Pyle Mini Phono Turntable Preamp - Low Noise Stereo Preamplifier with RCA Input/Output - 12V DC Adapter - High-Fidelity Audio for Vinyl - Phonograph - Home Audio - PP999

I was digitizing my album collection and was using a McLelland pre-amp. The McLelland pre-amp was more expensive than the Pyle and had better specs. (It had a better signal to noise ratio.) During recording, there would be occasional "dropouts" where sound would be lost for a second. At first, I accepted this as an isolated quirk and just re-recorded the songs where that occurred. That got real old after ten albums and I decided to try and nail down the problem. I first swapped out the turntable cartridge and needle, but the problem persisted. I then swapped out the McLelland pre-amp for the Pyle....no more dropouts! Not only that, but the bass was much improved and the sound was louder. I'm using Audacity (an awesome free editing program) and had to amplify the songs after they were recorded using the McLelland and the bass was also very weak. This just goes to show you that more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better. I now have a thirty dollar paperweight. I'm in the process of re-recording the albums that were recorded using the McLelland pre-amp and the Pyle has been performing without a hitch. There's no need to amplify the songs recorded using the Pyle so it's one less thing to have to do. The Pyle pre-amp is deceivingly small. It measures approximately 3 9/16" L X 2 1/8" W x 1 1/8" H. It doesn't have a dedicated grounding terminal like the McLelland but that isn't a problem at all. There's 4 Philips head screws on the unit. I inserted a small washer under the screw that's closest to the phono input jacks. To attach the ground wire from the turntable, I just loosen the screw and slip the prong from the grounding wire between the washer and the unit and tighten the screw. This works like a charm, no buzz/hum. You could probably get by without a washer but I feel that it gives more surface contact area for the grounding. (I've uploaded some photos in the "Customer Images" section showing this.) The Pyle pre-amp is a little bigger than a pack of cigarettes and comes in a chintzy looking blister pack but don't let looks fool you. This pre-amp is a solid performer and well worth the money.

I was a little gun-shy about getting this, but it worked very well for a simple record player setup with some Amazon speakers. Great to hear the beautiful clarity of vinyl again. Easy setup as well. Simple and functional.

This phonograph preamp really does the job it sets to do well. It does not alter the sound in any way, just amplifies to a line-level input; I use it with a line input on a stereo from 2005 and find that I need to have its volume on the stereo set twice as high as any other input (tape, CD, radio) but makes it usable. The lack of volume isn't a big deal though as that provides wiggle room if I were to add a tube preamp to adjust the sound as well, which often those can increase volume to bring it up to the other line levels. The ground works well and there is no hum from the turntable at all. The construction seems very solid, but you can tell cost-effective measures were taken to keep it affordable while keeping the build quality great. For example I initially had the left and right channels reversed when I hooked it up because the colors on the phono input were incorrect; the same RCA plugs were used on each side and that made the colors backwards on the input side... they are labelled correctly on the case of the unit so follow the label on the case instead of the color! Also the ground screw is not a thumb screw as pictured but a very stiff hex screw; I needed to use a pliers to actually move it to get the ground wire secured in place, but once it's done it's done. I do like that the unit itself is silent, does not get warm in the least, and has no lights to distract you. An on-off switch would be a nice addition but I solved this concern by having it on a switched surge protector (from Trickle Star) that automatically turns on when the stereo turns on. All in all a good product at a very good price point.

I have been cleaning and testing out antique stereo equiptment. I was given a turntable from the 1970’s and it had no built in preamp. This solved the issuefor a great price.

It works very well for my player, no hum or other static disturbances.

Me sorprendió el sonido que salió de este preamp phono. Honestamente no esperaba mucho por su bajo costo, pero haciendo pruebas de comparación auditiva con circuitería de preamp phono de buen equipo vintage, no ha quedado mal.

I didn't even know what a preamp was until I bought a used record player that I plugged into a unit with no PHONO input (just AUX and TV). The audio was very quiet and weak. This preamp did the trick to bridge the 2 devices and allow proper, clean audio levels. Now I can start my vinyl journey! Easy setup, quality build, and functions perfect. Recommended!

Cheaper alternatives than repair the build in phono stage

I do appreciate good sound quality, but I’m no audio expert. I do listen to a lot of music and have a well trained ear for sound quality. With our vintage B&O record player and nice Edifier S1000db speakers with build in amp, the record player didn’t produce enough volume without a preamp. In my humble opinion it sounds absolutely great with this preamp. No hum or any background noises, perfectly clear sound. If you can hook up a record player you can hook this up, super easy. Quick shipping too in Canada. I recommend this product, especially for the price.