Phono Preamp Recommendations for $250 and Under

I’m looking for recommendations for a new phono preamp, ideally $250 or less. My system is pretty basic — a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC turntable, a Pioneer Elite stereo receiver, and some KEF bookshelf speakers. My current phono preamp is some cheapy thing I got on Amazon for about $50 or so.

I was considering the Cambridge Audio CP1 or a Pro-Ject preamp. Then I read about the Yaqin MS23B, which sounded great but the whole tubes thing confuses me. I also read that tne Schiit Mani is nice.

I’ve received great advice on this forum in the past. Any tips for me now?

 

I’ll add a couple of options for your researching. At that price point I don’t think I’d look at tubes.

Tisbury Audio Domino. Haven’t used it, but I own their little passive preamp and it’s built really well.
Tisbury Audio - Domino Phono Preamplifier

Musical Fidelity V90-LPS. Again, haven’t used it but I own the V90-DAC and was impressed by the quality/cost.
Musical Fidelity | V90-LPS Phono Stage

 

The MoFi StudioPhono. Great sound, MM/MC capable, mono switch and subsonic filter. What's not to like ?

 

ive got the Musical Fidelity LX2-LPS Phono Pre and absolutely love it. Upgraded from the cambridge audio and the difference is very noticeable.

 

You forgot to mention the most important component of your set up: your cartridge.

Anyway, Schiit Mani is a very good choice with a MM cartridge and much cheaper than the Mobile Fidelity StudioPhono, which is a great preamp and much better all around.

 

I love the Rolls Bellari VP130. I rolled in a Raytheon (Baldwin) 12ax7a blackplate and upgraded the wall wart. Great sound especially if you ever listen to headphones thru it.

 

From what I read an excellent choice indeed, especially with dedicated mono mode (if you listen to many mono records).

 

Schiit! You’re right. It’s an Ortofon 2M Red.

 

The MoFi Studiophono does look great. I read that it has adjustable settings to help it match any cartridge. How do you know what settings are best with your cartridge? Although I only have an Ortofon 2M Red right now, I plan on upgrading next year if possible.

 

If you really want to move up the latter with MC cartridges, then yes, adjustments are necessary. Every cartridge has recommended settings.
But be aware that you will step into dark world of upgradeus, from which almost nobody returns. You soon will need new table, arm, preamp, cables...

 

I once had the Cambridge 640p, and at a later stage I got the Yaqin you mention. The Yaqin is much, much better. Swap out the stock tubes, if possible for nice NOS ones, but even with new production Tung Sol or similar tubes it's very good.

 

You would set it for 40db of gain and 47K.

I've used both the Studio Phono and the Mani.

I do not recommend the Mani anymore, especially if you live near a radio or TV station. There is a design flaw in the unit that makes it very susceptible to RFI. Few of the glowing reviews you will read online mention this.

 

I can highly recommend my current phono preamp (Lounge audio LCRIII), I think it sounds spectacular, but with shipping in will be over $250 ($330) and if he wants to move to MC he will need Copla step-up transformer (another $300).

 

I've used an Ortofon Bronze (and a Blue / Bronze Frankenstein while waiting for a replacement stylus) with stock settings and everything sounded great.

 

Thanks! I just read about that interference flaw. We live near a TV station. NOPE!

 

I see people praise the heck out of the Musical Fidelity LX2-LPS. What are all the load inputs for? At what point does one need to worry about making such adjustments? I’m out of my league.

 

Basically you will need adjustments if you move to different type of cartridge (low gain MC). They are however pricey (good ones), and I would probably upgrade table/arm first.
If you move from 2M red to 2M blue (a sensible move for your table) you would not need to worry.

 

Thanks!

I really like what I’m reading about both the MoFi Studiophono and the Musical Fidelity LX2-LPs. The latter is just slightly out my price range, but I could make it work. Any recommendations on features that would help me decide between these two?

 

The MF unit is an interesting design. Those extra RCAs on the back are for resistive and capacitance loading plugs. If you don't know what that is and don't swap carts often (You're not going to on the Pro-Ject - you need a different table with a removable headshell for practical cart swapping) then it's a feature you don't need. I passed on this unit mainly because the manufacturer and distributor couldn't give me the internal capacitance spec for the unit. I also don't like that the company was recently sold off to Pro-Ject.

TLDR, get the Studio Phono, the MF has features you don't need that will just confuse you.

 

This. From what I understand, the Mani should have a capacitor on the inputs to stop RFI. It doesn't.

 

I had one. Had zero RFI issues. Doesn’t mean somebody else won’t, just means you may not necessarily will.

 

I’ve been super happy with the sound of my Hagerman bugle - many times I’ve though of upgrading to the $500-$1000 level of phono but the little plastic thing always seems to bring me back and enjoy the music perfectly fine.

Bugle3 - Phono Preamp MM/MC

I purchased the bugle 2 for $189 but the new bugle 3 offers some nice gain settings to accommodate both MM and MC (mine bugle 2 is really just for MM).

If I didn’t have the bugle I would have went with the mofi studio phono for sure.

 

Mine stayed with me through moves across the country and a few different states. It wasn't until the last move that the RFI became a problem, and there are many TV and radio stations in my vicinity in the current location. Personally I don't think the Mani is worth the hassle. The Studio Phono has no such issues and is better designed. Sounds better also IMHO.

 

Schiit is a company where I like the ideas but the execution leaves something to be desired on a lot of their products. I likely won't be buying any more stuff from them in the future. Test bench results on some of their products show they aren't testing them well and they have design issues. The fact that some off-brand products from China beat them out in certain tests is pretty telling. I'm way over the hype at this point.

 

I forgot to mention, check Ian's channel on youtube he has reviewed a lot of phono preamps in your price range.

HiViNyws channel