14-Apr-2021, 00:40
I've got two Phantom Golds, still running the original (v1) firmware + Spark. Currently, I have just one input, a computer in a closet with the sound card running optical directly to one Phantom. I also have an old B&O Beogram RX2 turntable, which I'd like to hook up to the system. I'd like to accomplish this on a relatively moderate budget, say ~$200-300 range.
I'd like to keep the number of additional boxes small. So I was thinking a phono pre-amp with a toslink output, and some sort of optical switch. The former seem to be pretty rare, though. In my price range, I've only found the Pro-Ject Optical Box E, but it doesn't get stellar reviews: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum...tage.18383
An alternative plan would be to buy a new turntable with built-in preamp for ~$400-ish, and sell the Beogram to make up the difference. But turntables with an optical out seem to be pretty rare, too. And they're often lacking comfort features that my Beogram has, like an automatic tone arm (important to me), and being able to change the speed without jumping through a bunch of hoops.
Any suggestions for a solution that won't break my budget, and will sound reasonably good?
I'd like to keep the number of additional boxes small. So I was thinking a phono pre-amp with a toslink output, and some sort of optical switch. The former seem to be pretty rare, though. In my price range, I've only found the Pro-Ject Optical Box E, but it doesn't get stellar reviews: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum...tage.18383
An alternative plan would be to buy a new turntable with built-in preamp for ~$400-ish, and sell the Beogram to make up the difference. But turntables with an optical out seem to be pretty rare, too. And they're often lacking comfort features that my Beogram has, like an automatic tone arm (important to me), and being able to change the speed without jumping through a bunch of hoops.
Any suggestions for a solution that won't break my budget, and will sound reasonably good?
