Connecting phono stage to integrated without phono input

[jimbomonjeau]

Hi! I'm new in this forum, this is my first thread. In advance, please sorry for my English, I'm from Argentina. (And for my ignorance too!)

Well, the thing is I've bought a turntable (Holimar 4, made in the good ol' argentinian times) with a Goldring 2200 cartridge (Goldring - Goldring 2200 Cartridge). I want to connect it to my Nakamichi IA 4s integrated amplifier (Nakamichi IA-4s, Nakamichi IA-4s - Hi-Fi Database - Amplifiers), wich has no phono input, so I'll need a phono preamp.

So, I have two questions: 1) which specs should my phono stage have, considering the specs of my cartridge?; and 2) would there be any problem if I connect the phono preamp to one of the inputs of integrated amplifier (meaning: to another preamp)? Would the signal be "overamplified" or something like that?

Thanks in advance for all you help! Jaime

 

[reubensm]

Hello and welcome to both the world of vinyl and to the forum. As they say, no questions is a bad question so please feel free to ask any query that you may have.

1) you will require a phonostage which supports moving magnet (MM) cartridges. These are the more common ones. There are a variety of phonostages out there, at different price points. The phonostages from NAD, Cambridge, etc are the more commonly used ones. As your cartridge will work well with almost all phonostages, you really have a lot of choices. Suggest you take stock of your budget and try to audition a few before deciding. A phonostage with input impedance loading will offer you to option to set the phonostage input impedance to 47k, which matches your cart, though this is not as mandatory as it seems.

2) you may connect the output of your phonostage to any of the available inputs on your amplifier. There will not be any impact whatsoever if you do so. The output from your phono cartridge is so low (when compared to other sources, like CD player, tuner, etc) that it requires significantly more amplification when compared to these other sources, which justifies the further inclusion of a phonostage in the chain. Also vinyl records are pressed using RIAA equalization standards and the phonostage also provides RIAA equalization to the mix. Without RIAA equalization, your vinyl will sound screechy and harsh, without bass.