A preamp is an essential piece of equipment for your system. It boosts the music from your vinyl back through the phono cables, loud and clean enough for a quality sound system.
A properly designed and built preamp can also help by giving you control for distortion or background hum.
Whether you’re looking to buy your first preamp, upgrade from an old unit, or build your own, we made a list of best units for everyone’s needs.
Hence in this guide we have listed some of the best phono preamp for Rega Planar turntables.
Table of Contents
Buying Guide
1. Hard-Clipping:
The most important feature you should look at is the ability of a unit to work properly when a record is playing. It’s a pretty simple thing but it could save you a lot of time and money because a unit that troubles with the needle from picking up too much sound will cause those annoying pops if it can’t be fixed.
2. Exponential:
A preamp that goes beyond the design parameters of the rest of your equipment’s circuitry will result in higher sound quality as its output is not as affected by fluctuations in signal because its circuitry goes above and beyond. This, again, helps you run your system true to expect or desired level.
3. Loudness:
This one is just for safety. A good preamp should have the ability to be legal in terms of sound amplification, which means it has a loudness switch.
4. Adjustable Gain:
The gain is by far the most accessible aspect of the preamp. You will want to have some control over it so you can determine when distortion may occur. If you are looking for a unit that has low distortions, you should look at only adjusting the gain in cases in which it is absolutely necessary.
5 Best Phono Preamp for Rega Planar Turntables
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1. Rega Fono Mini A2D MK2 MM Moving Magnet Phono Preamp with USB-Out
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The Rega Fono Mini A2D MK2 is a great choice. It comes with a 24-bit/96KHz quality digital output and the circuitry and power supply inside the unit is designed to handle even your most expensive and high quality vinyl records.
The sound coming from this mini preamp is very detailed with a good balance of highs and lows, which means you can hear everything needed for your music to be heard as it was intended.
Pros:
- The circuitry is well designed to handle even high quality vinyl records. Vinyl’s like Mobile Fidelity, which are known for their very detailed sound, sound great with the Fono.
- It has a variant for both balanced and unbalanced inputs to work with either your solid state amps or tube amps.
- It comes ready to use right out of the box as it includes all necessary cables and connectors to get started immediately.
Cons:
- The instructions have been noted as being a bit confusing but it is not hard or time consuming to figure out what you need to do if you have any experience with this type of equipment.
2. Rega Fono MM MK III Moving Magnet Phono Pre-Amp – Black
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This is a great upgrade from the Fono Mini A2D. It has the same circuitry, just with higher wattage and better components that give it a clean sound without distortion or noise.
You will need to use this with an external power supply but it gives you more control for your specific needs.
Pros:
- It’s one of the best bangs for your buck, due to its increased price over the Fono Mini A2D but still maintaining its high quality sound production.
- The increase in quality is obvious as you can hear more detail in music than with other units.
- It gives you control for your gain to prevent distortion. This is an important aspect to have as you will need to control the volume of the music accordingly to the strength of your amplifier, which can vary based on its design, materials, and parts.
Cons:
- Since it has a high gain, you will need to use it with an external power supply. If you are looking for something that can be powered internally through your amplifiers’ wall outlet or re-wire your setup for this purpose, this might not be the best option for you.
3. Rega FONO MC Phono Stage (Black)
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The FONO MC is a great high quality preamp for those looking to upgrade from older units. This unit has a built-in MM phono stage and gold-plated RCA inputs for connecting to your turntable.
It features a fully adjustable gain that will allow you to control the sound output of the music coming from your records. This is an important aspect as you will need to know if it’s too loud or too quiet through the field of view on the speakers you use and how it may affect your listening experience.
Pros:
- The build quality is very solid, something that’s important in the best preamps you can get.
- It has an extremely high gain, which gives you more control over what you can hear when playing your records.
- It has a built in MM phono stage with gold-plated RCA inputs for connecting to your turntable.
Cons:
- It is expensive and not worth the cost if you don’t have a Rega turntable. While it is a great unit, it may be better to save yourself some cash for another preamp if you’re working with an alternative model.
Conclusion:
Due to the nature of the Rega Planar turntables, they work better with preamps than with other models and this makes them a great companion for your vinyl system. For those who don’t have a turntable yet, this is a good way to get started with your vinyl system as you can find a great preamp that will not damage or scratch your valuable vinyl records.
There are many ways you can improve the sound coming from your turntable with a preamp but those listed above are the most common and useful methods available.
For those who don’t want or need to worry about having to use an external power supply, consider picking up the Rega Fono MM MK III as it is a great alternative option with high quality sound for less overall price than the FONO MM MK II MKIII.
FAQ:
Q: What is the best phono preamp for a Rega?
A: For instance towards tube phono preamps. I also think the cheapest option from Rega is the best choice for most Rega turntable owners with MM cartridges. In my opinion, the Rega Fono Mini A2D MKII is the best choice for most Rega turntable owners.
Q: What cartridges to use with Rega Planar turntables?
A: It matches the Rega MM cartridges perfectly. And are also a great choice for other popular cartridges to use with the Rega Planar turntables. Like the Ortofon 2M range.
Q: What is the best turntable with preamp?
A: The Rega Planar 1 Plus is probably the most elegant and best value turntable with preamp on the market today. Click here to check price on Amazon. My runner-up for high-quality turntables with preamp is the U-Turn Orbit Plus with preamp.
Q: What preamp do you use for your vinyl spinning?
A: I have used a Rega Planar 2 for my vinyl spinning for quite a while now. It is upgraded with a Rega Exact cartridge and I use the Rega Fono Mini A2D phono preamp.