Phono Stage for Marantz 5009?


I have a Marantz 5009 receiver with no phono stage, so I use a small NAD PP1 preamp that I use with a Rega TT with a Rega cartridge.(elyse I think).  

I have new speakers now so it's a bit more apparent to me that the sound is kind of dark compared to CD.  The TT has been checked recently and all was good.

Does the NAD compensate for the RIAA EQ curve for vinyl?   And which is the best input to use on the receiver?    I was using a TV audio in but am now trying the Aux on the front of the unit.  I need to listen more - it seems a little better only.

So I have been thinking about replacing the NAD, which is fairly old and has been on a lot, as it powers on with the receiver even when I'm watching tv.   Looks like the Pro-Ject S preamp was in my budget and has dip switches to tune the output.  If I'm after a brighter sound, does that make sense? 

Thx!



wolfernyc

Showing 1 response by paraneer

Its got nothing to do with the receiver. Its to tailor the phono preamp to the cartridge your using as MM and MC all require different gain and impedance settings. MM models may even require different capacitance settings in order to sound their best - very often the lower the better.

So you can see that adjustable Gain, Load and Capacitance settings can be very useful in getting the most of your cartridge vs. a phono stage where these values are fixed. And having them on the front is simply a matter of convenience for the user.