Hi everyone!
I’m currently using a Pro-Ject Carbon turntable connected to a Pro-Ject Phono Box preamp, with the Audiolab 6000A handling amplification.
The other day, I decided to test the built-in phono stage of the Audiolab 6000A, and to my surprise, it sounded noticeably louder than the setup with the separate Pro-Ject Phono Box.
After doing some research, I found that the difference in volume is likely due to the gain levels — the built-in phono stage of the Audiolab has a gain of 55dB, while the Pro-Ject Phono Box offers only 40dB.
I’m curious to know if one option is objectively better than the other. To my (untrained) ears, the only clear difference was that the Audiolab’s phono stage had a slight background noise when the record wasn’t playing. Beyond that, I’m unsure whether to stick with the external preamp or rely on the built-in one.
Would love to hear your thoughts or experiences with similar setups!
I’m currently using a Pro-Ject Carbon turntable connected to a Pro-Ject Phono Box preamp, with the Audiolab 6000A handling amplification.
The other day, I decided to test the built-in phono stage of the Audiolab 6000A, and to my surprise, it sounded noticeably louder than the setup with the separate Pro-Ject Phono Box.
After doing some research, I found that the difference in volume is likely due to the gain levels — the built-in phono stage of the Audiolab has a gain of 55dB, while the Pro-Ject Phono Box offers only 40dB.
I’m curious to know if one option is objectively better than the other. To my (untrained) ears, the only clear difference was that the Audiolab’s phono stage had a slight background noise when the record wasn’t playing. Beyond that, I’m unsure whether to stick with the external preamp or rely on the built-in one.
Would love to hear your thoughts or experiences with similar setups!
