Silly question about phono preamps

[nightflier]

Why is it that phono preamps are typically not the same width as other components? Is there some historical reason for this?

And if I did want a phono preamp that was standard size (for a neater look), what are my options in the sub-$1K department? Are there any?

[markw]

There's not a whole lot of real estate needed to produce a quality phono stage and, besides, many like to have these as close to the TT/cartridge combo as possible, for good reason.
likewise, packaging them in a small package can save costs and, if the power supply is a separate wall-wart, it can help reduce noise.

As for a rack width phono stage, they do exist but many of them offer features not normally needed by most people. Manley makes a great one with tons of doo-hickeys to tweak the signal such as capacaticive load, impedance, bass turnover frequencies and other goodies, but you DO pay for these. Others might offer a simple (wide) black box with no controls but might offer a measure of quality not offered by other units. Likiewise, they might be on the far horizon of the point of diminishing returns as well.

Personally, a basic black box NAD has all the oomph I'd ever need from a phono preamp, and it comes in at a good price. Ifyou want a little more glitz, and are willing to pay for it, check out AudioAdvisor or Analog Sounds.

[royphil345]

Yeah... I think the reasons are that many phono stages simply don't require cases that large and placing the phono stage away from it's own power supply or other components can result in less noise. My Rotel phono stage was rack sized. Got hum when using it with a low output MC and placing it in my rack with other components...

That said... My current phono stage is the rack sized Jolida JD-9A. Still very, very pleased with the sound. Has a good range of adjustments and you can roll tubes to even further tweak the sound to your liking. I'm using this one with a low output MC and have it in my rack with other components. No problems with noise. http://www.uptownaudio.com/jolida/jdStore.htm More specs here... http://www.needledoctor.com/Jolida-JD-9A-Phono-Preamp?sc=2&category=401