2. amps-preamps
  3. 1310160553

Preamp for someone who's never needed one?

I've had a vinyl only system forever which includes an Art Audio Vinyl One phono pre with a volume control hooked directly to my amplifier. Recently I've made changes which have boosted the output level of my amp and phono stage and now I have very little play in my volume control before it gets too loud. The Art Audio sounds best when it's at 3 o'clock and it never gets above 9 now. So I guess I need a preamp and I'll start using the non attenuated output of the phono pre. What should I buy? I'm looking for simplicity. I don't need more than 2 inputs. Just looking for something that doesn't mess with what I already have. Amp is custom Rogue Atlas using KT120 for use with my Quad ESL57. Thanks!
dhcod
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
Rothwell was the name of the attenuators I was thinking of; they have a web site.
jafox
1,465 posts
 
I tried the Rothwell attenuators and surprisingly, they did a major truncation of 3D and harmonics in the system. They were out instantly!
rrog
1,958 posts
 
You needed a preamp you just didn't know it. Try an Audio Research SP-11, SP-14 or SP-15. These preamps are designed for phone and they have separate gain and attenuator controls.

The Rothwell attenuators did not work for me either. I was attempting to reduce the gain of a 7 volt output CD player (2 volts is typical) and the Rothwell attenuators significantly reduced system resolution.
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