Phono Stage Preamp-Rotel vs NAD

cambridge 640 is way better

Rotel by a big margin....

The Rotel has a more accurate RIAA curve than the NAD but the NAD's gain is probably not as high as the Rotel's.I would lean to the Rotel for the first reason but the gain could be too high in the context of the rest of your system and the NAD is a more modern design.

They're both very good units. I own and love the Rotel RQ-970BX. I'm on my second one, in fact. I've had more expensive units but I've found you need to spend between $500 and $1000 before you get into significant across-the-board improvements. The Rotel's $199 MSRP has not changed in many years, making it an even better value than ever.

I owned the original NAD PP-1 and found it good but a little dark sounding. The Rotel is livelier and more resolving. It all depends on the rest of your system.

Don't count out the Cambridge Audio 640P -- also around $200. Many people feel it's the state of the art at this price point. I don't have extensive experience with it but knowing Cambridge products in general, I'm sure it's an excellent value provided it gels with the rest of your system.

Good luck!