(Part 3) Reddit mentions: The best audio preamplifiers

Okay cool! There's a lot of great stuff in that price range!

So it looks like that phono stage is $500. That leaves us with $2000.

Interesting. My first recommendation was going to be Klipsch Heresy III, since I've got those and they're really good for rock. However, it looks like they raised the price. They were $2000 when I got them, and now it'll be $2600. I guess that's out of the question. While I like the RP like (reference premier), I think they're better for movies, and not so much for music.

Ascend Acoustic Sierra Towers would be great. They're $2000 for the pair. I've heard the Sierra bookshelves, and from the reviews/comparisons that I've read, I guess these are the same, but they just go lower. So you could get a pair of the Sierras and a REL T/9i subwoofer for around the same price and probably have something pretty similar but more versatile. Up to you.

KEF R3 is up next. Basically an LS50 with an extra bass driver, and the treble is toned down just a tad. Extremely clear presentation that will give you every little detail you could possibly want.

Bowers and Wilkins 706 S2. These are bookshelf speakers that have really good bass response. They're a warm and inviting speaker, even though they have a metal tweeter. I enjoy them quite a bit, especially for their size.

This HSU 2.1 package or possibly just a pair of the speakers and a pair of the subs. I have these speakers and they're absolutely a phenomenal value for what they are. They're horns so they're dynamic and fun, but they're actually neutral rather than bright. They're just a lot of fun to listen to as well. I highly recommend them. And for a bit over $1000 you have a fantastic 2.1 system, or you could get a 2.2 system for a bit under $2000 and have extremely clear and clean bass response combined with dynamic and fun speakers. I highly recommend looking into this.

From here, my recommendations will be a bit ribbon tweeter heavy. I'm a huge fan of them, since I feel like they give you all of the accuracy of a metal tweeter, but don't have the sharpness, much like a soft tweeter. Also, jazz sounds phenomenal on every ribbon I've heard, which is awesome. I think jazz is some of the hardest to reproduce accurately, and ribbons seem to be great at it. I know that's a small subset of what you listen to, but I thought I'd point that out, since that's how I feel about it.

The Ascend Sierra 2. Now, here's the thing with these. I haven't heard them. However, as I said before, I've heard the regular ones. I also have a pair of speakers that use the same RAAL ribbon tweeter. So I feel as though I get a pretty good idea of how they sound. Based on the measurements, the treble will be boosted just a tad but everything else will be flat. They should be detailed but not fatiguing. I won't go into it more than that, since I haven't heard them. However, I wouldn't hesitate to get them (or the towers).

Next up is my favorite manufacturer, and let me talk about why first. I have a pair of Quad Z-3 towers. They are $3000. When I was looking to buy speakers, I was looking at those, Martin Logan stuff, B&W 700 and 800 series, and KEF R series. Most of the stuff I was looking at was more expensive. The B&W 800 series towers I was looking at are around $8000 if I recall correctly. That's more than twice what the Quads are. And I liked the Quads more. Even if they were the same price, I would have picked the Quads. And I picked them over quite a few 'mainstream' speakers, if that makes sense. Also, everything they make is in-house. "with all component parts – even the tooling – made in-house." This means that they design each driver to match the other drivers. No pulling drivers off the shelf and trying to get them to blend together.

So, that all being said, I think that Quad has some of the best price to performance out there. There is the S series and the Z series. The Z series is better than the S series, but they're both fantastic. I was just in a store over the weekend with my uncle (who has the Ascend Sierras) and he absolutely loved the Quad S-4, which I think are like $1600 for the pair. His turntable is actually broken right now, but he said if it wasn't he would have walked out of there with those Quads.

Your options for Quad would be:

The S-4 just by themselves. They say they get down to 44hz, but it feels lower than that. The've got passive radiators on the back so you could put them closer to a wall and get more bass if you need to. They're around $1600 or so. Anyways, these will be extremely clean and clear with a very neutral response. I haven't heard anything that doesn't sound great on them.

The S-2 combined with a REL T/7i, or your sub of choice really. These are absolutely fantastic, but don't get super loud, so if you need volume, towers are a better choice. However, if you'll be listening close or at lower volumes, these are great. I have KEF LS50s on my desk and I'm actually thinking about replacing them with Quads.

The Quad Z-2 bookshelves. These will be a step up from the S series. The bass it a bit cleaner and tighter, but more noticeably, the midrange and top end is better. The ribbon tweeter is massive on these (I think 3" by 1") so you get an effortless top end that really sounds great. The blending of the ribbon and the woofer is a bit better on these as well. I just like the natural sound of them a lot.

Those are your options for Quad. That store that I was in recently is this one here. If you decide you want Quads, you can call them up and order them. I got mine from them, but that's just because they're near me. I actually don't know of anywhere online where you can get them. Anyways, they have weird hours that aren't posted online. Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, 10am to 5pm. You'll talk to Frank and he can help you out. I promise I don't work for them or anything. I just have done business with him before and it went well.

After that would be Magnepans. They're extremely clear and clean, but don't exactly throw out a ton of bass. If you're looking to shake the room, you'll need a sub. I like these because of the transparency, and the massive soundstage that they make.

Alright, that's a good amount to get you started for now haha.

I'll just list some stuff that I've read good stuff about but haven't personally heard that you might want to look into:

Salk Sound SongTower

Spatial Audio M4 (my goodness these things look beautiful)

Monitor Audio Silver

Vandersteen 1Ci.

Okay so actually there will be too many for this. But this is a good start.

I'm selling my dearly beloved sound system, as I just moved into a smaller space and sadly don't have the room for it anymore. The amplifier and pre-amplifiers are in great condition, as are the Yamaha speakers. The Polk RTA 12Cs and the Klipsch subwoofer were damaged in a move, and are being sold steeply discounted.

The amplifier is a Harman Kardon PA2200 Amplifier. It outputs 100 watts/channel into 8Ω (stereo) or 200W into 8Ω (mono) and has a 10Hz-100KHz frequency response. Original value of $300 (based on what I could find online), asking $120 OBO

The paired pre-amplifier is a Harman Kardon PT2300 radio tuner/pre-amp combo. It can be used to hook together inputs from a TV, aux cable or bluetooth receiver, record player, etc and switch between them to output to the amplifier and subwoofer. Rated for 180 watts. Original value of $250 (based on what I could find online), asking $75 OBO

The second pre-amplifier is a Pyramid PR2500/SEA2500 pre-amp. It doesn't have quite as much power at the PT2300, but still serves as an excellent low power amplifier for any beginner/intermediate home set up. Sold for $70 new, asking $35.

The Yamaha speakers are S115IVA-OAK Yamahas. The wood veneer around the edges is pretty chipped, but the speakers still sound brand new. They have 15" cones and can put out 1000W of sound at maximum power. These are excellent speakers for providing sound in a small or medium sized venue, exercise class, outdoor party, etc. They can put out a lot of sound, and still sound great. These sold for around $400 new, asking $150.

I have a pair of Polk RTA 12Cs. These are some really excellent vintage speakers that Polk was selling back in the 80s. They were near top of the line for their time and still sound excellent today. They have open air tweeters mounted on top, covered by removable silk housing. Unfortunately, when we moved the top housing of one of the speakers broke, and the tweeter now has a very faint hum when powered on. The speaker still sounds good and the housing can by easily repaired, and the other speaker is in good condition. I've called Polk and they sell kits to fix the tweeter for $60. I really love these speakers and would like to find someone who could enjoy them. $50 OBO

Finally, I have a Klipsch KSW-300 Subwoofer. This was a great sub, and paired with the Yamahas can really fill up a room with 300W of bass. However, it's amplifier+power assembly has also been damaged. It has a hum when turned on, and sometimes has to be switched on and off several times to make it stay on. The amplifier and power assembly is still sold for repair for $70 from Sybesma's Electronics, and could be replaced pretty easily. Again, just looking for someone down to fix up a sweet piece of equipment. One wooden leg is missing, and another has the black veneer removed. Free to a crafty home.

Willing to work out a deal if you're interested in buying the amps/pre-amps together or with the speakers.

Some pics

https://richmond.craigslist.org/ele/6300756374.html

I am a huge fan of budget pro audio components that have gotten the seal of approval from a considerable number of positive reviews from both customers and professionals.
I was recently in your EXACT position and after a month of research I am VERY happy with what came of it. I had 400 to spend on speakers but I also (gratefully) have a very nice preamplifier by Van Alstine that a friend named Jesus (or Adam) gave me. I have a slightly bigger room that I pretend is a loft space and the system fills the room beautifully.
For speakers I purchased the Berhinger Truth B2031A ($260 Pair!). I listened to the studio monitor comparison on the Sonic Sense website (links below) and found that these monitors had the smoothest richest sound out of all of them. They turn up VERY well and always have a bit of that audiophile magic.
These studio monitors are VERY telling of EVERYTHING your play through them. They can show you the amount of work and money put into recordings immediately but they are also as equally sensitive to the equipment you choose to source them from. Upgrading my system step by step has been very fun and effective every step of the way.
I've also recently purchased a Playstation 1 (SCPH-1001) ($20) as a CD transport because of its audiophile reviews and I can confirm - get one!
My advise is to also leave money for a great preamplifier. It will end up being THE HEART of your bi-amplified system. Here are some links :)

Studio Monitor Comparison
http://www.sonicsense.com/blog/studio-monitors/studio-monitor-comparison#.Ut_a3v2tt1M

Behringer B2031A
http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2013/05/15/behringer-studio-monitor-wins-listening-test/

Preamp
http://www.amazon.com/Emotiva-XDA-2-Digital-Preamp-Headphone/dp/B00FX8RH4G/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_1

Ehhh...tube stuff really only get to a "better" level when you start closing in on the $200 mark. And that's with mediocre Chinese stock tubes. That LB T7 is about the best you'll do until you get up to the much better, but over 2X the price, Little Bear T2. The T2 is a pure tube preamp, which means it has a driver tube for gain, and not a solid state gain portion. Many purists feel this gives you the best sound. As a bonus, it accepts both 6N2 and 12AX7 tubes, which gives a large variety of tubes to switch or "roll" between to find the sound you like. The differences are subtle, but noticeable.

https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Little-Vacuum-Preamplifier-Turntable/dp/B074GXGSNY/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1538492861&sr=1-6&keywords=tube+phono+preamplifier

I'd honestly go with the T7 and a set of these;

https://www.amazon.com/Riverstone-Audio-Matched-Fully-Tested-Platinum/dp/B01BFJDTW0/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1538493072&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=5654+tube

Total for the preamp and the upgraded tubes comes to $73, but, IMO, it's a much better sounding combo than the Pro-Ject.

Those are considered excellent tubes of that kind, and are quite cheap because the military had a HUGE surplus made at one point. I'm occasionally running a pair in a Little Dot Mk2 preamp, and they are very good sounding.

But it really comes down to what you want. Tubes can get expensive when you start getting really deep into them. They tend to attract the sort of person who can always see something different, and maybe better, around every corner. You may be more into getting a sound and locking it down, and then leaving it alone. YMMV.

I myself am running a Little Bear T11 with a combo of NOS tubes that ended up costing around $40 each for 3 of them. I also cracked it open to replace the coupling caps with vintage Russian paper in oil caps. I'm totaling a little over $400 on it at this point, and that's from a $220 stock preamp. It sounds amazing, but it's not for everyone.

What clubs have you been in that you've seen the trim and masters maxed out? I've swatted dj's hand away when they try to do shit like that, no way is that happening in any self respecting venue. Yes, it's less likely to clip and distort on Pioneer gear, but in no situation is it ok or expected that anyone is solidly in the reds like that. I don't let DJ's hit anything higher than just the first red LED on the master channel, and even then only tickling it. What we do have is a ton of limiting and compression to keep the volume right where we set it on a given night.

For a mobile/live setup that you're looking at, rather than a full rack of processing hardware, I'd recommend grabbing something like a Soundcraft UI12 or a Behringer XR12/Midas MR12. A small wireless mixer would be a much more cost effective and flexible setup for you right now than a huge bunch of rack hardware, in my opinion. They've got plenty of onboard routing, effects, and dynamics processing like compression and limiting, and all controllable from an iPad or your phone. The Behringer/Midas have a really nice selection of processing effect units available as sends and inserts on any channel, and the Soundcraft is really easily accessible from a user interface perspective. Pretty much everything you need to operate as a mobile DJ, and even audio for small bands is pretty doable.

I don't believe there will be an audible difference, personally, but I won't argue the point. There are definitely other options with better build quality and brand reputation.

The Onkyo A-9010 is a very popular integrated amp that lands squarely in your desired feature set:

https://smile.amazon.com/Onkyo-A-9010-Integrated-Stereo-Amplifier/dp/B00SY20TE8/

A better preamp might be this OSD model:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01MPYJLPX/

And a better amplifier might be the Emotiva A-150:

https://smile.amazon.com/Emotiva-Audio-Stereo-Power-Amplifier/dp/B06XSCCVV1/

The cheapest way to test out a time preamp is to pickup the FX Audio Tube-01 with the recommended upgrade tubes:

https://www.amazon.com/FX-Audio-TUBE-01-Preamplifier-TUBE-01S-SL/dp/B07DVXVZ51/ref=mp_s_a_1_5

That may provide enough gain for your phono. If you want to get a dedicated tube phono preamp, the little bear t10 and t11 have a lot of fans:
https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Little-Turntable-Preamplifier-Pre-Amplifier/dp/B06XCM9NKV/ref=mp_s_a_1_2

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/l7qKiFlA

I picked up a a tube preamp out of curiosity, and it definitely adds a "flavor" to the sound by particular forms of distortion from the specific tube you have plugged in. If you like the flavor then it's good, but if you aren't a fan then it's just some funny distortion. A tube that adds very little distortion sounds like a good solid state preamp ( that costs a lot less!)

I wouldn't spend a lot of money on the tube preamp itself - a lot of the sound flavoring comes from the tubes you plug in. So a big part of having a tube amp is finding the tubes you like. Sometimes the amp itself is kind of crappy and adds noise ( despite the price). The tube-01 with a better power brick is supposedly equal to a lot of more expansive units.

Turntable: if I was to put $500 into a turntable, it certainly wouldn't be for a Stanton. Unless you are a DJ that prefers Stanton over Technics, there's no reason to get this one. I would recommend a nice audiophile, belt driven table by Rega or Pro-Ject for about $300 to $400.

Preamp: I don't know the quality of this one. A good one is the Cambridge Audio 540 or even better 640.

Monitors: Why? Unless you're going to listen to test pressings for your own label, there's no advantage to listen to vinyl through the flat response of monitors. I'd recommend instead a regular, stereo amp and a good pair of passive speakers.

Let's say you spent $500 into a Rega turntable and a Cambridge Audio preamp. That leaves you with another $500 for speakers and amp, which I think ought to be enough for something good.

I'm looking to upgrade my tt setup and I want to go with a audio technica lp120. I have my current setup attached to a Vizio surround sound system and will be keeping that for the speakers.
My question is, what else do I need to get if I want to use a tube pre amp instead of the built in one? I'm looking at this one
Little bear P5-1 BLUE tube valve puffer Preamp Preamplifier amplifier ver1.2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OY1PR9K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nCsoxbBCV7PEF
Because it is within my very limited budget and has decent reviews.
I keep seeing stuff on amps as well but I'm pretty sure I don't need one of those as my speakers are already powered.
Any help please?

I really don't understand much of what you are asking, but for bi-amping; I only have experience in doing it by channel, using two mono amps or two stereo amps that have a switch on the back to bridge them to mono.

With that gadget one channel would be connected to one amp and the other channel connected to another amp. Both amps should be the same model amp, by the same manufacturer is what I have always seen recommended.

If it were me I would just save up and invest in a stereo pre-amp that had the features I want.

Example only;

pre-amp https://www.amazon.com/Adcom-GFP-815-Stereo-Preamplifier/dp/B005Q36WXU?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_2

Them just do away with the receiver since I don't listen to radio anyhow.

I find it safer and easier to just use these items the way the manufacturer designed them to be used rather than doing a bunch of rigging things up to work or maybe not work lol! Often the rigging up will work, but just as often it doesn't work as well as gear designed to do the same thing, without the rigging up of things.

What would be the difference between these Phono Preamps? They all vary in price, and I've seen them all talked about on this sub, and I've researched review sites/videos on Google and YouTube, etc. And I really can't find someone saying one or the other is clearly better. There's just so many preamps I see that are recommended, and I keep asking questions in this thread to get a better idea so that I can purchase one.

Schiit Mani -- http://schiit.com/products/mani

Music Fidelity V90 LPS -- https://www.amazon.com/Musical-Fidelity-V90-LPS-Phono-Preamp/dp/B00E5BY9SO/ref=sr_1_2?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1475180747&sr=1-2&keywords=schiit+mani

Rolls VP29 --https://www.amazon.com/rolls-VP29-Phono-Preamp/dp/B0002BG2R2/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1475183493&sr=8-6&keywords=bellari+phono

Pro-Ject Phono Box MM -- https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Ject-Phono-Box-Preamplifier-Black/dp/B000YEK1AQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1475183640&sr=1-2&keywords=project+phono

Hackerman Bugle 2 -- https://hagerman-audio-labs.myshopify.com/products/bugle2

Pro-Ject Phono-Box S -- https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Ject-Audio-Phono-preamplifier-Silver/dp/B007I961IQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475184602&sr=8-1&keywords=project+phono+preamp+s

These are all phono preamps that I've seen that are pretty popular on the Internet and on forums, reddit, etc, but I don't know the difference between all of these. If it helps, I just purchased a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC and I already have Audioengine 5 speakers.

For budget, I'd want to stick between $100 and $200, but I'm willing to go to $250.

Post Removed so I'm pasting it here as sub suggested:

I just got a Samsung UN50RU7100 TV. Only audio output options are Bluetooth, "TV Speaker" and "Digital Audio Out (Optical)". I want to connect my old B&W DM330s.

Considering either:

A) Getting an optical to RCA adapter and then an amplifier and then converting the loose speaker wires to RCA (https://www.amazon.ca/Techole-Converter-192kHz-Aluminum-Converter-Headphone/dp/B07XMLGXFD/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=optical+to+rca&qid=1574355994&sprefix=optical+to+&sr=8-4) (https://www.amazon.ca/Bluetooth-Preamplifier-Headphone-Amplifier-Audio/dp/B07TJS2DBT/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?keywords=amplifier&qid=1574357280&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&smid=ADPE7GPX91ORE&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUE5S1lPWE9IUFlDSUcmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA2ODcxMTBVOUdPWVJTWlVKOUQmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDQzNTA0OVlUODBIT1ozNUxPWCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl) (https://www.amazon.ca/Haokiang-Speaker-Terminal-Connector-Adapter/dp/B07FQ7TCMS/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=speaker+wire+to+rca&qid=1574357340&sr=8-4)

B) use the same amplifier and speaker wire adapters as A but instead of optical use a Bluetooth device (https://www.amazon.ca/TUNAI-Firefly-Smallest-Bluetooth-Receiver/dp/B01HDO66NK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?keywords=bluetooth+receiver&qid=1574357436&sprefix=bluetooth+receiber&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEySzZBVUdaVldSSEVUJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTczMDc1SVBBSlpaUFdNTlBMJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA3NzEwNzQxTjk2MzQzR0c0MzlIJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfcGhvbmVfc2VhcmNoX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=)

Which option should I go for? Will I lose sound quality going Bluetooth? Is there a better way to do this I haven't thought of? Any suggestions appreciated. Cheers.

I built this little thing

It's not bad. I actually bought it because I thought it was stereo in, which it's not. It actually uses rca inputs so I had to make an rca to 1/4" cable. Also the volume control is a trim pot. I feel like I'm not selling it well, it's actually pretty sweet, and the tone control is handy. For awhile I had it mounted underneath my pedal board so everything was in one place.

There's loads of other kits available though, and really not that hard to build. Mine took me maybe 2 hours.

Also, if you feel it is clipping, you could get a preamp like this one below. You can control how much gain from the preamp, and you feed that as a line in (not phono) to your mixer.

Art DJ Pre II Turntable Phono Preamplifier with Free Hosa RCA Male to RCA Male 3 Foot Cables https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07N158WTF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_YaA3CbZ8N2666

Picture of my setup. I built the case with about $10 in parts from the hardware store. Now I know it works I think I want to buy another one, and a a tube amp kit, and build an all in one device.

My current setup is:

Raspberry Pi - $39

Modi/Magni - $218 (they claim most DACs will work)

2GB SD Card - $5

The interface can be controlled via a web browser or a android/IOS app. That acts as your screen, no monitor connection needed. It seems to supports all audio formats also. I am using MPoD (free) for iphone and ipad. So far I'm pretty blown away. The quick start guide was really easy to follow if you are new with Pi.

http://www.raspyfi.com/raspyfi-quick-start-guide/

Looks like there are options, you're right that I misjudged the ART. I might be wrong, but it looks like the Pro-Ject Tube Box can be used to control the output with that variable dial. And there seems to be a bunch of no-name phono preamps in the sub-$100 range with volume controls - TEC, Muslady, Fosi... can't vouch for the quality but it does look like it's an option, at least.

Found some more that may be better quality though the $25 one does look better than the $11one.

OSD Audio Preamp-1 Pro Preamplifier $75.

Nobsound Passive Stereo 4(1)-IN-1(4)-OUT RCA Single Audio Splitter / Switcher Selector $40

Emotiva PT-100 - $329
https://emotiva.com/collections/pre-amps/products/pt-100

Or if your just looking for inputs/volume control, this.

Bellari PP532 Passive Preamplifier - $99 https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07FDJB96C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_9vHSCb1RGGJQZ

Edit: I just remembered that you're in Europe. Hopefully these or products like it are available there. Check Amazon.de

What does everyone think of these SainSmart tube headphone amps?
Looks neat if nothing else.

http://www.amazon.com/SainSmart-Assembled-Headphone-Amplifier-Transformer/dp/B008BGLN5G

It's called douk audio mini 6j1 $54

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01EKVKLOY/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1511417661&sr=8-11&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=tube+preamp

But it looks like there's a number of others that look exactly the same. Don't know if they are though...

These are the ones I was looking at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EKVKLOY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_E2nNzb8WPSEM9

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071NPGWJC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_c4nNzb0G23BWQ

The speakers I'd be getting are active speakers and be cartridge on the TT is the ortofon 2m red

> just use the tubes for looks anyways.

oh really? well shit.


How about this

https://www.amazon.com/Douk-Audio-Vacuum-Pre-Amplifier-Stereo/dp/B01EKVKLOY/ref=zg_bs_689995011_12?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=4JBTP5JJX949TCASTSE3

with a tube upgrade, would it be good?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EKVKLOY/

This one is a little cheaper, you just have to experiment with what volume setting matches line level (doesn't amplify or cut signal)

https://www.amazon.com/OSD-Audio-Professional-Preamplifier-Recording/dp/B01MPYJLPX

https://www.amazon.com/OSD-Audio-XMP100-Amplifier-Automatic/dp/B01N3QXFDG/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=osd+power+amp&qid=1558479392&s=electronics&sr=1-4

I am looking for a dac/preamp in in one, I'm willing to spend around 300 dollars. I found thishttp://www.amazon.com/Emotiva-XDA-2-Digital-Preamp-Headphone/dp/B00FX8RH4G. Does anyone have experience with these?

That doesn't look to be a pre-amp but a small amp. For those, you can /sometimes/ make them louder by supplying a higher input voltage. Looking at the insides, that might not be wise without modifications, however. Note that while using an amp might actually work, it lacks the RIAA equalization step and without that, things are going to sound funky.

For a phono-amp, a cheap one that I used was this one. It did its job for what it was, though I now use this one though I see it's sold out on Amazon. The 750 will get you by for a while, but it can't come close to the 640P. After that point, things get expensive real quick, though.

Sorry I don't have a ton of specific examples on hand. Others here might. My Emotiva is ugly as sin and MUST be tucked away, as are many that I've seen on Amazon.

Here's some ones I've seen that look nice (or at least clean). I can't comment on quality:

http://schiit.com/products/mani

https://smile.amazon.com/Pro-Ject-Audio-Phono-preamplifier-Silver/dp/B007I961IQ/ref=sr_1_63?ie=UTF8&qid=1494827194&sr=8-63&keywords=phono+preamp

https://www.musicdirect.com/phono-preamps/cambridge-audio-cp1-mm-only-phono-preamp


And of course, there's the money-is-no-object route:

https://www.musicdirect.com/phono-preamps/McIntosh-MP100-Phono-Preamplifier

https://www.musicdirect.com/phono-preamps/luxman-eq-500-phono-preamp