anyone use an old stereo system or vintage mixer as pre amp?

I am currently using a behringer dj mixer as a pre amp and and theres buzzing and the quality isn't great, so I'm thinking of either: 1. buying a phono pre amp designed specifically for the task,
2. buying an old 8, 6 or 4 channel mixer or
3. upgrading my old sony stereo system at home to use as a pre amp

options 2 and 3 are most appealing to me as I am after a warm sound however it is so hard to find out about old equipment and once I find any of course I can't hear examples. If anyone knows of any worthy producers from early nineties hip-hop(eg. q-tip, dj premier) to trip-hop (massive attack) that use the methods I stated above or others I would be grateful to hear.
I would love to hear everyones set up and way of sampling.
I am serious about my music and intend on releasing in the coming months and this would be the last piece of gear (for the moment) that I need to buy.

Thanks, sorry for the rant haha

are you sure the problem is your mixer? it could be your turntable.

i would forget option 2 - that is not going to have a phono preamp so it won't help you get sound in.

as for 'warmth' and other stuff like that, an old dj mixer will give you a lot of the same character as any regular old mixer, but it has phono preamps in it. same for a vintage hi-fi. if you really want to start caring about those particulars, you're getting into the multi-thousand dollar range of gear.

keep it simple: find something that works.

I'm rockin reloop digital mixer for sampling, but i've old Ibanez mr80 mixer for my mpc 8-outs -> focusrite 2i2. I'm getting some warm sound true it.