Phono Pre-Amp Help Required

[pekers678]

My current setup consists of a Teac Reference H-300mkIII Amp and a Project Debut III turntable. The Teac amp does have an internal phono stage, but after reading about the problems with internal stages, I wondered whether my turntable would sound better. So, can you please tell me whether it will be worth the upgrade, and if so what phono pre-amp would be best for my setup (which, being a teenager, I admit is still very budget hi-fi). Nonetheless it would be nice to have a pre-amp that would stand by me perhaps even if I was to upgrade in the future. Now for the HELP part: i am a little confused as to where I then have to connect the phono pre-amp to on my amp. Can I connect it to my phono input, or do I need to plug it into my aux input?

 

[John Duncan]

No, you connect it to any line input except the phono. Not sure what you mean by 'problems with internal stages' though - the one in your amp is probably fine, but if you do want a future-proof one you can't go wrong with the Cambridge 640p, which will withstand substantial upgrades to all your other components.

 

[Anonymous]

The two best choices in my opiniion are the Cambridge models - 540p and 640p at £40 and £60 respectively. Either one would be a substantial upgrade to your current one. In fact both will withstand future upgrades to your turntable.

I use the 640p with a Pro-ject Xpression II turntable and it is just brilliant. Totally outperforms the built in phono stage in my Audiolab 8000a. The Audiolab's phono stage was very highly rated and was the main reason why I bought it.

For just a £40 / £60 outlay you cannot go wrong