Review on Pyle Phono Turntable Preamp - Compact Audio Phonograph Preamplifier with RCA Input, RCA Output & Low Noise Operation, Powered by 12V DC Adapter - PP999, Black by Crystal Garrett

I never really wanted to give such a negative review, but with this phono stage I don't think I have a choice. I've read that an external phono stage usually improves sound quality. HIFI stereo sound quality. Under normal circumstances this is true as the built in preamps that come with entry level turntables and amp/receivers are usually of minimal quality. So, I got this phono stage from my grandson. I bought it for him a few years ago but it turns out he didn't need it. He told me that he would rather use the preamp that came with his receiver. I decided to try my system. Setup was easy and in no time I had vinyl on my Audio Technica 120xusb turntable. I am using a Sony Strdh190 receiver. Almost as soon as I became critical of the music, I noticed an apparent lack of improvement. In fact, I felt there might be a loss in sound quality. I used the preamp with a lower quality turntable, Sony's entry-level turntable. Again no improvement and I felt I could tell the loss in dynamic sound quality. It seemed to me that this preamp attenuates high frequencies. I think this will help if you don't have a built in preamp, but this is the only case. However, I would like to warn any potential buyer: after my above tests, I searched online for other reviews of this product. Who knows, maybe I got a bad one. Not only were most of the reviews similar to mine, some warned of possible electrical issues with this product. My final advice: stay away from this preamp.