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Rakhmaninov3
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Good preamp?

Mon Mar 11, 2019 10:13 pm

A friend gave me a Kenwood KD 550 turntable (this 30-pound beast from c. 1975 has a synthetic granite deck to reduce vibration among other features). Need a preamp for it -- any suggestions? Does it really matter? Appreciate any suggestions. Will output to Klipsch Reference R28F speakers thru Sony STR-DN1080 receiver.
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MOSFET
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Re: Good preamp?

Tue Mar 12, 2019 1:22 am

Be careful on inserting this (or any G34 chip) into the socket. Once you pull that restraining lever, it is either a good install or a piece of silicon jewelry.
 
ludi
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Re: Good preamp?

Tue Mar 12, 2019 2:16 am

Rakhmaninov3 wrote:
A friend gave me a Kenwood KD 550 turntable (this 30-pound beast from c. 1975 has a synthetic granite deck to reduce vibration among other features). Need a preamp for it -- any suggestions? Does it really matter?

Given the state of hi-fi audio in 1975, no...pretty much any phono preamp will probably give a better reproduction than what 1975 hardware could have obtained. That being said, it kind of depends on your price tolerance. Now that vinyl is back in vogue among the eclectics, you can break out a soldering iron and spend less than $100 on a DIY project, or head to your local audiophile shop and venture well into the four-figure range, especially if you like playing with tubes. What's your budget, and have you confirmed that the installed cartridge is good? (If not, that's around $80+ for an OE replacement cartridge, so plan accordingly.)
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Rakhmaninov3
Graphmaster Gerbil
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Re: Good preamp?

Tue Mar 12, 2019 8:41 pm

Thank you guys for the response. Definitely don't consider myself a true audiophile....I really like good sound but don't venture much beyond the point of diminishing returns. Frankly my $150 Sony turntable that I got at Best Buy a couple of years ago sounds pretty good to me so I wouldn't want to spend much more than $100-150 on a pre-amp for the Kenwood (which I imagine has more potential than the Sony, PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong).

A new cartridge was installed on it shortly before it was put into storage (according to my friend who gave me both it and around 500 vintage albums he never listened to anymore....a kingly gift), looks OK to the naked eye and its little cardboard cannister/box is actually still with the turntable/contained in it by the dust cover, so I'm assuming it's OK. If not I'll obv need that too. He took very good care of all of it.
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Rakhmaninov3
Graphmaster Gerbil
Topic Author
Posts: 1282
Joined: Thu Jun 13, 2002 2:10 am
Location: Murphysboro, IL

Re: Good preamp?

Tue Mar 12, 2019 8:45 pm

Actually that Mani looks like it may be the ticket for my purposes, thank you!
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