Rotel 1068 & phono preamp recommendation

[PSUfan]

Recently acquired a near mint yamaha yp-d6 turntable. I'm new to vinyl and would like any recommendations on a good entry level phono preamp. It has a stanton epoch ii cartridge on it which I believe is mm but just to be safe I was thinking I should buy a preamp with mm & mc capabilities. Thanks in advance for any assistance. I have our old Christmas records that I'd like to play and the Bruce Springsteen box set on vinyl. Who knows where it will go from there...

[jam200]

Visit http://www.esotericsound.com/elect.htm#d_Phono. Esoteric makes a great little phone preamp for around $100. They are located in Wheaton, IL. Regards.

[eelco74]

I am not sure if it is available in the US, but Pro-ject has some fine Phono products in their line.

The entry level Phonobox-II will probably do fine: http://www.project-audio.com/main.ph...=boxes&lang=en

The is also an USB version and a better ES and Tube version.

I own the original phonobox, but after an upgrade to the Ortofone Salsa MC, I might go for the Tubebox II.

[chanlon]

The Cambridge Audio 640P Phono Pre-amp sounds exceptional for the price:

http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=29&Title=Azur+640P+phono+stage

[wkhanna]

Agreed.
The CA and Project units are good values for entry-level pre's.

[Alaric]

These were very nice for the money when I got mine (several years ago). Since my speakers are prone to "edginess" the tube/vinyl combo worked well for me. YMMV. I would get the stylus checked out on a cartridge of that vintage before using it , also. They were very good cartridges in their day , but that was about 25 years ago. Should still sound very good if it's in good shape. Nice find!
Some set-up info for an Epoch II:

They are indeed MM , but there were two types. The LZxx were low output and the HZxx series were high output. Now , about cleaning those albums before the stylus hits them....LOL. Welcome to Vinyl. :T

[Blues]

I actually had this same vinyl bug awhile back and searched high and low for a good phono preamp, but with tubes. It was somewhat daunting to find a unit with tubes at an entry level price, but I succeeded. If you don't want tubes, then your options are much less limited than my experience. Below is what I ended up with and they even had a special. Tube preamp and upgraded power cord for a little over 400 bucks! I'm still in the breakin period, but so far I am pretty happy with my investment:

Grant Fidelity P-307:

http://shop.grantfidelity.com/Grant-Fidelity-P-307-Tube-Phono-Pre-amp.html

Specifications:

•Output Voltage to Power Amp:
•Dual outputs of either .25V or .7V
•Distortion: <0.2%
•Input Voltage: CD/DVD: <.25V
•Frequency Response: 15Hz-100kHz (-2B)
•Signal To Noise Ratio:
•CD/DVD-Less Than 75dB(A)1kHz
•RIAA: Less Than 65dB(A)1kHz(@10mV input)


Features:

•Heavy-Duty All- Metal Chassis and Faceplate. You can use this with your turntable and CD/DVD player.
•Stereo RIAA Phono inputs (2.5-5mV sensitivity) on front panel, CD/DVD Stereo Inputs on rear panel, Dual Stereo Outputs-either .7V or .25V.
•Controls include: Stereo Volume, Input Switches for CD/DVD and Phono, on-off power switch.
•Vacuum Tube Compliment: 2 x 12AU7 and 2 x 12AX7
•DC on Tube Filaments for ultra-low noise.
•Removable RF interference tube covers.
•12 lbs net weight

[Audio_ElF]

Another good budget phono pre-amp is the Musical Fidelity V-LPS.

Eloise

[PSUfan]

Thank you for the recommendations. I'm in the the process of testing a few different options. For the mean while I have it hooked up via an older rotel rv-555 bookcase stereo receiver that I enjoy.

Thanks,
Shane