Phono Preamp Recommendations

I love the Cambridge 640P. It has made me a better person.

I use the 640p with a Pangea P100 power supply and it sounds great. Worth the 100 bucks for the Pangea. The 640p has been replaced by a new model (641P) that might be better, but I haven't compared them (the new one is basically the same price as the old one). I assume the Pangea works with the 641p. I see no reason to buy another phono pre myself as this 640p sounds so good with my system and it is one of the few out there with the rumble filter I need, but if I replaced it I'd just get the new one.

Using an Adcom 565 might solve the "input matching" level issue I have with phono preamps...although adding a lot of circuitry to the mix, you'd have some serious gain to mess with at the input of the main preamp...to make all the sources the same level anyway.

My 640p is a thoroughly vetted inexpensive item that got some of the best reviews I've seen for ANY phono preamp, has one of the most accurate RIAA circuits ever measured, is built like a tank, and sounds amazing. It also has a (rare these days) 20hz rumble filter that I seem to need, and I stuck a Pangea P100 power supply on it simply because I had one on a DAC and liked it. The Pangea is much better than a "wall wart", cost less than a decent tire, and now that the 640p has been replaced by a new model you may be able to find one for peanuts. Remember...if somebody hasn't actually heard a piece of gear in a system, their opinion of its sound quality is utterly meaningless.