Troublesome as it was to see exactly how Rega could squeeze out an addition from the Fono MM, it has succeeded with the MK3. I am a big fan of using vacuum tubes (valves) in the first amplification stage after the turntable. The printed circuit board (PCB) is double sided, solder masked and silk screened. Almost the entire top layer of the PCB is grounded to provide shielding. To keep the kit price low, the passive components are very basic. A mix of metal film and carbon resistors, polyester, ceramic and electrolytic caps. Polyester caps are generally not used in audio circuits because some say they do not sound good. Of course one can choose to upgrade the passive parts. The contents of the phono RIAA preamp kit are shown below. A full parts list of the kit contents is included in the Oatley Electronics K282 Kit Instructions (PDF - 646kB). Even with high-quality circuit components, the phono stage only works with a top-notch power supply. Apart from powering the system, the PSU unit of a phono stage also eliminates all hums. The Pro-Ject Tube Box S2 Phono Preamp portrays the ideal sound quality alongside the trend-setting innovation. You can make this gadget fit in each place and still get a good sound quality with its minimized size component. This gadget is an updated form of the Tube Box S, as indicated by its attributes just as external appearance. Regardless of whether you own simple phono sound frameworks of some other propelled adaptation, you can utilize this preamp anyplace as it has expansive compatibility. Features

The 6J1 FX-Audio Tube-01 tube preamplifier is a brilliant little instrument to improve the sound of a work area DAC or Hi-Fi establishment If Freddie’s trumpet playing doesn’t have a palpable feel to it, you’re only getting part of the experience. The Croft excels at that in the right system. The ELAC Alchemy PPA-2 offers something you won’t find on virtually every other phono preamp: a digital display. You don’t know how handy this is until you actually have it. It’s an easy and effective way of accessing features, and crucially, switching between the many different connectivity options the PPA-2 gives you. This preamp is a collaboration between ELAC and component-maker Audio Alchemy, and both companies have clearly brought their A-game. First on the Sony platter was a beaten up, unremarkable CBS pressing of Murray Perahia playing Mozart Piano Concerto K503. I’m not sure what ‘it’ was, but it was something. Something in the timbre, something in the music’s communication. The soul of the performance was present. Immediately, I was involved. I had musical skin in the game rather than listening to a CD, admiring from above the platform. The preamplifier uses a carefully thought-out circuit topology for high-quality sound. The model boasts high-quality components and a built-in specialized switching power supply, which is equipped with a metal screen and has a very low noise level. In this case, the installation of elements in the circuit board is performed using the surface mounting method, i.e., parts, in this case, are mounted directly on the surface of the printed circuit board without using through holes. Thanks to this technical solution, it is possible to achieve a high mounting density, minimize noise, and eliminate interference.

The Blue Note reissue of Freddie Hubbard’s Hub-Tones (Blue Note 80 Vinyl, ST-84115) is a beautiful sounding record and exactly the type of recording that would sell a lot of Croft units. Really exceptional phono stages should make an instrument like the trumpet come alive without forcing you to reach for the remote because the top end has too much sizzle. Additionally, the build is plastic but has protective internal metal shielding against breaking from falls. Performance

Rega didn't exactly reinvent the wheel with the Mk5 model, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. That new case is certainly attractive enough, while that same agile, punchy performance gives you just the sound you're looking for if you like your music to have a bit of bite. A parameter that shows the quality of the product is the signal-to-noise ratio: it should be as large as possible. The main thing here is that the turntable preamp itself has a minimum noise level. Also, a high-quality record player preamp may have (or may not have, and this is not an indicator that it is worse) signal and overload indicators and input switches.It uses a circuit that delivers equalization on the active bass and passive treble. Thanks to the even tonal balance, this phono preamp doesn’t consume more bass than it can handle. Tube amplifiers give stereos a much pleasant and smoother sound as compared to a regular amplifier based on a transistor. This is because of the smoothness of the tubes. Also instructive, the first bar of ‘Limoges Market’, with Ravel’s (not Mussorgsky’s piano original) four dynamic markings on the horns at very fast speed—each beat successively softer ( ff f mf p). Some phonos can’t keep up to Ravel’s orchestration or the players’ brilliance. No worries for the PS3. All in a days work. Technically, David Shaw’s design is a tour de force. This is where phono preamps come in. They do two major things to the phono signal: raising the volume and equalizing it. It is this second part that is most important. The equalization that takes place essentially ‘standardizes’ the signal, flattening its frequencies so that it can be read and understood by equipment further along in your hi-fi system. The end result is what is known as a line signal. It’s around 50-1,500 times stronger than a phono signal (depending on the preamp) and will be relatively flat in terms of bass and treble frequencies. If you have a turntable, you need a phono preamp to convert this final signal into line signal. You can’t get away with not having one, whether it’s a separate box, or included in your stereo amp.

Built-in volume control, will drive most power amps (I used it as a gain at maximum 72 dB, always using the integrateds’ potentiometers for volume control.) If you’re in the market for a quality affordable phono stage, this little Award-winning box is well worth auditioning. This article essentially sums up the research and selection process I went through when buying a good tube phono preamp for personal use. But I could immediately hear that the Tube Box S2 provided a richness and smoothness to the sound that the Rega could never offer. Without sacrificing speed or precision.

The unbeatable sound from MK3 airs from the speakers with reduced noise floor providing better clarity. Another impressive performance is the expanded dynamic range.

I employed DC on the heaters. The 8.5 volt winding on the transformer was rectified by a full wave bridge and filtered. Then it is routed through a single solid state rectifier (to drop the DC voltage by approximately 0.7 volts) and a 1.5 ohm resistor to a second filter and then applied to the tube heaters. The value of the resistor shown on the schematic is 0.5 ohms and the actual value can be in between those values. It is somewhat dependent on the rectifiers, filter capacitors and transformer. You could of course use a 6 volt regulator like the 7806. It would need to handle about 1.5 amps and require a heat sink. The heater circuit MUST NOT be grounded. I apply a positive voltage to the heater circuit of approximately 80 volts to protect the SRPP tubes from excessive cathode to heater potentials. They will fail if you don't do this. The positive voltage is obtained from a divider string originating from the B+. Two stages of filtering were necessary to reduce the noise level to satisfactory levels. Do not omit the poly caps in the divider string and it is unnecessary to use larger values. There is virtually no current drawn by the divider string (over the small amount used by the dividers themselves) and there is no return path from the heater circuit. The voltage only provides a reference for the heaters. The photo below shows the power supply. Note that the power supply is contained in an additional aluminum enclosue and the cover is removed in this photo. The PCB in the photo is from another project. I have not tested the Little Bear T11 myself, but from research it seems to be a much better product than its little brother (Little Bear T7) and its predecessor (Little Bear T10). So, that is why IMHO (and Ortofon + others) a good quality 10x step-up transformer is all you need. (at about 100 ohms). The Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2 is basically a more elegant and more versatile version of its little brother, the Tube Box S2. To guarantee that the gadget doesn’t warm up a lot, there lies the quality of center structure, which utilizes 200 W of intensity. The internal wires utilize the copper material, which is without oxygen and thus gives extraordinary conductivity

Valve (Tube) RIAA Phono Preamp Kit Construction

Ripping vinyl with this preamp is effortless because any digital editor can use it. This makes the fine Audacity software very flexible instead of a controlled self-designed program. Performance It just him on his own I believe, but he’s a proper enthusiast and knows his stuff. Can’t imagine he’ll go on working too many more years but once he retires, I’m assuming the brand does too. The resale price I got on my 6 yo unit was nearly 80% retail I paid, I imagine they’ll be quite collectible one day.