Which Phono preamp?

Hey I have been using the mpc2500 for around 3 years with my numark dxm06 mixer as my preamp. At first I was satisfied but now after listening closely to the samples I dont like the sound quality coming from the numark mixer. I was wondering if anybody uses a better sounding preamp and what are some names of better preamps so i can research them.

may be a stupid suggestion but have you tried changing your needle on your turntable ?.you could try hooking the earth wire up to your mixer then just run the rcas from your turntable stright into the mpc. cleaning your vinyl once in awhile also helps

i was under the impression that the preamp is used only to boost the audio signal and had little to do with the quality of the sound.. it might be the needle.. as for phono preamps i use the BBE Phono and the sound is great.. although its all ive ever used so i dont have anything to compare it to..

josephnicks wrote:i was under the impression that the preamp is used only to boost the audio signal and had little to do with the quality of the sound..

It has a lot to do with the quality of the sound. Just like you can buy a mic preamp for £5000 or one for £30, there can be a massive difference in quality. Signal to noise ratio, dynamics and clarity, etc, etc are things that change.
When I started djing a had a realistic mixer, then when I bought a £400 Vestax mixer suddenly all my records sounded crystal clear... twas a fine day That was many moons ago. I dunno what mixer is good nowadays... maybe Urei? But if you just want a phono preamp, get a standalone one.. it'll probs be better quality for your buck.

a phono preamp is different from other preamps as it changes the signal with a preset equalization curve, because the records are pressed with a special eq setting which emphasises the highs and reduces the lows so the needle does not have to follow very deep groves.

see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIAA_equalization

so you need a phono preamp (be it a standalone model like pictured above or built in a dj-mixer) to deemphasise the riaa curve - but then you are free to route that line signal through whatever preamps you can get (neve, ssl, etc.) into your mpc.

peace jo