Phono Preamp Reviews

Simaudio Moon LP5.3 phono preamplifier

Michael Fremer Oct 07, 2007 First Published: Mar 07, 2007

Simaudio's Moon LP5.3 MM/MC phono preamplifier ($1400) is silly good! It has single-ended RCA inputs and both single-ended and true balanced-differential outputs. It also offers a wide range of adjustments for gain (54, 60, and 66dB), resistive loading (10, 100, 470, 1k, and 47k ohms), and capacitive loading (0, 100, and 470pF), all accomplished via a series of internally mounted jumper banks. You can even choose RIAA or IEC equalization. Removing the top plate to get to the adjustments reveals boards filled with high-quality parts for the well-isolated power-supply and signal-handling circuits.

Phono Preamp Reviews

Sonic Frontiers Phono One phono preamplifier

Brian Damkroger Jul 01, 2007 First Published: May 01, 1999

I've been in love with British sports cars ever since a visiting highway engineer brought a green MGB-GT to my tiny Nebraska town 30 years ago. Since then, there's been a steady stream of ferocious little cars in my life. Triumphs, MGs, Healeys, you name it—right up to my current crop, a Triumph TR6 and roughly two-and-a-half Jensen-Healeys.

Phono Preamp Reviews

ASR Basis Exclusive phono preamplifier

Michael Fremer Jan 05, 2007 First Published: Oct 05, 2003

"Everybody's gotta get into the act!" Jimmy Durante used to say. That's what's happening with phono preamplifiers—they just keep being built, and I keep getting them for review. Up for evaluation in next month's column are new models from Perreaux, Musical Fidelity, Graham Slee, and a Chinese one, Ming Da. You can bet there'll be more.

Phono Preamp Reviews

Artemis Labs PH-1 phono preamplifier

Art Dudley Nov 19, 2006 First Published: Nov 19, 2006

Anyone who knows me will be happy to tell you: I'm very bad at letting go of anger. I hold grudges. I'm unforgiving.

Phono Preamp Reviews

Ensemble Fonobrio phono preamplifier

Brian Damkroger Apr 23, 2006 First Published: Apr 23, 2006

The original plan, back in mid-2004, was to audition an entire Ensemble system and then review the individual components over the next two years. Most audio companies produce lines of matching products, but Ensemble takes it a bit further, with a modular approach and extensive commonality of everything from chassis to circuit boards. They firmly believe that everything affects sonic performance, and their approach helps ensure a consistent sound throughout their line.

Phono Preamp Reviews

PS Audio GCPH phono preamplifier

Robert Deutsch Jan 22, 2006 First Published: Jan 22, 2006

PS Audio's first product, back in 1973, was a standalone phono stage; more recently, their PCA-2 preamp had an optional phono board. The GCC-100http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/106ps">GCC-100; integrated amplifier that I review this month has no room inside for a phono board, so they've gone back to producing a separate phono stage: the GCPH ($995). Like the other products in PS Audio's current line, this one is based on the Gain Cell, one module on the input side connecting to the cartridge, followed by a passive RIAA curve (with a claimed accuracy of 0.1dB over the 40dB range of the curve), and another Gain Cell on the output side.

Phono Preamp Reviews

Whest PhonoStage.20 phono preamplifier

Brian Damkroger, Michael Fremer Dec 24, 2005 First Published: Mar 24, 2005

Like the $29,000 Boulder">http://www.stereophile.com/phonopreamps/621">Boulder 2008 phono preamplifier, the new Whest PhonoStage.20 with its MsU.20 power supply costs as much as a car. Fortunately for you, that car happens to be my first new Saab, which cost exactly $2737 back in 1972. The solid-state Whest costs $2595, so it's a few hundred dollars cheaper. But at only a tenth the cost, it comes closer to the Boulder 2008's performance than it has any right to. That it's good enough to be mentioned in the same paragraph should tell you something about how good I think it is. Nor did it come to me hyped by the manufacturer—it took me by surprise from the minute I first heard it. I began my listening right away, before reading anything about the circuit design.

Phono Preamp Reviews

Pass Aleph Ono phono preamplifier

Michael Fremer Nov 06, 2005 First Published: Jan 06, 1999

If compact discs are so damned dynamic and vinyl is so dynamically limited, why do they sound just the opposite? Why do LPs sound so "live," so explosive, so "there," and CDs so dead? Even the best CDs usually sink to second-rate when you switch to their vinyl versions. I've heard it, you've heard it. Only those in deep denial, those who refuse to listen, don't. They'd rather read the published specs and consider the actual listening some kind of mass delusion among Luddite LP fans.

Budget Component Reviews Phono Preamp Reviews

EAR 834P phono preamplifier

Michael Fremer, Robert J. Reina Jul 10, 2005 First Published: Jul 10, 1997

No, folks, vinyl is not dead. And even though my colleague Mikey Fremer is beginning to sound like a broken record, the little guy is right: when it comes to the sound on offer, CD still doesn't come close. There are more turntables, phono cartridges, and tonearms on the market today than ever before. Moreover, with companies like Classic Records, Analogue Productions, and Mosaic offering a steady stream of ultra-high-quality reissues, there seems to be an increasing supply of quality vinyl at reasonable prices.

Phono Preamp Reviews

Sutherland PhD MC phono preamplifier

Michael Fremer, Brian Damkroger May 15, 2005 First Published: Jan 15, 2004

The $3000 moving-coil (MC) PhD, available from Chad Kassem's Acoustic Sounds operation, is a monumental achievement that, for me, sets new standards for the cleanness and transparency possible in a phono preamp—and I've had a lot of experience with phono preamps.