NAD PP-2 Phono Preamp Reviewed

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HTR Product Rating

Performance: 3 Stars
Value: 4 Stars
Overall: 3.5 Stars

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Every once in a while, along comes a bargain so scarily good that we can only judge it a fluke. When that same product comes out in revised form, with nothing further improvements the price remains stupidly low, you gotta start thinking the fluke has become a coincidence.

NAD's PP-1 phono stage has been part of my system for five years. It's the device I fall back on when I want to play LPs through pre-amps and integrateds lacking phono stages. My only complaints about the PP-1 were the lack of a moving-coil stage and the fitting of a short, shitty captive lead. Both concerns have now been addressed...and then some.

Additional Resources
• Read more about NAD from HomeTheaterReview.com
• Read more LP, Vinyl and analog reviews from AudiophileReview.com.

Housed in a tidier enclosure (i.e. no screw heads visible at the sides), the PP-2 differs by a smidgen in height; at 5.3x1.38x2.75in (WHD). With its small 'wall wart' power supply, it's still tiny enough not to cause space problems. The front still bears an green LED, while the slightly more crowded back contains two sets of gold-plated phono inputs for m-m and m-c, an earthing post, a toggle to choose between m-m and m-c, a pair of gilded output sockets and the mains input.

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