ART DJ PRE II Phono Preamp with RIAA Equalization

I purchased this product specifically for the adjustable gain and clip signal LED for use with an early 80s relatively high-end vintage turntable with a very modern receiver. I was having issues where clipping, which is not necessarily audible and can vary greatly between different LPs, was triggering my receiver s protection circuit. Other preamps with an adjustable gain and switchable impendence and subsonic filters if needed, can cost considerably more than this unit s $50 price tag. As far I a can tell, other than similar products from ART, this may very well be the only unit on the market with a visual clip signal, which is a great feature for quick fine-tuning of individual LPs. So far, this unit fits my needs perfectly. The LED s are very bright, but I keep this unit relatively out of sight, yet readily accessible. I cannot tell you how this unit compares to audiophile grade ones running $300 - $1,500, but I have own a couple of different preamps and from what I can tell with the use of a Grado Gold1 cartridge, the music remains detailed and the range remains dynamic.

I looked at alot of phono stages when finally I came across this product. Don't let the letters DJ turn off you serious audiophiles. I use a Dual 1245 turntable with a grado gold prestige cartridge into a dynaco pas 3x which then goes into my highly modded st70. (which has all the cloth lead wires, and A470 transformers for you snobs out there. ) This phono stage performs great. Very detailed and warm musical performce. To give you an idea of what Ive run through it so far. Mahler's Kindertotenliedr with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau singing on it, Saint Saens 3rd organ symphony,(Bernstein conducting New York Philharmonic), Black Sabbath 180 gram vinyl PAranoid, Vol. 4, Blindfaith can't find my way home, The Incredible Jazz guitar of Wes Montgomery 180 gram lp, Pink Floyd Dark side of the moon, The Beatles white album, and Sabbaths Sabotage. Miles Davis live at carnegie hall 180 gram lp. Just to give you an idea of the musical scope I was working with. It performs great with all of that. I was greatly relieved after hooking this thing up and using it. I was looking at tube phono stages for many times the price of this product and while they may perform incrementally better than this phono pre amp for the money saved you're probably not missing much. This is a great buy. I hope to see some of the more serious audiophile mags out there review this thing. I would be very curious as to what they would think of it. I bet they would be as shocked as I was. I'm very happy with this product from ART. KUDOS!

GOOD LITTLE PRE AMP BUT ART NEVER GIVES INSTRUCTIONS THAT MAKE SENSE OR THAT ARE COMPLETE.