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Seta Model L phono preamplifier
The minuscule electrical output of an analog signal from a moving-coil cartridge needs to be boosted before it can be converted to digital and equalized in the digital domain. Of course, you could use...
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Seta Nano phono preamplifier
The minuscule electrical output of an analog signal from a moving-coil cartridge needs to be boosted before it can be converted to digital and equalized in the digital domain. Of course, you could use...
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Pure Vinyl LP recording & editing software
As long as you're spinning an LP for your listening pleasure, and if digitizing it at a resolution of 24-bit/192kHz is transparent to the analog source, why not record and store the LP on your computer...
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Vitus Audio MP-P201 Masterpiece Series phono preamplifier
This massive, two-box beauty from Denmark costs $60,000, and I wish I could tell you it wasn't really better in most ways than the already outlandishly priced and sonically superb Boulder 2008. I...
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NAD PP 3 digital phono preamplifier
Even Mikey Fremer is surprised at vinyl's current popularity. Some pundits postulate that eventually CDs will die out, and we'll be faced with the choice of LPs or downloads. (I hope not. I'm just...
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Abbingdon Music Research PH-77 Phono Equaliser
Why bother with three phono preamps most of us can't afford? For the same reason the enthusiast automobile magazines cover the newest Ferraris and Lamborghinis: just reading about them is fun. All...
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Sutherland Engineering 20/20 phono preamplifier
Why no batteries? It seemed a simple and obvious question, but I couldn't get an answer out of Ron Sutherland. Why did his new 20/20 phono preamp use an AC power supply instead of batteries? I asked...
View ArticleLFD Phonostage LE phono preamplifier
Far be it from me to surrender these column inches to the whims of a manufacturer. That said, there's ample reason to break with tradition and offer the thoughts of an obscure English company called...
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Parasound Halo JC 3 phono preamplifier
According to Parasound's founder and CEO, Richard Schram, the Halo JC 3 began as a phono-preamp retrofit for the JC 2 line stage, with separate small circuit boards for each channel. The smaller the...
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Leben RS-30EQ phono preamplifier
The Leben RS-30EQ phono preamplifier ($2695) incorporates a pair of common dual-triode tubes (12AT7) for phono gain, but breaks with tradition by using a CR-type equalization circuit rather than the...
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Sutherland Engineering Phono Block monoblock phono preamplifier
Saying that Sutherland Engineering builds a nice line of phono stages is like saying that the Porsche 911 Carrera is a nice line of sports car. The Sutherlands all share common design philosophies,...
View ArticlePrecision Transducer Engineering MMMC Phono Preamplifier
The phono preamplifiers reviewed this month are both affordable ($400–$1960) and highly accomplished, and the most expensive of them offers versatility that's unprecedented in my experience. Three of...
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The Entry Level #15
A cold, rainy winter day had calmly turned into a cold, rainy winter night—perfect for listening to Mercury Rev's dark masterpiece, Deserter's Songs. Originally released in 1998 (CD, V2 VVR1002771),...
View ArticleThe Entry Level #17
The Milty Zerostat: Sold for prevention of disease. And other things. Before dropping the needle onto Christine's copy of Sold for Prevention of Disease Only, I shot the record a few times with the...
View ArticleLiberty Audio B2B-1 phono preamplifier
The all-FET, class-A, B2B-1 phono preamplifier ($1749), made in the US by Liberty Audio, is beautifully built inside and out, and comes in a heavy-duty aluminum chassis with a baked-on crackle finish...
View ArticleB.M.C. Phono MCCI phono preamplifier
In July 2008 I reviewed the intriguing Phono 2Ci moving-magnet/moving-coil phono preamplifier from Aqvox Audio Devices. Though it then cost only $1400, the Phono 2Ci's current-input circuitry...
View ArticleListening #137
Except for a few titles I've combined with the ones in my listening room, and a few others that I intend to sell, the record collection I bought last year remains in three rows of boxes on the floor of...
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The Entry Level #41
What I failed to make absolutely clear in my April column is that I really, truly, thoroughly enjoyed all three USB DAC–headphone amps that I auditioned: the Audioengine D3 ($189), the AudioQuest...
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Sutherland Engineering Insight phono preamplifier
Veteran phono-preamplifier designer Ron Sutherland has been partial, of late, to battery power. Getting off the grid can produce superb results, as demonstrated by his Hubble phono preamp ($3800),...
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Sentec EQ11 phono preamplifier
With quiet elegance, the Sentec EQ11 phono stage and equalizer entered my expanding world of gramophone dreams. The EQ11 ($2500) is a modestly sized, tubed phono stage with the industry-standard RIAA...
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