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Phono Preamp vs Preamp for a Turntable

Hello Forum Members,

Long time lurcher first time poster, maybe you can help!

I received an older mid '70's turntable for my birthday, a Pioneer PL-15 II. It's beautiful and I can't wait to play some rich LP's out of it. As a first time turntable owner, I figured I could just hook it up to my newer (are the 90's newer? Or just less old?) Marantz SR-7000 receiver which doesn't have a phono jack.

A quick test and five seconds of google has alerted me to my next component hunt, a Phono Preamp, or a receiver with a phono jack. In a perfect world, I'll eventually step up to a vintage receiver, but I don't have the room for one at this time. So, I have been looking at phono preamps, but also stumbled across some Adcom pre-amps (like the GTP 400 and 500), both of which have a phono input. My question is, will these multi-purpose preamps do the trick and be of similar quality to a single purpose Phono Preamp?

Thanks very much for any insight.

KB
karlrborne
tobias
1,534 posts
 
Some units have an input labelled Phono which is only meant to take the output of an external phono stage--there's no actual phono preamp behind the input jack. However the GTP-400 is NOT like that. It has a built-in hi-level (MM) phono preamp.

But beware of inexpensive preamps, especially ones with integrated phono, an extra-cost feature. They may offer the phono feature you don't have, and with integrated phono the GTP-400 would save you a set of cables, but cheaper preamps may not give better overall sound than you're getting from your receiver.
rdavwhitaker
173 posts
 
With your existing equipment, a preamp isn't going to work. What you want is a phono preamp to hook up through one of the line inputs in your receiver (like the AUX input, if you have one).. There are several good inexpensive phono preamps out there that would be a good match for your other equipment. The Parasound zphono comes immediately to mind. It retails for $199, can handle both moving magnet and moving coil cartridges, and is often available used here on Audiogon for under $140. If you know you are using a moving magnet cartridge, an even less expensive, respectable alternative is the Cambridge Audio 540p, which is often sold for $99. I'm sure others will suggest equally attractive alternatives.
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
4,989 posts
 
You CAN use any preamp with a built-in phono stage with your current setup. The turntable hooks to the "phono in" on the preamp and you can use either the "preamp out" or the "tape out" to any high level input your receiver.

The "preamp out" will let you use the volume control on the preamp to match levels, but also runs through most of the preamp circuitry. The "tape out" bypasses all of the preamp controls and allows a cleaner signal.

I have done this MANY times and have always had great success. I know others on here have done the same.
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