ART DJ PRE II Phono Preamplifier

This is the right one to buy !

I wanted to connect my 1970's vintage turntable to a mixing console soundboard, and tried a different brand line booster, but it was pathetic. Not enough gain, a tinny sound, and a very loud 60 cycle buzz/hum unless the volume was very high to overcome it. Also, I had to crank the mixer gain knobs almost wide open. I then purchased this device, and what a fantastic difference it made. The buzz/hum is totally gone, the sound quality is excellent, and the mixer gains are only 1/3 of max (set at about 20dB gain), leaving a whopping 2/3 more room (about 40dB additional) to increase the 'gain' on the L and R channels of my mixing board. This is definitely the one to buy for top-notch quality at an excellent price. Well worth every penny- it's an investment into your equipment that will provide your ears total satisfaction!

0:39

Highly recommend

I love the preamplifier. This sound is from old speakers plugged into a CD player that’s playing on “game” function. I will be getting new speakers this week. I will update.

0:42

Amazing value

This is amazing for the price. Helped my Project DC Evo a lot. Pro Tip use some black wheel paint for the lights. Can get on here for like $8

Great full-featured phono preamp at a great price.

I'm very pleased with this unit especially for the price.

My records sounded tinny and thin and I thought that maybe the record player was to blame. But the RIAA equalization built into this phono preamp brough back the full range of sound I was missing.

Now I realize that the phone input stage on my $6,000 receiver was the fault all along.

Bonus feature...The low cut filter took care of the constant rumble I was hearing also.

Now the records sound the way I remember them from my youth!

Sounds amazing!

Tried to cancel this order and so glad I wasn't successful. Instructions were simple. Grounded turntable to preamp. NO HUM. Clipping was easy to adjust. Still fiddling with filter and input cap but this little black box sounds great with my Yamaha RX V371. Don't fret buying this product. I love it!

GREAT quality, especially for the price

Sounds amazing and doesn’t take up much space at all! Easy to set up, very much just plug and play.

I am a fan!

I have Audio Technica AT-LP60X turntable. Even though it has its own preamplifier built in, I wanted to try my own preamp, and tried this one. It made an appreciable difference in sound for the better - in fact, I have been listening to and enjoying my records more after getting this thing. Records sound richer and more natural. I also like the ability to change the gain level with a knob, to compensate for recording level differences. I find that most records played on this turntable sound best at around +4 setting, with low cut filter on. Ground is not connected because the turntable does not have a terminal. Build quality of this preamp is solid, all metal. If the bright blue LED light at the front bothers you, you can put tape over it, but I actually enjoy how it looks. As shown in the photo, I have this preamp plugged into Echo Studio, and this makes for a fantastic combination. Overall, big thumbs up!

INCREDIBLE

Just upgraded from a Behringer PP440 and WOW! I can not believe the difference. All i want to do now is get high as f and listen to all of my records 1 by 1 and enjoy how much better they all sound. Only negative is the brightness of the blue power light. I electrical taped over that. Buy this.

Simple and worth the money!

Set up was simple. Sounds great! No bulky black receiver!

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Albert Flasher

April 13, 2021

Easy set up...sounds nice.

I deiced on the ART DJPREII Phono Preamplifier after watching many review videos, reading professional reviews and consumer reviews. During my investigations into pre-amps, the ART DJ Pre 2, come up in the top of the best lists over and over. So I pulled the trigger on it.

I am running my SL1200-MKII through it, while my SL-23 goes through the phono stage of my Rotel amplifier. I set the gain on the DJ Pre 2, to match the output of my Rotel phono stage, even though I could get quite a bit more out of it. The sound quality seems to be on par with the phono stage in my 1976 Rotel. Overall I am pretty happy with it; it's doing exactly what I wanted it to do.

The one drawback with this little preamp is the bright LEDs that stay on 24-7, unless you wire in a switch or can plug it into your main amplifier. Some people put tape over them, but that's not my choice. Once I had it set up, I pushed it to the back of my stereo cabinet and put an old Bakelite Telechron clock in front of it. Problem, solved!

Oscar Esquivel

March 31, 2021

Best under 100 PreAmp

The DJPreII is the best pre amp under 100 bucks. First i buy the Pyle PP444 and it gives a horrible hum sound. But the DJPreII gives perfect clean music.

Amazing sound

Right out of the box works great

M

March 23, 2021

This Pre-Amp Has Changed My Life!!! Seriously...

I turned off the pre-amp on my turntable and hooked this one up instead. This setup makes my vinyl sound amazing and brings out the richness in the music like never before. I have booming bass and lovely high tones as well. My little shelf speakers are booming. They no longer sound like I am listening through a straw. Sooo in love with this little gadget!

Voltaire_1

March 21, 2021

Little box, big sound.

Wow! This little box packs some power! I have a Fluance RT81 and was happy with the built in preamp but after reading many reviews of this particular preamp and the relatively cheap price point, I figured why not give it a try. Am I glad I did!

First off, I was pleasantly happy to find that this little guy has some weight to it. Wasn't expecting that from the small size and was afraid I would have to adhere it to my stand somehow if the wires somehow moved it around. Well no need to worry there. And once I spent less than 5 minutes setting it up, I turned it on. At first it was so loud that I could hear everything going on around me. I mean everything. And a hum. Oh no! I checked the ground, tried taking the ground off. Nothing. Still way loud. Then after about a minute of puzzlement I realized I forgot to turn the bypass to the built in preamp to phono. Once I changed that everything was crystal clear. My bad. So don't be like me, make sure that the built in preamp is switched off first (if you have one that is)

Then I played my first DJPREE II album, Utgard by Enslaved. Wow! The highs and mid range we soooo much more present and the Soundstage so much more pronounced. I never thought it would make that much of a difference but it did. Then I moved onto Mezzanine by Massive Attack. Even more impressed. This little preamp kicks ass!

I am running this between my Fluance RT81 and a Sony STR DH790 to a pair of Jamo 809's and the sound is breathtaking. Such a huge improvement. If you are reading this and considering purchasing it, just do it. It WILL make a difference.

Nice addition for the money

Just like most of the reviews, my only complaint is the bright blue power light. Simple fix with the recommended electric tape to cover the light. I initially forgot to switch my Audio Technica turntable built-in preamp off. I noticed that preamp seemed to be sending through some of the low frequency rumble from the direct drive motor to the new ART preamp. As soon as I switched off the AT built-in preamp, the new ART preamp was completely quiet. So I already see a difference in the signal going to my Yamaha amplifier with that simple test. I like the convenience of the gain control right at my turntable since some albums are mixed more quiet than others. It is easy to add a few decibels to those quiet albums and subtract a few on the loud ones. I am using an AT-LP120XUSB turntable with the VM540ML cartridge with the ART low-cut filter on since it is a direct drive turntable. I did test the ART pre amp with the stock VM95E cartridge and it was fine. Just more detail in the music with the 540ML.

For the price, nothing better.

Let me get this out of the way first -- this thing is BIG and UGLY. It's not piece of equipment that you put on your rack and lovingly stare at while you play your music. Rather, it's the piece of equipment that you make every effort to hide.

And that's OK because for the price, this thing punches well above its weight in both sound quality and features. The build itself isn't low quality, but given the design I'm taking a point off but what do you expect at this price? It's literally half the cost of the Schiit Mani.

The first thing you'll notice when you take this little gem out of the box and plug it in is that the Blue LED was an absolutely ridiculous choice. A.R.T. is renowned for their professional equipment, so maybe this thing is intended to light up your own dance floor? It is so bright that it will hurt your eyes in broad daylight. I immediately taped off the LED with some electrical tape (as I've seen just about everyone else do). Crude, but does the trick. This thing has no on/off switch like most phono stages so what is even the point of the power LED?

The ART DJ PRE-II replaces my Behringer PP400 that has been in my system since 2013. The PP400 being half the price of the ART DJ PRE-II, but sounds like less than half the value. This isn't anything against the PP400, but rather due to the immense value of the PRE-II. The soundstage is open and clean, even when bumping up the preamplification by +3 dB (the adjustment is nice on albums that were mastered quieter).

My listening setup:

Onkyo CP-1012F (vintage turntable) w/ Ortofon 2M Red into ART DJ PRE-II through Schiit Magni 3+ into HiFiMan HE400i OR Philips Fidelio X2HR

Completely satisfied with purchase.

Could not be more pleased with the performance of this Preamplifier. I read a lot of comments regarding the lack of an on/off switch and the “bright” blue LED light. The on/off issue was easily solved by plugging the preamp and turntable into a small separate power strip which is plugged into my main power strip mounted on the back of the cabinet.. The small power strip is located inside the cabinet on the back of one of the shelves. All I need to do is reach back and apply power to the strip when I wish to use the turntable. That way, I can use the other components in my system without having power applied to the preamp and turntable. As far as the blue light issue is concerned, I have the preamp located on the top shelf in my stereo cabinet and the light is blocked when the door is closed. Very pleased with the unit. I would not hesitate to purchase again.

Adds some much-needed bass punch

I'm using this as a preamp between my Audio-Technica ATLP60X turntable and Yamaha R-S202 receiver hooked up to a couple Pioneer SP-BS22-LR Andrew Jones Designed Bookshelf Loudspeakers. Not an expensive audiophile set up by any means but it does the trick. The turntable has a built-in preamp but it puts out little to no bass punch. I bought the ART DJPreII in the hopes that it would add some low end to the output. And it does. This is just what my set up needed. I'm getting a much warmer sound and better tones with some much needed low end. Luckily the turntable has a switch to bypass the internal preamp. This is definitely an upgrade. Yes, the blue LED is way too bright but quit complaining and cover it. Very happy with this purchase.

This thing rocks!

This is the 5th preamp I tried with my Audio Técnica Lp120xUSB feeding into my Monoprice Pure Tube amp. This is the keeper by far. Great sound, zero noise, and most importantly (for me) total gain control of the input into my amp. It is a sensitive one and the control knob allows me to set it exactly where I need it.

The only negatives are the extremely bright led lights which I immediately dimmed with pieces of red electrical tape that I cut for each light. It is perfect now.

This preamp has made all my vinyl sound much better than ever by far. Even records that I stopped listening to because of a crappy recording level, this thing has been able to improve them and I am happy listening again.

Love it.

Beautiful!

My old Pyle phone preamp died and I set out to find a replacement. Tried a couple of "tube" preamps, both failed miserably, and got returned. Decided to spend a little extra and try this one. Love it so far! One thing that is lacking is an ON/OFF switch as some of the reviewers have noticed. So, I went ahead and ordered a switchable outlet power switch with a chord that can be nested nearby. I don't find the light to be too bright. Looks kinda cool! Nice materials, and overall good construction. Let's see how long it lasts! Have fun.

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geofferson

February 16, 2020

BUSTED. RIGHT CHANNEL FAIL JULY 15, 2020. DO NOT PURCHASE. POOR QUALITY.

This device got my c. 1980 turntable up and running. I really didn’t realize I would need a preamp when I started my project and not knowing if my equipment was functioning after many years in storage I didn’t want to spend a ton but I did want quality. This unit fits that description exactly. Ever. And thank you to the “audiophiles” and other geeks that take the time to submit technical reviews. It is very helpful regarding matters as serious as playing records. The lights are too bright. Haha. July 2020 right channel failed. Product is broken and useless. DO NOT PURCHASE. POOR QUALITY.

Sounds great!

I’m really impress with the sound quality of this little thing. One video here I heard humming noise but I don’t hear it on mine. Like what everyone said on their review that the blue power light is really bright and no ON/OFF switch which is not a show stopper for me as long as it sounds great.

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Doc Taz

January 24, 2018

Nice little phono preamp for a nice price.

Easy hook up. Played lots of LPs today! Worth the money. Adjustable gain is super helpful.

Better than expected!

We are a home automation company and our client wanted remote racks 100 feet away and a local family room tv. The turntable and phono input were not capable of pushing the signal alone, not even over Cat5 analog audio baluns!

We bought this unit and no issue, plenty of power. Outstanding product, does more than expected!

Mohammed Muthalib

July 19, 2017

Clean sound

This thing fantastic. Added a good bit of clarity and stereo separation.

The gain control with clipping indication is pretty neat,green LED blinks red if signal clips.

The wallwart that came with the preamp has some heft to it (unlike the switching phone chargers). So I assume there is a transformer in there which is always a good thing. I don't hear any power supply noise coming through. Clean sound.

As others have said, the power on LED (blue) is way too bright. I had to cover it with electrical tape.

The capacitive coupling (100pF, 200pF) adjustment and low-cut filter are transparent buttons with an amber glow when depressed.

In the attached video, the line out of the DJPRE II is connected directly to the camera mic input.

I definitely recommend getting this.

1:30

Sounds great but needs a power switch!

I have it set up between an old Harmon-Kardon turntable and a new Yamaha receiver. This sounds so much better than any receiver with a built-in preamp in the sub-$1000s range. Those preamps are put in as afterthoughts or gimmicks. It's much wiser to spend your money on a separate, solid preamp like this. It would be hard to do better than without spending several hundred. Make sure you connect it to your turntable with a fairly short cable (mine is about 3 feet). Cable length to the receiver doesn't matter as much.

My only complaints with it were that it has no on-off switch and that the power indicator is incredibly bright. Not wanting to stare at this glaring miniature sun at all hours and finding plugging/unplugging the unit more than a little inconvenient, I went and bought a $3 in-line switch from a hardware store and wired it into the power cord. Both problems solved!

C. Madsen

June 30, 2016

Great unit, but that LED...

This is a fantastic little pre-amp that has served me well for nearly two years now. The audio quality is great and the interface is extremely simple. A green/red LED on the front notifies the user if there is any clipping, which comes in handy when first setting the gain. The only complaint that I have is the blue power LED is WAY too bright for this application. After moving my turntable to another location, I finally decided to tackle this problem. The LED is connected to resistor R9 on the board, a 1 kOhm SMT device that is relatively easy to desolder and pull. Replacing this resistor with a 3.3 kOhm brought the intensity down to a suitable level that matches my power amplifier well. Were I to get back in the case, I'd even consider doing a 4.7 kOhm. The attached photos show the intensity after swapping the resistor out, a welcome change over what you normally see with the OEM part.

This product is amazing

Omg why didn't I do this sooner. I am sitting here listening to a heliode re label recording of prelude and fugue BWV 544 as played by helmet Walcha and I am simply transfixed by the absolute Beaty of the sound that this little baby can create out of an somewhat preserved relic of my college passions. Throw your old preamp garage into a trash can grab this and maybe find your old college speakers lurking in your recesses and get a good ole fashioned power amp and travel back to all you one treasured. You won't regret this. Do not buy some Fancy Dan deal before you first try this.

Million $$$ Sound if you...

I've been using the ART DJPRE II for about four months. Now that I have everything configured, the sound is breathtaking. It rivals other phono preamps costing thousands of dollars. NOTE: Be sure to connect the DJPRE GROUND terminal to your phonograph GROUND terminal via a separate grounding wire (spade lug terminals recommended). Also, be certain your phono is connected to a good earth GROUND. It DOES matter!

The real trick to get exceptional sound out of this little gem is to feed it what it likes best... that is a diet of PURE 12 volt DC. For a cost of about $30 you can build your own 12 volt PURE DC power supply. I've posted a picture that shows the details about how to do this. This little simple DIY project also gives you the ability to conveniently turn the unit on/off from the front. This is a feature other reviewers have noticed the DJPRE II is missing and would sure be nice to have.

To see picture(s) click on hyperlink of my reviewer name, then select the tab for "Images," and on that page scroll down and select hyperlink for "Image Gallery." You will find picture(s) and DIY instructions there.

Initially, I'll admit I was a little disappointed. While the sound was very good, there was a subtle but yet unmistakable 60 Hz hum that I just couldn't get rid of. All the grounding tricks in the world, and believe me, as a retired military electronics engineer, I know MANY grounding and RF/EMI shielding techniques, I could not eliminate the hum. I just couldn't live with the unwanted noise. The unit's only drawback turns out to be its own supplied power adapter/converter. The unit's operating voltage is spec'd at 9 to 12 volts (AC or DC).

I tried using other power adapters (I have many). I tried 12V DC, 9V AC (supplied with unit), and just to see how rugged this little dude is, I even tried a 15V DC adapter. The DJPRE II performed about the same, regardless of the power adapter used. That low level but annoying 60Hz hum was there in every instance.

I began researching the high end audiophile grade phono preamps costing between $2000 to $7000. Being a technical engineer, I check out the spec's very diligently. I noticed that some of the high-end preamps, although connected to a regular 120V AC wall outlet, actually use an internal relay switch that switches to internal "battery power when operating" and then when not in use, the internal battery is charged by the standard line voltage (converted and rectified to DC of course).

After a trip to my local electronics retailer, about $30 in miscellaneous parts, and a little creative ingenuity along with a can of spray paint and my prototype build time, I was ready to try out my theory. I plugged my custom built PURE 12V DC power supply into the DJPRE II and I was instantly transported to musical nirvana (and NO 60 Hz hum)!

FURTHER INSIGHT: If you check out the photos I posted, you will see that my system uses a non-resonant Sumiko HS12 headshell mounted with a Lyra Delos MC (moving coil) cartridge, that is fed to an Ortofon Verto step-up transformer where it is converted to the MM (moving magnet) output level required as input for the ART DJPRE II. The ART DJPRE II is NOT able to use a high-end, low voltage (typically .5 mV or less) MC cartridge output directly. The ART DJPRE II is designed for use with MM cartridges, output loading: 47 kOhm / 100 to 200 pF. The output range for MM cartridges is usually somewhere between 4 to 9 mV.

I highly recommend this product if you are willing to build a very simple 12V DC power supply. I guarantee you will be amazed at the sound quality that fully complies with RIAA standards. Happy listening to all.

Six String Looper

January 5, 2010

Decent Pre-amp for the Money

If you're looking for a good phono pre-amp under $100 then this is worth looking at. The sound decent to good (not terrific to incredible) and if you have a lower gain output cartridge (moving coils instead of moving magnets) then there's a good amount of gain to give you more output. Though if you have a moving coil cartridge you're probably not looking at a preamp this cheap. On the downside, there is a power light on the face of the unit that is on as long as the unit is plugged in and it's pretty bright. There's no power switch to turn the unit off, so it's constantly consuming power unless you unplug it. Which I would think would be bad for the longevity of the unit. Also, to make it smaller they've put the DC power converter on the power plug of the unit which means it's got a pretty big wall wart. Overall I feel good about the purchase and the sound is respectable for the price. I just wish it had a power button and I don't understand the need for a power light if the unit is always on when plugged in.