Pro-Ject Phono Box DC MM/MC Phono Preamp with Line Output (Silver)

Really impressed with the sound impact this unit made. Night and day difference between my built-in phono pre-amp and this item. Added much more vibrant sound and power to my vinyl. Highly recommended, especially for the price. I have traditionally used built-in phone pre-amps that come with my receivers however my 1980 Pioneer SX-D7000's built-in seemed to be failing in the left channel. I added this external unit and was blown away at the improvement. I am using it with my Pro-ject Classic SB turntable that has a Sumiko Blue Point No. 2 MC cartridge.

Once in a while an electronic item is purchased and it does not work. You never think it is defective so we spent two days troubleshooting the cord set up and everything else. The great thing is Amazon has such a simple and convenient return/replacement policy. We did it and got the replacement and hooked it up and it worked flawlessly. This happens rarely but it happens and it shows that Pro-ject audio makes a fantastic preamp product and allows for a quick/easy replacement. We have been using it now for about a week and it sounds terrific. I would 100% recommend Pro-ject to anyone who needs a preamp.

About a year ago, I got back into vinyl by setting up an old turntable with a pair of studio monitors. Since I wasn't using a receiver, I had to get a separate pre-amp to go between the turntable and the monitors.I started with a $25 no-name preamp. It was terrible — harsh, thin sound that was awful to listen to. That one went back immediately.Then I bought the $25 Beringer pre-amp. It sounded much better than the no-name — much warmer and richer — but it had some weird electrical issues. Every time I plugged it in, my speakers made an awful popping sound. They would also make a harsh click when I shut the entire system off. They only made the harsh popping and clicking when I used them with the Beringer pre-amp and I didn't get any of that when plugging in digital sources. After a year of this, I felt that the Beringer was potentially harming my speakers over the long term. I've come to deeply appreciate my studio monitors and I don't want to damage them over time. Out went the Beringer.I browsed for a better preamp went with this $100 Pro-ject over the ~$75 Pro-jects because I liked the magnet/coil switch on the back. That gives me flexibility to try different cartridge types in the future, which means I'm less likely to have to replace this preamp in the future. I also appreciated the solid build quality and lack of LEDs. It seemed like a no-fuss piece of equipment so I went for it.I've had it playing in my system for about a week now and, in short, this thing is wonderful!It doesn't have any of the weird popping and clicking that the cheap Beringer did, and that's a relief as it's the main reason I upgraded. But also... it sounds FANTASTIC. I was expecting somewhat of an improvement in sound quality, but wow — I didn't think a better preamp would this much of a difference! The sound is cleaner, much more detailed, seems to have a bit more range to it, and individual instruments are easier to make out. The bass feels much more controlled, and the sound goes in my ears more smoothly (if that makes any sense). The most striking difference is in drums — drums sound much closer to what you hear when you out and listen to live music.This preamp sounds fantastic and I don't see myself needing to replace it again in the future. I'm sure there are better preamps out there if you're willing to spend more money, but I also doubt there's as much of a difference between this preamp and the more expensive ones as there is between the cheap Beringer and this one. This is where the buck stops for me, and in the world of audio, there's a lot to be said for that. If you're looking for quality audio without delving into the whole "audiophile" world, I think this preamp is a great way to go.

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Dare I consider myself a novice audiophile? Well… maybe, but one that’s on a pandemic budget. Here’s what I found (compared to the AVR integrated phono preamp); increased tonal clarity, a bigger-fuller soundstage, increased dynamics (my original pressing of The Wall never sounded so good), and most noticeably -a very clean almost noise-free background. I didn’t realize how noisy the background was until now. All that said, essentially this little guy simply allows me to enjoy the tonal characteristics of the stylus through good speakers. Additionally, I was usually at 70% + volume in order to get descent sound from my AVR. Now I’m at a comfortable 60% but with more tone, dynamics, and damn near zero noise. It boasts a small yet sturdy footprint so it’s easy to hide or tuck into small places. I may upgrade the flimsy power adapter in the near future to see if it makes it even better.SO, if you use an AVR integrated phono preamp and think your stereo system could sound better, but do not want to spend thousands of dollars, you may want to consider this little guy. Or if you are considering upgrading your stylus or other things and are using an entry level AVR you may want to start with your preamp, and gauge from there. I am extremely happy with this entry-level preamp and have definitely taken another step towards Hi-Fi nerd-vana.My stereo set up: Pro-Ject RPM1 (Sumiko Rainier) > Pro-Ject phono preamp > Onkyo TX-NR696 > Polk S55’s.

Great item, lousy Seller. Unorganized (had no idea about my order, super late), when received by me looked like a return was re-sold... kept it anyway for a while.. and sure enough it crapped out on me. When it worked it was great; increased overall sound fidelity from my MM cartridge. Will re-buy this somewhere else 1/2 star treatment of my order.by seller.Will look at Crutchfield - may be a little more expensive there, but a lot less hassle.

Not bad for starters, little noisy at more than half levels, but something to expect at the price level. Will do it for now while waiting for custom preamp, can’t wait to compare.Update 04/30/2024 removed ground wire all together and voila No more static noise!

A hefty little well made unit, which seems to be well worth the cost. I've only used it with an Audio-Technica AT-VM95ML moving magnet cartridge but it has adequate gain and sounds good. Although it's not as versatile as my Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3 B phono preamp which I use with a moving coil in my primary system, it gets the job done at a much more moderate price. I'm highly satisfied.