Question for Jolida JD9A owners

I am interested to know, also. My Rotel preamp (RC1082) has a MC/MM gain of 70dB/75dB - is that good? I am a novice when i comes to phono preamps adn their specs. My cartridge is a Dynavector DV20XH (HO MC). Sorry to hijack thread but I felt we were both looking for the same answer.

The JD9A has plenty of gain and is adjustable, you will not have problem. As to the Rotel, 70dB/75dB is lots of gain, could be too much for a HO MC ... as long as it sounds good as doesn't produce too much noise, it is fine.

Miner - I've got an RC 1072 that I was using the p-stage in. Do yourself a favor and get an external phone-pre. You'll be amazed at how much better it can be. Even a cheap one - I'm using a ProJect Tube Box - will make a big differnce. The Rotels have an afterthought p-stage.

It's a good phono preamp for the money and is fairly versatile. I ran a 2.5mV HOMC cartridge through one and it sounded pretty good. I wish Jolida provided a better range of loading options for low output MC cartridges though.

I'm not familiar with the sound of the A5's phono stage (I'm running an A3.5 by the way) but you might consider a headamp. The Hagerman Piccolo provides additional gain settings of 12, 20, and 26 db plus a range of loading options. You can even get custom loading settings installed when you order it. It turns nearly any phono preamp into a very versatile phono stage for most any cartridge.

My only caution with the Piccolo (and it may be true of other headamps) is that it can be a bit noisy in some systems/surroundings and takes some effort to find the cure.

Tom