Phono Preamp

 

The Phono Preamp

Your turntable normally puts out less than a line level signal.  A line level signal is what your sound card requires to make a good recording.  In order to boost that signal up to Line level, you will need some sort of Phono Preamp. 

There are many options available to boost your turntable's signal to line level.

Some turntables today come with a line level output built into them. 
You can purchase affordable phono preamps that are designed to be portable
You can use the existing tape output on your stereo system and avoid using any new device
You can select a new line of flat phono preamps that are ideal for archiving of any audio material.

Let's look at all of these various options:

1.  Turntables With Built In Line Level Output

Tracer Technologies sells several turntables that do not require a phono preamp.  They are listed here  

2.  Affordable Phono Preamps which are Portable

Unlike the bulkier and expensive phono preamps of the past, these small devices allow you to move them easily and they fit in either a small space on your desktop or actually in your computer in a disk drive bay.  Tracer Technologies also sells a unit like this called the  Tech Link at $59.

3.  Buy Nothing and Use Your Stereo

Of course, the most affordable way to do this is to use the Tape Output on your stereo system.  This is already generating a Line Level signal that your sound card will like.  Just use RCA cables to whatever cable size your sound card needs in it's in input and you're off to the races. 

4.  Select a Flat Phono Preamp and experience The New Way

Tracer has recently introduced a line of flat phono preamps that are affordable, offer excellent specs and deliver a perfectly flat signal to your sound card.  To put this simply, all phono preamps apply what's called an RIAA EQ curve to their output.  This is a curve that compensates for the removal of certain frequencies during the pressing of records.  Because records rely on grooves to transmit their signal, it was found long ago, that if you put the grooves far apart enough to relay an accurate Bass signal, you'd only be able to fit a song or two on an LP Record.  To compensate, records were made with little bass and accelerated Treble frequencies to make it possible to fit 30 mins of material on one LP side.  Then, record manufacturers depended on preamp makers to add this RIAA EQ curve and put back what they'd taken out for pressing.  In the world where you used your Stereo system for "listening", this was the best way to go.  But because each manufacturer interprets that RIAA curve differently, no two stereos sound alike and you never truly know what the creators of these records intended for you to hear.  With new Flat Phono Preamps, this is no longer the case.  Because products like our DC SEVEN and DC Millennium can apply an almost perfect RIAA curve, you no longer have to guess about the intentions of the producers of your favorite music.  You'll get results that are almost perfect each time.    To read more about his New Way Of Thinking, Just Click Here.