Is a Phono required?

Yep, if you wanna play LP's you'll need a phono preamp. It takes the very low level output from the phono cartridge in a turntable and converts it more or less according to something called the RIAA (record industry association of america) curve to produce a relatively flat signal of suffcient level so your power amp can amplify it. And there are two kinds of phono cartridges, moving magnet and moving coil. So be sure your phono preamp is compatible with whatever cartridge you choose to use.

BTW, you say you have a 'digital' pre - does this digitize all incoming analog signals?

Yep - my pre does digitize everything...hence the need to move to a tubed preamp. This causes all sorts of problems with source material. On one side of the spectrum, my pre will digitize pure analog signals from LPs. On the other side, it will digitze SACD/DVD-A sources, which results in downsampled versions. Its something I didn't consider when I bought the pre, but now I'm busy fixing it. In the meantime, I wanted to gather the analog setup...

The reason I was asking the question was to identify whether I should look for a built-in phono for a tubed pre. Thanks to my fellow agoners, its apparent that I'll need one. Thanks!

Maybe this question is a sign of the times.

I wish it was: Is digital required? - instead.

Lefti: You don't indicate in your initial post if you are (or will be) using your preamp in a home theater system. If you are (or will be), then you might consider a good preamp/processor that has a high-quality analog bypass circuit. There are a number of good (mostly solid state) choices with analog bypass now available, including units from Bryston, Rotel, B&K, and Parasound, as well as pricier units further up the highend foodchain.