2. analog
  3. 1083855765

Phono preamp question

I have a low output cartridge, Lyra Helikon SE, paired with a low gain pre amp. While it makes beautiful music, sometimes I wish that I had more volume. At the present the volume needs to be at at least two thirds of the way up when listening to vinyl. And, I don't listen to music at what would be considered loud levels. To have similar levels on cds I have the volume control at half that level.

So, my question is, "Would a out board phono stage, such as the Rhea, that has more gain give me more sound level without having to crank the volume control 3/4s of the way up?"
agaffer

Showing 1 response by dougdeacon

dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Agaffer,
As long as you're getting uncompressed dynamics and not pushing the Hovland above its own noise threshhold then I agree with Newbee.

If you are experiencing either of those problems then I'd continue to look for a solution. A stepup tranny as BMCkenney suggested will not add any noise if you get a good one. It can even reduce noise, because you're not pushing the gain stages so hard. That happened when I added my trannies, but I had a new .5mv MC going into an MM phono stage and HAD to have more gain.
More to discover