Pyle Phono Turntable Preamp - Mini Electronic Audio Stereo Phonograph Preamplifier with RCA Input, RCA Output & Low Noise Operation Powered by 12 Volt DC Adapter - PP999

I will start off by saying I am not an audiophile or a music expert in any way. But this thing works and solves my problem I need to get an old Technics turntable to my newish Denon AVR without a phono input. And it does just that. I have been using it for at least 6 months now and it still works good. All you have to is plug the left and right into it and screw in the ground wire from the turntable to it and then plug the power cord in the wall. Then connect the other left and right into an avr or a powered speaker. Everything that plays through it sounds fine and clear. No static or weird sounds. Is it a vacuum tube fancy pants thing? No. Do I care? Also No.

This gizmo works exactly as advertised. I have a 1971 Sansui SR-2050-C turntable that has been sitting in storage for 37 years. (Yes, it needed some lubrication maintenance.) My old amplifier with a "phono" input is long gone and my current Yamaha RX-V385 amp has only HDMI and audio visual RCA inputs. I tried plugging the turntable into the red and white AV RCA plugs and was only able to get a very faint sound at max volume. Research showed this Pyle PP999 pre amp unit as a solution. The price was right so the next day Amazon had it on my door step. It was simple to connect and the power cord was long enough (about 30 inches). Everything was clearly marked and the instructions weren't even needed. Truly a plug 'n play setup and it works like a champ. Plenty of volume now. I would definitely recommend this unit to anyone in a similar situation.

This phonograph preamp really does the job it sets to do well. It does not alter the sound in any way, just amplifies to a line-level input; I use it with a line input on a stereo from 2005 and find that I need to have its volume on the stereo set twice as high as any other input (tape, CD, radio) but makes it usable. The lack of volume isn't a big deal though as that provides wiggle room if I were to add a tube preamp to adjust the sound as well, which often those can increase volume to bring it up to the other line levels. The ground works well and there is no hum from the turntable at all. The construction seems very solid, but you can tell cost-effective measures were taken to keep it affordable while keeping the build quality great. For example I initially had the left and right channels reversed when I hooked it up because the colors on the phono input were incorrect; the same RCA plugs were used on each side and that made the colors backwards on the input side... they are labelled correctly on the case of the unit so follow the label on the case instead of the color! Also the ground screw is not a thumb screw as pictured but a very stiff hex screw; I needed to use a pliers to actually move it to get the ground wire secured in place, but once it's done it's done. I do like that the unit itself is silent, does not get warm in the least, and has no lights to distract you. An on-off switch would be a nice addition but I solved this concern by having it on a switched surge protector (from Trickle Star) that automatically turns on when the stereo turns on. All in all a good product at a very good price point.

I was digitizing my album collection and was using a McLelland pre-amp. The McLelland pre-amp was more expensive than the Pyle and had better specs. (It had a better signal to noise ratio.) During recording, there would be occasional "dropouts" where sound would be lost for a second. At first, I accepted this as an isolated quirk and just re-recorded the songs where that occurred. That got real old after ten albums and I decided to try and nail down the problem. I first swapped out the turntable cartridge and needle, but the problem persisted. I then swapped out the McLelland pre-amp for the Pyle....no more dropouts! Not only that, but the bass was much improved and the sound was louder. I'm using Audacity (an awesome free editing program) and had to amplify the songs after they were recorded using the McLelland and the bass was also very weak. This just goes to show you that more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better. I now have a thirty dollar paperweight. I'm in the process of re-recording the albums that were recorded using the McLelland pre-amp and the Pyle has been performing without a hitch. There's no need to amplify the songs recorded using the Pyle so it's one less thing to have to do. The Pyle pre-amp is deceivingly small. It measures approximately 3 9/16" L X 2 1/8" W x 1 1/8" H. It doesn't have a dedicated grounding terminal like the McLelland but that isn't a problem at all. There's 4 Philips head screws on the unit. I inserted a small washer under the screw that's closest to the phono input jacks. To attach the ground wire from the turntable, I just loosen the screw and slip the prong from the grounding wire between the washer and the unit and tighten the screw. This works like a charm, no buzz/hum. You could probably get by without a washer but I feel that it gives more surface contact area for the grounding. (I've uploaded some photos in the "Customer Images" section showing this.) The Pyle pre-amp is a little bigger than a pack of cigarettes and comes in a chintzy looking blister pack but don't let looks fool you. This pre-amp is a solid performer and well worth the money.

If your turntable doesn't have a built-in preamp (as many older ones don't), you'll need something like this unless your receiver has a phonograph input (which many newer ones don't). You can spend thousands of dollars on a phono preamp, but you don't have to. Those are for audiophiles, who are a strange and contentious crowd. Unless you've also spent thousands each on your receiver and speakers, you probably won't notice too much difference between those and something less expensive. And let's be frank, a preamp's function is simply to boost the phono signal up to line level without changing it. If you want to shape the sound in some way, you do that elsewhere. My turntable does have a preamp inside, but I wanted something that would give me cleaner sound than the stock hardware. This does the job admirably. It's dead simple to hook up--plug your turntable into the preamp's input, and then plug the preamp's output into your receiver. Plug the preamp's AC adapter into the wall outlet and you're good to go. If your turntable has a ground wire, you'll want to attach that to the 12V GND terminal on the preamp to avoid having a buzz in the audio signal. YES, the most recent iteration of this preamp DOES have a ground terminal, which includes a handy thumbscrew for ease of operation! If you get an older one without the terminal, you can loosen one of the case screws and secure the ground wire under that. So the price is right, the performance is good, and setup is a breeze. Pyle also gives you a 1-year warranty if you register the product, and I think that if it makes it to the 1-year mark, it's unlikely to fail for at least several more years after that. But do you know what I think the best part is? There's no power LED! A lot of the cheaper, pocket-sized products like this tend to have a blindingly bright LED that's on at all times, presumably to add perceived value. Most reviewers seem to agree with me that it's nothing more than an annoyance. Especially on hardware that can't be turned off without unplugging it, when something is supposed to be as low-key as a preamp, it shouldn't have bright lights shining out of it. If I had to, I'd be willing to spend MORE for a preamp without a power LED... kudos to Pyle for not wasting their money and ours on such frivolity. All in all, if you just need something to hook up your turntable and you can't see spending a boatload of cash on a solution, this is a great product for you!

Poor quality control. Order a different preamp from a completely different company that doesn't look anything like this one. These might have been in the past but the manufacturers have poor quality control and you don't know what you are going to get now. Customer Service is basically useless. The plugs were installed wrong on the input. Right is supposed to be RED (just like everywhere else in the world and on the other damn side of this very device/in the photo for their listing). Who knows if the soldering inside and everything else will hold up. At first it seemed like it worked fine. Then one of two of the different ones I ordered started producing about half the volume that it was supposed to (and compared to the other one and my other preamps). Pyle Customer Service was annoying. I pointed out the product defects to them. Instead of acknowledging them, even with my picture, they just kept arguing about me proving that the devices I ordered from Amazon were new when I bought them (as if somebody would un there RCA plugs and then reinstalled them in the wrong position) 🙄 I showed them screenshots of my order. They want me to download an Amazon invoice that Amazon apparently doesn't make available on the app anymore. There were videos about it online but that option doesn't appear on my app right below the order details like in the video. Rather than drag my laptop out and do what they want. I've decided just to trash talk them and let them figure out their own problems. I'm not getting anything back from them anyway. I figured it's better just to warn everybody else not to buy their stuff. I wouldn't buy anything from Pyle until they get their act together.

Exactly what I needed for my record player. Does the job like described.

If you have any knowledge of music whatsoever, spring for a more expensive preamp. I got this with low expectations, and the sound distortion is still bad enough that I wish I had opted for a better preamp. Vocals sound “buzzy” regardless of volume level. I adjusted the ground wire and swapped out cords for newer ones. Still sounds pretty awful. The only way I am able to cut down on the distortion is to turn the treble and bass all the way down while the volume is set to mid-range. The good news? It’s loud. I missed hearing my LP’s, so I get to listen to them now. But knowing that they could sound clear and crisp instead of buzzy and muddled really ruins the experience. Also, the volume control is either way too loud or too quiet and no in-between. For context, I have a vintage record player with AV cords and a ground wire. I have new speakers intended to be used with turntables. And I do have college degrees in music. My ex had this turntable hooked up to an Onkyo receiver and the sound was near-perfect. I wasn’t expecting perfection, just to hear my records again. Well now I can, but the sound quality is so poor that I will be springing for a more expensive preamp at first opportunity. No, really. It’s poor sound quality. But would get the job done for someone who doesn’t mind a muddled sound.

It works very well for my player, no hum or other static disturbances.

Me sorprendió el sonido que salió de este preamp phono. Honestamente no esperaba mucho por su bajo costo, pero haciendo pruebas de comparación auditiva con circuitería de preamp phono de buen equipo vintage, no ha quedado mal.

I didn't even know what a preamp was until I bought a used record player that I plugged into a unit with no PHONO input (just AUX and TV). The audio was very quiet and weak. This preamp did the trick to bridge the 2 devices and allow proper, clean audio levels. Now I can start my vinyl journey! Easy setup, quality build, and functions perfect. Recommended!

Cheaper alternatives than repair the build in phono stage

Un excellent rapport qualité prix. Une qualité plus que suffisante pour mon usage (pré-ampli pour platine vinyle). Attention au vendeur, le produits était arrivés dans un sac poubelle, l'emballage d'origine était défoncé, et le produit final légèrement abimé.