A Look at Affordable Turntable Preamps 

that Little Bear preamp makes your records sound like a low bitrate internet stream!

1st Sony 2nd Music Hall 585th Little Bear

That Sony punches above it's weight for sure.

I love that you came to the conclusion that a low end early 90s receiver with a built in preamp was the best option, as that’s pretty much the route I would go without even considering anything else. Many years ago (mid ‘90s) my mother bought a nice bookshelf mini-system for her bedroom and still wanted to be able to play her records. She had a nice mid-‘80s turntable, but the mini system didn’t have a phono preamp; just an aux input. I simply used the phono preamp in a late ‘70s Pioneer receiver that had a blown power amplifier. Ran the tape output to the aux input on the mini system, hid it under her bed and left it turned on. Worked and sounded great for over a decade until she moved.

Little Bear was unpleasant to listen to on that first track.

Best review I've ever seen on an amp. Amazing quality and gave so much useful information as to what actually made it good or bad. Thank you. I wish to see you do more audio reviews like this

I knew right away youd go for the receiver at the end. There's something about digital audio receivers from 1991-1999 that just makes them all incredible tanks. I have a Techwood receiver my dad bought through Rent A Center in 97', year I was born. He handed it down to me in 2013. It's never had any maintenance and I still use it to this day. It has zero issues, buttons have been cleaned but nothing further. Produces great sound with Phono, a tape loop and four external audio inputs with an FM / AM radio that I can get crazy distance with with a proper antenna. The versatility and sound quality in the even the lower tier receivers of the era is incredible. Everyone should still be using these, they are super affordable as well.

Wow! first video ever watched for this channel and I am floored at how good this was. I was curious about this subject and I got more than expected. Thank You.

Wow! I like this channel! Finally, a normal person speaking normally - and coherently about a technical topic. I really enjoyed this, and subscribed. Can't wait to view your other work. Thank you!

I still have that same Sony receiver... and may now pull it out to use in my workshop; it sounds good, and never failed me. Only the lack of newer tech relegated it to the "old audio closet".

Kinda seems like the timing of the cross fades in the samples were chosen more as a creative choice, where the transition is during a drop, break, or other change in the audio. If you're trying to compare the sound signature of different processing chains, that's .. kinda the worst place to switch. This the audio equivalent of doing a composite vs component vs HDMI comparison where you change the connection every time the scene changes to a totally different set.

Excellent video. I was thinking of getting an outboard phono preamp a while back but am glad that I didn't. Sticking with my ancient NAD 7240 receiver.

A man who is testing a turntable with Timecop1983 is already a good egg in my book! well done video!

You had me at Featured music: Timecop1983. :D

Years ago in central Florida there was a Recoton factory outlet. I picked up a Recoton sp-2 Stereo preamp. I hooked up my AR turntable, the preamp and connected it to the sound card In my computer. I burnt a whole bunch of albums to CDs. The preamp is outstanding. Searching the internet you should be able to find them at a decent price. Happy listening.

I knew I liked you! Timecop1983 and Celeste?! Yeah man..

great video. Im new to record players and you gave me much more insight into the hobby than I was expecting to get from this.

So happy to see someone else has the Celeste Soundtrack on Vinyl. I love that album

Another fab video! I bought my first turntable a couple of years back, and wasn't sure whether to go down the powered speakers route using the table's built in preamp, or splash on a receiver. I ended up going down the latter route, and I'm glad I did. I ended up getting a Yamaha A-S301 amplifier which is a new model, yet had a phono preamp! Paired with a set of Tannoy 7.2 speakers, it produces a lovely sound and I'm very glad I spent the extra on a decent amp. :)

I have a mid '70s Sanyo turntable and started out with a Pyle PP999 preamp. I recently upgraded to a ART DJPREII and the sound quality was much improved. It also had far less hum from the ground (yes, connected properly) than the Pyle.

My favorite affordable phono preamp is the ART USB Phono+... Good signal to noise ratio, accurate frequency response, and has a USB phono output, so you are not reliant on the sound card on your PC to encode the audio to digital. It also has a switch for encoding line level as well as phono level, and has an optional bass rolloff filter. As far as modern receivers, more are more are re-introducing phono pre-amps as an option.

Dude, need a second way of playing records for my mother, and this just the video I needed! Thank Colin!!

I love the Celeste soundtrack. Beautiful piece that is.

Nice to see the Sony. I had the 5 channel in 1993. Now rocking a vintage Scandyna reciever from c.1970. I've just got a Behringer ultra compact phono stage, for my MiniDamp and SMSL AD18 😁. Haven't heard it yet, need to reorganise. Thanks for the videos Colin. All the best from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🎱🐙🙏

Someone made a video saying that the Music Hall Mini is a rebadged Rolls VP29, where even the internals in both machines were completely identical.

A $20 Pyle ( I know, I know.....) phono preamp from Parts Express worked well for a project I was doing for a neighbor. Compared well against my Rotel phono preamp in the integrated amplifier I use regularly.

Great analysis. I'm currently using a Sony Audio /Video Center receiver that dates back to the late 90s for my vintage setup, and totally satisfied.

Love the music Shade and Tokyo, great video 👍

Thank you for this great video. I can confirm the little bear sounds, like you recognised, a little muffled on my Goldring 1042 cartridge. And on my old Braun PS550s with a Shure M95e cartridge it sound far more open at the top end. Seems the combination of cartridge and preamp matters. I bought the little bear because my Braun turntable is 15m (49 feet) away from my marantz receiver (without Phono stage) and I like the option with switchable amplification just to compensate the loss in Volume due to long cables.

Shocking findings from this test! (Well, not shocking that the Sony did well, but more that the two standalone pres sounded as bad as they did.) Thank you for doing this video and I hope lots of people making their own turntable setup will get a chance to watch it.

Excellent video, very informative.

I love the audio quality of my Marantz PM-6005 amp. It even has a loudness button, something rarely seen on many amps today

super video - after 25 years of cutting records for the industry I find lots of things to be explained to today's customers speaking about 'this is how the record sounds'. well, components are VERY important and need not be super expensive to work fairly well on a consumer level. But they matter. This video is cool!

My Onkyo A-9010 does the job perfectly for me. Decent phono pre amp and optical in with good dac to connect my TV.

Dude, that Sony wins hands down! Even as a budget option, it sounds fantastic!

Reasonably good regarding an analog unit. Hope you get one of the apparently random good builds.

I feel like the Sony gave extreme depth to the highs, but the Mini seemed to have a little more bass. After hearing this, I really wish I would've kept damn near the exact vintage model Sony when I left my old house. Wonder if my dad picked it up when I moved out, because I'd love to have it after hearing this video!

I've been using an ART DJPRE II phono preamp since 2014 and I'm still very happy with it. There are much better options for sure, but I'm sure I'd have to spend a lot more money to get a noticeable sound quality improvement.

The Schitt Mani at about 140 is a fantastic unit. It is very highly rated by many other reviewers. I am blown away by how my Ortofon 2M Blue sounds with this unit.

I just wanna point out that awesome print of night drive of timecop1983, really cool

The tubish preamp is missing stereo separation. I think the receiver is doing a better job. I use an old Pionner a-30 amplificator for the preamp/amp with a b&o turn-table. Yes old tech do wonders !

Sony is my favorite of the bunch without a doubt, wonder how it’d compare with a ART DJPREII and a U-Turn Pluto in there

I thoroughly enjoyed this

Thumbs up for spinning TimeCop 1983. I appreciate your taste, I do have Night Drive on vinyl too 😉.

I have a Little Bear which I like, the secret is to change the tubes. True the tubes are not doing the amplification, but the coloration you heard here is from lousy tubes. Replace with GE 5654W (cheap on eBay) and run same comparison.

To me, I prefer your Sony receiver's phono preamp section as the music sounds more clear, has a bit more punch with the treble, and has this three dimensional sound, only my opinion. Thumbs up, very informative, thorough demonstration! I've got a Rolls VP29 Phono Pre-amplifier, made in the USA connected to my Sony STR-DH520 AV Receiver, both bought in late 2012, and everything works well. Up here in Canada, after 13% tax the Rolls VP29 preamp was a little over $100, from what I remember. Also it has a ground terminal, and an AC adapter; never had a problem with this phono preamp. Only that it does not have a power off switch, so that it requires it to be disconnected if not used. Why bother using up more electricity, money, maybe wearing out that green light shinning outside of that cute red box. Also since the cables are not exactly long enough, I have this phono preamp set on top of 2 wooden blocks on a wooden floor. Rolls VP29 Phono Preamp is as good as the preamplifier section of my Onkyo TX80 33 watt minimum receiver from late 1987. Therefore, I from my listening experience a moderately priced, well made phono preamp can perform well. Mostly my opinion.

The Sony receiver wins hands down, so thanks for posting this video because you've saved me time and money by not buying these ineffective tube amps. In general, I've been delighted with my vintage receivers (Sony, Marantz, Bang & Olufsen, Pioneer, Akai, Sansui, etc.). :)

I have a vintage Kenwood Super Eleven receiver that I'm currently working on (caps). So I was looking at buying a "cheap" preamp to test my Pioneer PL-L1000 turntable. Now, thanks to this review, I've decided to wait until the Kenwood is back up and running. Saved me some money!

Two years ago I bought a Yaoin MS-23S Phono amp. It is a true tube (valve) phono stage amplifier. I use a Denon 103C Moving Coil cartridge in a Dynavector tone arm. Actually found it on Amazon a few years ago. The sound is exactly what wanted, very musical, but quite dynamic as well as having accurate reproduction. I did find it was mandatory to ground the chassis. Those who have heard it have been impressed as it has a quiet background. I have used it with a Shure V15 and a Grado cartridge with similar results! As I remember it cost $130.00 and it is a bargain. It uses two large transformers one for each channel and “rolling” tunes does make a difference especially with old Mullard, Telefunken and GEC tubes. It is musical and listenable.

I use the little Bear with Pro-JECT Debut III turntable. To tell the truth, first when I try it, I return to the Dual amplifier built in phono preamp. But I use the Little bear sometimes, and I realized that after 20-40 hours using, it became a fantastivc phono preamp. It's good for classical music, excellent violin sound, and jazz, and everything. It became my favourite preamp. What we hear int this video through the youtube and our poor pc loudspeakers can't tansmit the real sound.

The Sony is just a lot richer. The music Hal mini isn’t “bad”, per se, just not as good. The little bear is a cheap pile of crap.

Yeah... as you showed, many 'vintage' receivers/amps of a decent brand, had great phono pre-amps built into them... a Sony, Technics, Yamaha etc will sound great! Of the modern pre-amps, the one that I've settled with is the Rega Mini Fono 2 pre-amp... it has a low capacitance input so it doesn't kill high frequencies from most cartridges, and sounds just so transparent, and natural, whilst being of a decent output voltage so record playback doesn't sound too low. In fact the only thing I don't like about is that the ground screw terminal is on the front of the case, and not the back... what were the designers thinking???!! Overall though, it's a fantastic sounding pre-amp, and only £99.00 (whatever $ equivalent)... oh, and it has a USB output too, for if you want to copy your records to computer!

Timecop1983 😍 Colin has such great taste!

Thank you for the video! Very helpful!

Fun video. I had a Sony STR-GX315 receiver when I was a teenager, very similar to yours. I've gone through a lot of phono preamps since my current amp doesn't have a built in one. After trying out a cheaper NAD PP4 (replaced because of faint background noise), then one from Cambridge Audio. But I landed on the Pro-Ject Phono Box DS2 USB. It lets you select output levels, and has a nifty ADC with USB input for ripping LPs. It has 3 inputs, two phonos and one aux (so I can rip any format). Great value for money, even though it set me back $500.

I am looking for a budget phono preamp until I came across with this video. Thanks to you I'll stick to my Yamaha Receiver with the Phono preamp.

Amazing vid! thanks for the info!

I've bought a few of those small budget preamp from relatively unknown sources over the years, and have concluded that none of them hold a candle to the tried-and-trusted preamps the major Japanese brands put into even the cheapest integrated amps/receivers of the 80s and 90s. To be honest neither of the two you reviewed seem as good to me as even the very cheap ($15-20 or so) Behringer PP400 (by which I mean there are obvious deficiencies in the sound, whereas the PP400 just sounds neutral) . The nearest I've found to a good budget preamp is the Cambridge series sold in Richer Sounds in the UK (Azur 640, CP1 etc) but these have been getting expensive lately. All a far cry from the 1990s when a genuinely good preamp like the Musical Fidelity X-LP could be had for around £100 discounted.

I have a Little Bear preamp and have had just the opposite experience.The first thing i noticed was high end like cymbals became audibly "visible".I run a systemdek IIX through it with nether the deck or the preamp grounded as these are already grounded through the mains plug.I tried a couple of GEC equivalent tubes for comparison and those subtle high end improvements vanished.I learned that these tubes were originally used for high frequency applications such as portable transceivers which almost explains why i experienced a high end boost but only with the Chinese tubes.........................

I good cheap Phono preamp is the Schiit Mani, using one now and its a great bargain and great sounding preamp.

I’m using the old “pseudo” component rack my parents bought 30 years ago... it’s a cheap AIWA but works well and definitely sound mich better than the most affordable systems produced today. There are plans to buy a new turntable and a new preamp for the purpose of listening to records via my headphones (Old Sony MDR-V500) but replacing this old Hi-Fi? Nope! Maybe it wasn’t exactly the best equipment back in the days but it was a time when build quality meant more than to get it running barely longer than the necessary 2 years. And yes, nostalgic is a thing is this equation 😄

Nice selection of music

OMG i grew up with that Sony receiver. As a mobile dj and live sound engineer, I always have extra rackmount preamps. My absolute preamp setup is using two DBX microphone preamp processors. I need to have separate preamps for both left and right channels. My right ear isn’t as sensitive as my left ear.

I should be the poster child for The Schiit Audio Mani phono preamp! I've been through half a dozen phono preamps, and nothing sounds as rich as the Mani, unless you pay over $500. The Mani costs $129 i think.

Thank you so much for the review and examples! I was looking to pick up the Little Bear but WOW that was crazy (and frankly, miserable) to hear such a wild difference. I don't think it's worth the gamble at $65 when it comes to just having a good audio experience. I've been wanting a tube amp for a very long time but it's looking like it might just be better to get a mid-tier receiver with a 1/4" jack. I have a great local record store that could have some nice used receivers and that's where I'll be looking at. Cheers!

I've made this comment on all your speaker amp videos too... The best you can do on a tight budget is get a used receiver. My local Craigslist is beyond flooded with them as people upgrade to one that has HDMI.

I can't hear the difference between the built-in pre in my Nad 3020 and my Rega fono or any other pre in that price range. So to avoid clutter and save a power outlet, I cut it out of my chain

Sony made some good sounding equipment. My dad had one that was very similar and very nice.

I bought one of those Sony D311 amps second hand off eBay for about 40 pounds, really pleased with it. Sounds very natural even with the vintage ussr speakers I have 🙂

I have a Little Bear Preamp and I must have gotten a good one I guess because it sounds awesome! I have Technics SL1900 TT with an AT 3600 cart and it all runs into a NAD 45 watt per channel amp powering a pair of Infinity Twin 8' floor speakers (RS4b's) I love it! I also have a Schitt Audio Mani that is dedicated to a DVD player for CDs It sounds amazing also! I picked up the Mani on sale for 100$ If you want an affordable preamp for all-around use I'd go with the Mani having said that I like the T7 better for vinyl but that's just me.

I liked your review and thought the Music Hall sounded the best. I also found two pre amps that interest me; the brand is Pyramid PR2500 and Pyle PPRE70BT. The 2500 seems to be right in line with the phono use, but the 70bt has additional features that I could use. However, the 70BT doesn't seem to be quite as suitable for turntables?. I intend to use this with my Sony Strdn 1020(no phono input) and I'm struggling in figuring out the connections and compatibility to use with the receiver. Both pre amps are very affordable, they have very high ratings on Amazon. I was hoping you could shed some light on these. I'm almost thinking I need to pair the music hall with this pre amp(70BT) to work and I'm not looking to have a gaggle of components daisy chained just to make things work.

Very informative video... Oh and video quality is very good as well. ;)

I watched with interest. Let me share my experience. Out of curiosity I checked the Sony STR-D311 diagram. The RIAA correction system is implemented in a negative feedback loop, as was done in all cheap amplifiers. This Little Bear maybe has the same solution to correct the turntable signal in the operational amplifier circuit plus an additional output buffer on tubes to add even harmonics. I think Music Hall is implemented in the same way as the preamplifier in Sony 311, it sounds worse maybe due to SMD components. I will add that my Onkyo TX-SV646 amplifier has the same layout as your Sony. They all sound bad, have limited space, different boosts in the whole band (correction inaccuracy), transient intermodulation distortion. The NAD 3020 (analog model) has a better fonostage. In my experience, a simple Class A amplifier with passive RIAA correction transfers the sound of the same turntable one class higher. If you want to have a good sound, buy a preamplifier constructed in this way: a cascade tube amplifier, RIAA passive correction, a cascade cathode follower. This arrangement ensures low output impedance, the current does not load the passive filter elements, which does not change its characteristics, and is a perfect match with the turntable cartridge. Not all tube preamplifiers cost as much as the M2 Audio Note. My hand-made tube preamp cost me 50 €. Condition: you must be able to solder, file saw and use a screwdriver. Simple design: triode voltage amplifier, passive RIAA correction and second amplifier on ECC83, of course class A (because in SE it cannot be done differently). It sounds much better than the preamplifier on Onkyo 646, Sony 311 or TA11, Sansui C77 or Fonica WS503 and other integrated devices.

I have two Onkyo top of the line receivers about 10 years old and they were about $100 each and they sound awesome for records and CDs.

I started with what we now call vintage gear,and I'm sticking with it. Any of the mid to late 70's,made in Japan equipment beats most of these new pre-amps.

I actually have the ZeroZone T1 which you can purchase as a kit, it's basically the Little Bear without the tube buffer stage, and the frequency response is fairly flat, the only concern is that the gain is fairly high so I wouldn't recommended with cartridges that have a high output. There's nothing inside the amp except a through-hole 5532 op-amp and some resistors and capacitors.

I'm glad I watched the video till the end, I was about to buy the "Music Hall Mini" until you said not to!

I have a marantz SR7500 receiver that’s I use for all my music and home theater. It doesn’t have HDMI hookups but even with just optical audio it sounds just amazing to this day. I don’t plan on updating my marantz any time soon even though I got gosh I think in 2005.

Totally go with you on that one| The receiver sounds WAY better than the Music Hall Mini! And I'll just skip talking about The Little Bear...... I have an Old Hitachi HA-37 with my Marantz 6200 turntable hooked to it and it sound just amazing without the need of any ''external'' pre-amp!

very interisting, but most of all, Thank You Very Much for the great music! tokyo an shade, never heard of but i am an instant fan.gooing to but it on vinyl and play it on my pro-ject carbon.

Very interesting video, I am a dj I bought a receiver Onkyo tx8522 years ago and it sounds good. I was planning on buying a turntable preamp a low budget type, just to see if it makes any different but I haven’t. Just to give you an idea why not buy a dj mixer (that doesn’t cost to much ) and see if that makes a difference and compare the sound quality to the expensive turntable preamp.

superrrrr great insight, sirrrr!!! thank you!!

You can clearly hear the noise introduced by the Music Hal mini at 5:45 and, at the changeover, how clean the Sony built-in pre is. The Little bear was just muffled crap.

Watching this makes me happy with my Emotiva SP-1.

The Schitt Mani will stomp that rebadged Rolls (Music Hall) flat. And that Little Bear...sounds like a Crosley.

You put out a good product, thanks.

The little bear sounded like it had a flanger or a phaser effect. The music hall sounded okay but the Sony STR sounded the best , brighter and sharper especially on that piano track.

I am using an FX-Audio Tube-01 buffer/ preamp with the same tubes as the little bear. I can confirm at least the tubes are not coursing the roll-off and has great depth in bass, plenty of detail. Must be a problem with that op-amp. Usually with these imported devices they do expect the end user to repair if it's not under warranty, or if they do end up having to "fix" it they will ship you a new device. It all boils down to the price it would be less cost effective to have to ship a device back and forth overseas on top of repairing it. I tried with Topping after the dac/ amplifier I had had quit working but they refused to repair it or even replace it.

I use a NAD pre amp and have been very happy with it compared to the pre amp built in my Pioneer integrated amp from the late 70s.

I have a vintage Sony ES receiver that I use with my Technics linear turntable and it sounds awesome!

Thank you for this. I just upgraded from an Audio Technica LP60 to a used Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Esprit, and have been trying to find out if I would also need to invest in a new preamp as well. But my Yamaha receiver has always worked great, so no need to bust out my wallet again.

I'm using a Marantz 2230 which has a very good preamp in it. Love the warm tube like sound.

I got the mini with my first turntable and haven’t had any issues with it. Sounds decent to me, plus it was included and haven’t changed it as I upgraded. It does have some issues with background hum at times but I can usually get it figured out

The very reason I am sticking with my 1990 Pioneer rig. And still expanding it :)

Interesting, I had been considering the Music Hall since I have one of their turntables. I'm currently using another cheap option, the TC-750LC. But I have that same ground hum. My local record shop has a bunch of vintage receivers for cheap, maybe I'll give one of those a try.

Made my day thank's great advice

Very nice test. I stopped the video at this point, immediately after the first sequence of three trials, to comment on what I heard thru the chain of audio transformations that output in a 6 inch Bluetooth speaker tied to my phone. I immediately heard a difference that I can only describe as a seemingly wider sound stage if this even makes sense as soon as the Sony was in charge of the turntable's signal. The two stand alone preamps sounded about the same with a bit of an edge from the unit that incorporates the two valves. It will be interesting to see the balance of the video and listen to your "real" experience but as is, my vote is Sony.

built my own Muffsy preamp for $20 and the sound is killer

Very good comparison and honestly, very surprising. I as well thought the receiver was very flat and neutral, as it should be. Any kind of amplifier should do only that, amplify. The sound should be adjustable to taste with an equalizer. But a word to the wise when buying a used receiver, especially from a thrift store. Know what you are getting. Simply plugging it in and turning it on is not going to confirm whether or not it works. If by chance the store is demonstrating it they probably won't let you turn it up. An amp might sound fine at low levels but have a higher amount of distortion when turned up. All amps should produce some distortion in their top range but the amount is reduced by their quality and how well they are treated. A lot of people think you break an amp by turning it up all the way and releasing the magic smoke. While this is possible a lot of people abuse their amps while not even knowing it. You would think it would be bad, if you had a 100 watt amp and 50 watt speakers, and it would be bad for the speakers if you turned the volume up past half way, however it won't hurt the amp. So people like to play it safe, and hook up 200 watt speakers to their 100 watt amp. It seems sound in theory. But the speakers are demanding too much power from the amp. It will sound fine, for a while. The amount of distortion will increase gradually and imperceptibly over time, and you will get used to it, until you compare it side by side to a new amp. Receivers can be expensive to fix, if not impossible. The parts might simply not exist. And you might go through 3 or 4 receivers before you find a good one. I got a suprise once and found a 100 watt Yamaha receiver in the community dumpster while throwing away my own trash. It actually did work, it only has a broken foot. I use it for testing other components while I rely on an Onkyo HTR540 for my main duties. While I have never been a real fan of Onkyo, I have to say I am very impressed with its sound qualities. It seems to combine the best of all worlds, because while it is a 7.1 surround sound amp for home theater, it is a solid performer for standard stereo, and yes it has phono in. One problem though, this system is powerful enough to skip records, lol. *sigh* Well I suppose I will have to religate LP duties to my Sansui 9090. Oh the pains of being an audiophile and the search for the perfect sound... but I would not trade it for anything.

I can just hear radiotvphononut saying "Amen." Yeah, I bought a newly made one that was about $10 a few years ago, and it sounded ok, except for a very loud hum, which I thought was caused by it being powered by a DC adapter, but it may be the same issue as yours. I still use a Technics turntable and a Radio Shack pre-amp, both bought by my dad in 1982. Still no problems with it.