Pre Amp...Power Amp...Phonostage

I am looking to buy a turntable and speaker setup, most likely a Pro-Ject Essential II paired with the Wharfedale Diamond 220 Bookshelf Speakers, but I have no idea what I need to connect them? The turntable doesn't have a built in pre-amp so is that all I need to buy? Or a power amp as well?

Also any reccomendations for what to buy, on a low budget too
 
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Brent Wheeldon said:
I am looking to buy a turntable and speaker setup, most likely a Pro-Ject Essential II paired with the Wharfedale Diamond 220 Bookshelf Speakers, but I have no idea what I need to connect them? The turntable doesn't have a built in pre-amp so is that all I need to buy? Or a power amp as well?

Also any reccomendations for what to buy, on a low budget too

You're gonna need an amp, preferably with an integral phono-stage. Try the Marantz PM600* series; should be able to pick-up a used PM6004 relatively cheap these days.

Other members will no doubt be along shortly with alternatives.
 
Is there nothing cheaper I can buy new? Can you explain the difference and neccesity of pre-amps, power amps and phonostage?

How would this (http://www.richersounds.com/product/turntable-accessories/project/phono-box-mm/proj-phono-box-mm) link to the system?

I'm not looking to spend over £100 on the amp/preamp and would rather have the guarantee of a new product

Also now considering a Rega - Rp1
 
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Brent Wheeldon said:
Is there nothing cheaper I can buy new? Can you explain the difference and neccesity of pre-amps, power amps and phonostage?

How would this (http://www.richersounds.com/product/turntable-accessories/project/phono-...) link to the system?

I'm not looking to spend over £100 on the amp/preamp and would rather have the guarantee of a new product

Also now considering a Rega - Rp1

The Richersounds link is to a phono stage, you will still need an amp to connect this phono stage to. In order to save some cash I would suggest that you look for amps that have an integral phono stage then you won't need the Project phono box. If you want new then you will need to spend some more cash e.g. Marantz PM6005 @ £249. If you want it sooner then look at used prices but make sure the amp has a phono stage connection on the back, (just seen a PM6005 on ebay ex-demo for £219)

Note: the Marantz is not the only amp with a phone stage but I can't think of any others in your price range at the moment.

Always come back for more info if you need it, always happy to help but there are others on here who are far more knowledgable than I.
 
Could I ask why you want a turntable set-up up in particular? Do you own a collection of LP's?

The suggestion of the Onkyo amp is a good one and, as you are probably learning, it is difficult to put together a half-decent turntable set-up on the cheap.

Very basically you require all the elements you mentioned for vinyl playback however they do come as a one-unit device called an integrated amplifier. Bear in mind though, not all integrated amplifiers include the phono stage.

The ones mentioned so far do include it and it is by far the cheapest way to get these items.

If you are genuinely ignorant of that these items do, and this is not a wind-up, then I suggest you do a quick Google search on each item individually and you will see how they are all integrated into a system for vinyl playback, along with a turntable, tonearm and cartridge of course.
 
I'm a keen music fan both playing and listening and having researched vinyl it is something I want to start collecting. I have searched up all these parts but some places have said you don't need a power amp, while others say no need for a preamp. Some places sell preamps that also work as amps and I just needed some solid advice for the specific setup I'm looking to get.
 
DougK said:
The Richersounds link is to a phono stage, you will still need an amp to connect this phono stage to. In order to save some cash I would suggest that you look for amps that have an integral phono stage then you won't need the Project phono box. If you want new then you will need to spend some more cash e.g. Marantz PM6005 @ £249. If you want it sooner then look at used prices but make sure the amp has a phono stage connection on the back, (just seen a PM6005 on ebay ex-demo for £219)

Note: the Marantz is not the only amp with a phone stage but I can't think of any others in your price range at the moment.

Always come back for more info if you need it, always happy to help but there are others on here who are far more knowledgable than I.

If I was to buy the seperate phonostage will I only need the power amp to drive the speakers? If I had the phonostage connected to a Pioneer A-10 would that power the speakers? (http://www.petertyson.co.uk/ebuttonz/ebz_product_pages/pioneer_a-10.shtml?gclid=Cj0KEQiA_MK0BRDQsf_bsZS-_OIBEiQADPf--lqHJWSUZBNqWw-ZvfkMPZViNwMQvRd5GfA5R0xDPRgaAlFa8P8HAQ)

How about this Cambridge Audio Topaz AM5? Its an integrated amplifier for £120 so could that power the Wharfedales?
 
Brent Wheeldon said:
DougK said:
The Richersounds link is to a phono stage, you will still need an amp to connect this phono stage to. In order to save some cash I would suggest that you look for amps that have an integral phono stage then you won't need the Project phono box. If you want new then you will need to spend some more cash e.g. Marantz PM6005 @ £249. If you want it sooner then look at used prices but make sure the amp has a phono stage connection on the back, (just seen a PM6005 on ebay ex-demo for £219)

Note: the Marantz is not the only amp with a phone stage but I can't think of any others in your price range at the moment.

Always come back for more info if you need it, always happy to help but there are others on here who are far more knowledgable than I.

If I was to buy the seperate phonostage will I only need the power amp to drive the speakers? If I had the phonostage connected to a Pioneer A-10 would that power the speakers? (http://www.petertyson.co.uk/ebuttonz/ebz_product_pages/pioneer_a-10.shtm...)

How about this Cambridge Audio Topaz AM5? Its an integrated amplifier for £120 so could that power the Wharfedales?

If you got the A10 you wouldn't need the separate phono stage as it already has one built in. It would drive the speakers sufficiently well.

However, I will reiterate, decent vinyl playback cannot be done on the cheap. The cost of the source material prevents this.

One of the only ways to music on a budget is to stick with a CD playback system.
 

ifor

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I think the OP is still a little confused about phono-preamp (aka phonostage), preamp and poweramp.

The configuration could be:

one component = integrated amp (pre+power in one box) with built in phonostage.

two components = integrated amp plus a separate phonostage

three components = separate phono stage plus pre-amp plus power amp

four components = separate phono stage plus pre-amp plus a pair of monoblock power amps.

As Al says, on a limited budget the one box configuration is the way to go, if one goes there at all.
 

thescarletpronster

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At your price range I'd suggest you get an integrated stereo amp with a phono input.

There are three types/stages of amplification involved (in a greatly simplified way, from my fairly simple understanding of the process):
– A power amp simply does the job of amplifying of the signal to a level which will drive loudspeakers.
– A pre-amp does all the tweaking of the signal needed to get it ready for the power boost of a power amp (including selecting the source, volume control, graphic equalisation, etc).
– A phono stage boosts the very weak signal from a turntable to 'line' level (the level of CDs, cassette decks and other sources) and applies the inverse RIAA curve to restore the various frequencies in the signal to their proper levels (more on what's all about in the link) so that a pre-amp can deal with the signal properly.

An integrated stereo amp with a phono input will do all of these jobs in one box. Unless you're getting far more expensive equipment, I don't think there would be any benefit to you in buying separate components.

However, I'm one of the non-experts on this forum, so if someone else contradicts what I say, it's quite likely that you should follow their advice!
 
I know the setup I'm going for won't please audiophiles but remember I am new to this. As/if my collection grows I will upgrade to better equiptment but for now I can't afford to spend too much as well as start purchasing the records. With a Rega RP1 and the Wharfedale speakers would the Pioneer A-10 or Cambride Audio power the speakers well with 'good enough' sound quality??
 
ifor said:
I think the OP is still a little confused about phono-preamp (aka phonostage), preamp and poweramp.

The configuration could be:

one component = integrated amp (pre+power in one box) with built in phonostage.

two components = integrated amp plus a separate phonostage

three components = separate phono stage plus pre-amp plus power amp

four components = separate phono stage plus pre-amp plus a pair of monoblock power amps.

As Al says, on a limited budget the one box configuration is the way to go, if one goes there at all.

Thanks for clarifying!! I sorta get the jist of what each component does but online some of the merge into two or one device.
 
thescarletpronster said:
At your price range I'd suggest you get an integrated stereo amp with a phono input.

There are three types/stages of amplification involved (in a greatly simplified way, from my fairly simple understanding of the process):– A power amp simply does the job of amplifying of the signal to a level which will drive loudspeakers.– A pre-amp does all the tweaking of the signal needed to get it ready for the power boost of a power amp (including selecting the source, volume control, graphic equalisation, etc).– A phono stage boosts the very weak signal from a turntable to 'line' level (the level of CDs, cassette decks and other sources) and applies the inverse RIAA curve to restore the various frequencies in the signal to their proper levels (more on what's all about in the link) so that a pre-amp can deal with the signal properly.

An integrated stereo amp with a phono input will do all of these jobs in one box. Unless you're getting far more expensive equipment, I don't think there would be any benefit to you in buying separate components.

However, I'm one of the non-experts on this forum, so if someone else contradicts what I say, it's quite likely that you should follow their advice!

Although it may not seem like a good idea to most, I am trying to get a cheap setup going, cause I don't have a huge amount of money to spend and I need to get into it all before I blow all my money on the different components. Would a Pionneer A-10 or Cambridge Audio (as mentioned above) should do what I need with good enough quality?
 
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Brent Wheeldon said:
Although it may not seem like a good idea to most, I am trying to get a cheap setup going, cause I don't have a huge amount of money to spend and I need to get into it all before I blow all my money on the different components. Would a Pionneer A-10 or Cambridge Audio (as mentioned above) should do what I need with good enough quality?

Quality playback is in the ear of the beholder, but in answer to your question: Pioneer A-10 yes; Cambridge Audio Topaz AM5 no.

This is purely on the basis that the Pioneer has a phono stage whereas the Cambridge Audio does not.
 

Vladimir

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Pioneer A10 - 2x30W in 8 ohms, 2x50W in 4ohms. the Wharfedales are 4.1 ohm minimum and 86dB.

I hope Brent doesn't like his music loud and heavy on bass. Also I hope the room is on the small side.
 

Vladimir

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Brent Wheeldon said:
How come it will be quiet? Please explain

It will strugle to get loud with some bassy music. If the room is not small, even worse. Choice of music, loudness preference and room size matters for choosing the right amp and speakers.
 

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