phono preamp

...that's the one you need! It's minimalistically designed with plenty of gain and you'll need no preamp. Depending on the turntable you will use you should mate the cartridge between EAR and TT.

Antique Sounds makes terrific tube phono preamps at very reasonable prices. The sonics far exceed what you would expect at the price. I have a PP-1, which cost around $500, but I don't think it is made anymore. I also have a Croft Vitale tube pre, which has line and phono stage, and the sound is excellent. It retails for $1000, having come down from $1500 at the beginning of the year.
As for the cable from the TT, you'll probably use a Rega tonearm, even if you don't get a Rega TT, and they come hardwired with RCA's, so you won't need an extra cable to the pre.
I just got back into analog and considered the Rega TT, but settled on a VPI HW-19 jr. with a Rega RB300 tonearm. I added Expressimo Audio mods, including rewiring the tonearm, and it is a winner. I'll be selling it only because I got a great deal on a Linn.

smw

do you have any idea of what type of cart you are going to use? The low output mc's are nice but cost more to drive in a phono section. i might suggest an old arc sp6 or vtl that have mm phono sections. with the right tubes these are very nice units and will meet your budget (i like an active preamp in my system). i have heard some very good things about the ear (have not heard it personally). rogue is supposed to have a phono stage too; that should be good for the money. as for tt; i like the vpi lines a used m 3-4 for the right price is hard to beat. the nottinghams have a good sound too.

all of this is subjective....it will depend on how you want to voice your system for your tastes.

good luck

I'm just starting my search, so I don't know what cartridge I'll be using. I'll probably just take the recommendation of the rega people, or whoever I buy the table from for now. I really know nothing about cartridges, etc. but will take any advise for now. Thanks

I don't know which cartridge you intend to use but beware of using a tube phono stage with a low gain cartridge. Noise could easily become a problem. The Electrocompaniet ECP1 is a fantastic $1000 solid state phono preamp that very few people seem to know about. I have heard it trounce numerous phono stages costing up too $2500. It's liquid and naturally warm, yet fast and controlled. I highly recommend a listen before making a decision.

As far as turntables, consider stretching your budget to a table that is far better built and upgradable. The Michell Gyrodec is such a table. It's suspended (an absolute must IMO), stunning looking and walks that fine line between musicality and neutrality extremely well. The Gyro SE starts at $2200 with a Rega RB300 arm.

Good luck!

oops!

I should have read your post more closely. The Electrocompaniet is strictly a phono stage and has no volume control. It is fantastic none the less.

I recommend the Wright WPP100B/C phono pre amp, it goes for $750 and is tube, put out by The Wright Sound Company.

Great review in last issue of Listener

I like the Quicksilver tube phone preamp. In stock form, it only has 44db gain, so you cannot use low output moving coils without a step-up transformer. In my system, the Quicksilver "blew away" the EAR, but the EAR (as I recall) has more gain which allows a wider range of cartridges to be used (w/o requiring a step-up transfomer). The unit retails for $900.

I am quite happy with my EAR 834P phono preamp w/upgraded oes tubes, which I listen to with a low gain (.33mV output voltage) Benz Micro Reference cartridge, Sota turntable and ARC preamp and amplifier. In A/B tests against my Cary 303/200 digital player, analogue sounds less compressed, more natural and even more dynamic. If you are patient, you can find a used EAR 834P for around $600 -- an excellent bargain.

Does the Wright or Antique Sound have a volume control?

There's a Quicksilver Preamp on auction now. This, as I remember, was Bascom King's reference for years when he was reviewing for Audio. I could live with one, and I'm sure it will go cheap.

The Antique Sound has separate volume controls for each channel.

Yes, the Wright phono pre-amp does have a volume control, it handles both mm/mc high output cart.

Thanks everyone, I will look into the Wright along with the EAR.

Y'all let me know about the Wright. I posted a thread on it a while back and didn't get much response. It seems like a bargain (If there is such a thing in the high end world).

I called Wright yesterday and he told me that the phono pre was $750, but I couldn't get one for a few weeks as he is behind schedule with them. So I may wait & get the EAR if it comes available first. I haven't listened to records for years, so either one of them would probably be a good choice. I may look into the Antique Sounds also. I guess my first step is buying the turntable, then getting the pre-amp.