help me pick a phono preamp.

I just put together an analog rig using a Grado Statement Sonata (0.5 mV output) w/the Scout/JMW9 combo and the Grado PH-1 phono pre. I'm using the setting for low output cart. and have gain problems...

I'm well past 12 o'clock on my ARC LS16-II to get decent volume, which introduces a large amount of background noise from the tube pre-amp. The PH1 is supposed to be 56 dB of gain (yes, I've tried the little switch on the bottom and I am on the right setting, not the 40dB setting), wondering what I'm doing wrong here... If I switched from phono to CD on the pre-amp without adjusting the volume, I'd blow my ears out. Any ideas?

i may be wrong, but i would think that 56db is just not enough for a .5mv cart. the p-75 has up to 63db, although im good with 60db in my rig using a .3mv cart.

That's interesting. I tried the calculator on kabusa.com and it shows 56db of gain to be just right for a .5mv cart.

Wonder if I've got a bad PH1 or something. I'll try switching to a different input on the pre, but wonder if there are any other PH1/Statement Sonata owners out there who can compare the relative volume of their phono inputs v. CD or other line stage...

I use a Monolithic PS-1 with HC-1b power supply and get a great sound. This model has been replaced with the PS-2 and it offers even better sound and higher gain. There was a lite review in the last issue of Stereophile and they loved it.

My PS-1 has 53 db of gain and the PS-2 has 60 db. It's a great phono stage and the price of both the pre-amp and the upgraded power supply would be around $750.

For Edesilvia, my 53 db of gain is enough for my Denon DL103R MC cart and it has only .3mv. So something's wrong with your PH1

Paul Green