headphones.

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Re: Phono preamp

Post by antonlamont45 » Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:39 pm

i have the rotel RQ-970 preamp. I also use a music hall mmf 5 turntable with goldring 1012 (i think? im not at my studio now to look) needle/cartridge.

as for backqueing, i do it all the time (maybe i shouldn't?!) and my needle soounds great so far. if u really want to get audiophile about it, get a nice belt drive turntable like mine or the rega planar series.

direct drive tt's (tech 1200) are necessary for djing, but the platter is directly connected to the motor so there is more rumble (low end noise, less dynamic range) than a good belt drive TT.

Tomas
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Re: Phono preamp

Post by Tomas » Sat Jan 22, 2005 11:45 pm

antonlamont45 wrote:as for backqueing, i do it all the time (maybe i shouldn't?!) and my needle soounds great so far.
Do you backcue with your music hall turntable / goldring cartridge?
antonlamont45 wrote:if u really want to get audiophile about it, get a nice belt drive turntable like mine or the rega planar series.
That's the dilemma I have. Since I'll be sampling with a 12-bit sampler, will the belt drive with a really nice needle be overkill? Should I just get tech 1200 with a nice cartridge?

I can't decide ....

Do you use both music hall and technics for sampling? If so, is there a big difference in the sample quality (sonically)?

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Re: Phono preamp

Post by Rigsby » Sun Jan 23, 2005 12:21 am

I have a sherwood amp and use the tape-outs into my mixer, into my computer. I could miss out the mixer but it's handy for EQing, especially when doing live dubs and eqing the aux channel with a delay on it, which is so much fun when you're in the right frame of mind.
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Tomas
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Re: Phono preamp

Post by Tomas » Sun Jan 23, 2005 11:19 am

Are you guys familiar with Hafler DH-101? What do you think about it?

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