What is a phono preamp?
A phono preamp is a crucial component in any vinyl record player setup. It's a stand-alone device that in your system set up should be in between your turntable and your amplifier.
The purpose of it is to ensure that the signal from the turntable is amplified and equalized to produce high-quality sound. By understanding the role of a phono preamp, you can appreciate the importance of this device in preserving the rich sound of vinyl records.
Why is a phono preamp necessary?
A phono preamp necessary because the signal produced by a turntable cartridge is much weaker than that of other audio sources, such as CD players or streaming devices.
The phono preamp boosts the signal to a level that is compatible with other audio equipment, ensuring that the music from your vinyl records sounds clear and true to the original recording.
Many turntables today come with a pre-amp built into it, but the quality of the buiit-in preamps are inherently basic. You're going to get basic amplification, without much focus on quality.
If you want to know why CDs were so exciting back in 1982, it was because digital was supposed to eliminate all the rumble from unbalanced turntables and electrical noise from dodgy phono stages.
You may want to get a pre-amp if:
- you own a vintage turntable and a receiver and neither of them have phono stages.
- you’ve upgraded the cartridge on your current turntable in an effort squeeze bit more life out of it before committing to an expensive upgrade, but its onboard pre-amp is holding it back.
- you’re ready for that expensive upgrade, and you want to get a great phono pre-amp at a reasonable price.
Here's why a preamp from Andover Audio is an excellent choice:
Andover Audio, a Massachusetts company known for manufacturing high-quality, turntables and speaker systems, has a phono pre-amp in its lineup, called SpinStage. It is an outstanding audio component that delivers a surprising number of features and great sound for the price.
Product Features:
In addition to moving magnet and moving coil cartridge inputs, the Andover SpinStage has a separate line-level analog input. This additional input lets you connect any analog source to your system, such as a CD player, radio tuner, tape deck, or DAC.
- The SpinStage has provisions for impedance and capacitance adjustments for moving magnet cartridges.
- The SpinStage’s moving coil input is configured to automatically adjust the gain and impedance to match the phono cartridge connected to it. Its moving coil circuit employs a voltage-to-transconductance design that adjusts itself based on your phono cartridge’s output voltage and impedance.
- The SpinStage also includes a subsonic filter. This filter reduces frequencies below 20 Hz. This can eliminate issues caused by warped records, which generate extraneous low-frequency sounds if unfiltered. You can also choose full range if you don’t want any truncation of your LP’s low-frequency output.
- The SpinStage employs an outboard power supply. This allows for a smaller chassis. Also, putting the power supply in a separate outboard unit reduces hum issues due to proximity to the power supply.
Where to buy an Andover Audio SpinStage Phono Preamplifier in Canada?
High Fidelity Vinyl is thrilled to be the exclusive retailer of Andover Audio products in Canada. We sell and ship proudly from Toronto and ship anywhere in Canada.
We carry the full suite of Andover Audio products, from the innovative and versatile SpinBase products to high-end Andover-One, a premium audio system, including the SpinStage Phono Pre-Amp.
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As an authorized retailer, we offer the full 2-year warranty to our customers, including the 30-day refund / replacement policy: If you have a repair issue with the product, we will replace it within 30 days of delivery date.
