But there’s more to it than that. For various practical reasons, engineers cut the bass on a vinyl record to extremely low levels, and they boost the treble to extremely high levels. How extreme? By 20 decibels in each case, which is a factor of ten times. For starters, iFi is a brand known for its outstanding products that compete with the best in the market at affordable prices. Better still, it allows the user to be more ambitious in settling, not for anything less.

Compact design is an asset I value very highly as I simply don’t have the space in my home for a very large Hi-Fi setup; thankfully, this doesn’t have to mean sacrificing sound quality. For a frequency response of 20 Hz–20 kHz, this turntable preamp offers a natural and defined rich sound profile. The Rega Fono Mini A2D comes with an USB output that enables you to transfer your vinyl records into digital music on your PC. The audio signal output from a turntable is usually fragile, like 1000 times low, compared to a CD player. Therefore, there’s a need to boost the signal to reach the average line-level or AUX necessary for the modern amplifiers. The phono preamp technology remodels intentional rich sound after it leaves your favorite vinyl record. So whether you’re starting out or just upgrading your sound system, investing in a good phono preamp is delivering the promise of excellent sound. Besides, you don’t have to break the bank to get the best.You can read more about this in our Do I Need a Preamp article. What is the difference between PHONO and LINE? This specification provides a practical difference between the input and output audio signals in percentage. Therefore, be ready to handle a little mathematical calculation. Bear in mind that the lower the difference percentage, the better the sound quality.

I took the opportunity to record some LPs. Not for piracy purposes, but because I’m preparing to test some record cleaners. It worked like a dream. I plugged it into my Microsoft Surface Pro 4, started up my recording software, and fiddled around for a while with the volume control. There was plenty of gain, to the point where it was easy enough to push the recording meters into the red. Remarkably, it creates perfect balance by treating every frequency with a similar texture and tone. This way, it gets to the high or low levels as long as your turntable allows it.The Pro-Ject Tube Box S2 sounds even warmer and smoother than the Rega Fono Mini A2D and I love it. Without missing great dynamics and details. It is absolutely fantastic. So far, I have not experienced any downsides with a tube phono preamp, if I look away from the fact that it has to warm up for a few minutes before it sounds great. But I was well aware of that.

There are also other minor differences. You can read more about the difference between MM and MC phono preamps in this article here at Vinyl Restart. How to tell if your turntable has a preamp? If you find the appearance basic, the performance is going to blow your mind. Among its winning talents is the well-timing. Fono Mini A2D enhances music with passion and properly aligns beats making it unbeatable by its competition. It’s the kind of thing at which Rega excels, and it offers products that sandwich the Zen Phono in price. The Fono Mini A2D isn’t in the same league when it comes to features or build quality and doesn’t match the Zen Phono for detail, but its sound is overall more musical and engaging for two-thirds of the price. Furthermore, Rega works very well with turntables and amplifiers, producing bold and powerful strokes. All these are thanks to the well-timing and dynamics offered by MK3.The Fono Mini A2D amplifier offers exceptional performance and incredible value for money and promises to be a valuable addition to any hi-fi set up. SPECIFICATIONS Perhaps the most exciting feature of the MP100 is its 24-bit analog-to-digital converter. With a USB-B, coaxial, and optical output, the MP100 is ready for vinyl digitization at 24 bits with a 96khz sample rate (much higher than CD’s 16 bits and commensurate with Blu-ray). It’s a pretty futuristic feature that ensures you can rip vinyl records to digital with world-class lossless quality. However, those digital outs aren’t just for ripping FLAC files; the digital outs also allow you to use your MP100 to connect a turntable directly to a home theater system without a full-sized phono receiver. Additionally, in a nod to pure analog lovers, these digital features can be fully disabled and powered down for those who wish to reduce potential noise. The award-winning and highly appreciated Rega Fono Mini A2D MKII is a preamp that perfectly blends cost and performance. It doesn’t cost a fortune, but it sounds and performs like it does. Moving Magnet (MM) Mains pollution is the noise from amplifying silent signals. This percolates through the circuit, limiting the sonic benefits of high-end components. Fortunately, there’s a way manufacturers are reducing pollution by using top-notch DC to DC converter chips. While the Fono Mini is a very handy analog-to-digital converter, its core strength is still as a very capable performer sonically.