Pluto Phono Preamp

Why We Like It

It's surprisingly easy to find terrible, inexpensive turntables made abroad these days. (Seriously beware - a bad turntable can do some damage to your precious record collection!) Kickstarter darling, U-Turn Audio is bringing some dead simple, yet clever designs. While not a household audiophile brand name, their products have been garnering some serious love from some of the most stalwart analog reviewers based on their price/performance. (MF if you happen to read this we promise we are big fans!)

Their turntables redefine who now has access to great vinyl sound quality and their products are hand built and tested in Boston, MA to boot.

Description

Pluto is a low-noise phono preamp for moving magnet (MM) cartridges. It combines high-quality components and elegant circuit design to accurately boost your turntable’s signal at this crucial stage of amplification. Pluto’s RIAA network consists of WIMA film capacitors and precision resistors for detailed and distortion-free sound. It features a single high-performance gain stage and a subsonic filter to remove low-frequency noise - all housed within a steel enclosure that prevents interference.

Pluto is built in Boston, MA and comes with a 3 year warranty.

Specifications

• Input impedance 47 kΩ
• Input capacitance 100 pF
• Gain 36 dB @ 1Khz
• THD < 0.005% (A-weighted)
• S/N ratio 90 dB (A-weighted)
• RIAA accuracy +/- 0.2 dB (20Hz-20kHz)
• Crosstalk -80 dB (20Hz-20kHz)
• Dimensions 5.8 x 1.6 x 3.6"
• Weight 0.9 lbs

Whats in the Box

• Pluto Phono Preamp
• Shielded RCA cables
• Power supply
• Quick setup guide

Do I Need a Phono Preamp for my Turntable?

The Orbit produces a PHONO output signal. You will need a phono preamp to convert this to a line level (i.e. AUX) signal. Some amplifiers and receivers have a built-in preamp (if yours has an input marked PHONO, then you are all set). If not, you will need a separate phono preamp for your Orbit.

The two most common turntable setups are (1) turntable → phono preamp → powered speakers and (2) turntable → receiver → passive speakers.