2. analog
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Am I really smart or really stupid?

I would like your feedback on this theory. The glory days of vinyl to me, as far as high end hi-fi is concerned, were the late ‘60s, ‘70s and early ‘80s, before the dreaded CD made it’s appearance. Back then vinyl was all you had to work with, and the high end folks really needed to get it right.

My thinking is:

1. A phono section basically supplies RIAA equalization (unless there is boost for a low output cartridge). This is basically boosting the bass and cutting the treble to compensate for making the grooves relatively the same width to cut them on the vinyl.

2. This ain’t that big of a deal. It should not cost $3000.00 to do this. These people are trying to put their hand in my pocket.

3. Why not buy a high end preamp from that era, run your TT into it, come out of the Tape Out as a line stage into your preamp input.

4. I bought a Yamaha C-2 for 100 bucks, run my Linn into it and run it into my tube preamp and it “seems” fine.

Am I stupid or enlightened?

Thanks for your input.

jp
jake42

Showing 1 response by twl

twl
3,251 posts
 
Nothing wrong with doing as you suggest. However, it must be noted that on those old preamps, they probably need some refurbishing, and at least re-capping, to sound anywhere near like they did when they were new. Some of the internal components degrade with age and use, and need to be replaced to approximate original performance.

I might say that an old Yamaha C2 is not giving you anywhere near what is possible today with phono preamps. But it will do the job well enough for you to have some listening enjoyment until you discover what else can do better for you.
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