B&K Phono 10 Preamplifier

This may come as a shock to some of you, but yes, they still make big ol' black vinyl records. The 50-plus-year-old LP is more than holding its own as a niche format. In fact, at the rate things are going, turntables and LPs will probably be around for another 20 years. So if you're an oldster who still relishes your ancient Zappa and Dizzy Gillespie platters, or a hipster dipping into the treasure trove of freshly pressed alternative and dance LPs, VINYL RULES! B&K Components must have caught wind of the vinyl renaissance because it recently introduced a tasty new preamplifier for LP enthusiasts, the Phono 10. This cutie is more than just a vinylphile special - it may be the world's first phono preamplifier to offer an optional analog-to-digital converter (ADC). What's that got to do with spinning vinyl? Can you say "Perfect LPs Forever"? When the Phono 10 converts the analog wiggles of an LP groove directly to digital zeros and ones, burning the most analog-like CD-R transfers is a snap. Wow, you'll have 85 percent of the sound of an LP, with 100 percent of the convenience and durability of a CD. That ADC will also come in handy if you're using an A/V receiver that digitizes all of its analog inputs, and most do just that. Additionally it features stereo phono preamplifier, moving-magnet/moving-coil compatible, high-quality parts, fully discrete phono circuitry, adjustable capacitive and resistive cartridge loading, coaxial digital output. B&K has put together a first-rate and unique device here. The Phono 10 works with moving-coil or moving-magnet phono cartridges. Some cartridges may require a specific electrical load to sound their best, so B&K designed the Phono 10 to be "tweakable" to taste. The optional ADC is just the ticket for archiving LPs on CD-Rs. Sure, you can already do that with any CD recorder, but the Phono 10's integrated ADC is a more elegant and better-sounding solution. The converter is actually a 96-kHz/24-bit chip set to run at 44.1/24, so it can be upgraded for future digital formats.