PF-1 FET

[spaw57]

Greetings,

quick question: i have an old CJ PF-1 FET preamp. I havent used this in a long time and have decided to hook it back up with an Adcom amp and an old Thorens TT. Does this preamp require that i get a phono preamp? Reason i ask is that i hooked the TT to the preamp and the volume is more that half of what it should be. thank you Steve

[admin]

The PF-1 already has a phone amp in it. I believe it is a 60 db amplification (vs 20 db for line input). The cartridge may not be a good match. However, it really is the sound quality that is important, not necessarily that the volume be the same with the turntable vs a CD player. If the quality of the sound is not good, then you probably would need a new cartridge that is better matched to the PF-1 or you could get a phono preamp and bypass the phono input on the PF-1.

[spaw57]

THANK YOU!!!! any suggestions? the TT is a 166 MKii...

[admin]

The less expensive option would be a new cartridge. There are literally 100's of choices. I used a dynavector cartridge in my Rega Planar 3 TT. They have many models so it really depends on how much you want to spend.

The other (more expensive) option is a separate phono preamp. CJ's TEA2 or TEA1S3 are their current models and both are excellent. Again, tons of options on this front as well.

[lcasadonte]

I have used this Pro-Ject Phono Box DS https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-Ject-Phono ... Sw1NNdGhcg at home with a good degree of success and value. Its not the best but punches way above its price.