Building my 'first' system - Advice on Phono preamp please

Thank you all for your thoughtful advice...glad I asked!

As you can tell, I'm not that experienced with analog and wasn't sure where the phono preamp should sit within the chain. 

@millercarbon I really appreciate you're insight on not having all components around the same level of cost/performance AND about static system...so true.


My gut tells me to save a bit more then audition the best Space Tech Labs tube phono I can afford and go from there.


Is the Rega Planar 2 a reasonable entry point to TTs?

Yes, absolutely.

@millercarbon.   ”I did NOT want to spend $2500 on a phono stage.”

Exactly the same for me. I started at a highly recommended $200 one then all sorts of sub $1,000 ones. Finally held my breath and  purchased the (in today’s dollars $4,000) ARC. 

Been a while since I did that, technology seems to have elevated what can be achieved at a low price. But back then the differences were staggering staggering. Some very well regarded ones like Lehman Black Cube were awful. Even EAR 834P was awfully colored. Some of the much more expensive ones weren't all that much better. As it turned out even the ARC was colored, it just took 16 years and a Herron VTPH2A to reveal this. It was so much better than anything else I tried, it was by comparison very neutral!

The phono stage when you think about it has the hardest job of anything in all of audio. Because of RIAA it amplifies absolute minimum 20dB, more than just about any power amplifier. And it does this starting with the smallest weakest signal in all of audio, measured not in volts but millivolts- in many cases fractions of a millivolt! So really it is 45-65dB. Then it also has to perform equalization to a precision far greater than any room EQ ever done anywhere. Finally, because the input is so weak it has to accomplish all this with incredible attention to noise, shielding, grounding, and vibration control.

No surprise then I guess it really pays to stretch to buy as good a one as you can possibly afford.

One common mistake is to spend on cables and cartridge.

1. Cables are the least bang-for-buck in audio. IMO. Buy super cheap (say $10 / pair) and then, in 6 months or more, make any upgrade prove itself before you buy.

2. Cartridges wear out. Also, with an entry level TT no-one can hear much difference between cartridges costing $100 and $1000. The reason is that to hear the difference requires the table to be very quiet, and the tonearm to be both very accurate and very adjustable - and that's not what you get with entry-level.

Then upgrade - after audition - and enjoy each advance! (worked for me for 60 years)