Hi Craig - I’m an electronics novice but you have no idea how much I enjoyed your analysis of the phono amp circuitry - respect from Scotland 🏴- David h
I just performed this preamectomy. I did things slightly different, but it sounds great! I simply unplugged the white/red wires at the preamp. Then unsoldered the red, white, and outermost black from the mainboard. I then resoldered my new RCA cable, combining the grounds to the outermost pinout on the mainboard. I left the innermost ground from the mainboard connected to the preamp. Further, I left the preamp and the existing RCA outs in place (I effectively have two sets of RCA's exiting the unit). So, the built in preamp is dead but easily reconnected. And, those little brass rings that surround the 8 screws? A little dab of hot glue will easily keep them in place during reassembly. Thanks for the great video!
I just did the preamp-otomy this morning, after 1year of owning the 120. I'm more than satisfied with the result and wanted to say thanks, it was your video that convinced me to do it.
I did this project with my turntable of this make and model two years ago. I did it on pure faith that it was the right thing to do because since I had no use of doing U.S.B. transfers, any signal going through extra circuitry would produce some sort of resistance in the overall signal. (At least that was my way of thinking). Thanks to your extra effort Craig, I can rest easy that I KNOW I did the right thing, because the result to my ears is the same. The recording without the u.s.b. circuitry, sounds clearer, and more ALIVE, and that's what it's all about when listening to artists. A listener has feel their words as well, and unfiltered clarity helps make it happen. (at least with me it does! ) THANKS AGAIN, CRAIG!
Just pulled the pre-amp out of my AT-120 and it's a HUGE difference!! Well worth the time!! Thanks for posting this vid Craig!! BTW.....you can put the little spacers back in AFTER you sit the the back on the body of the turntable. They will fall right down into the little holes. They are basically spacers to keep the heads of the screws from breaking out the plastic when you tighten them down.
Richer, brighter more defined and complete. Without the preamble work I would have assumed a compressed recording in the before. BTW, nice work on your recording. Stands up well. Kudos
Oy, that is indeed a noticeable difference! Huge difference for those cymbals! They suddenly jump into action and were muffled before. Thanks for the modification demo and the video!
I found the easy way of doing those washers was to leave them out, put the bottom cover back on and then put a round toothpick into the screw holes, one by one. Then drop the washer onto the toothpick, it slides down and gets perfectly centered on the hole. Remove the toothpick and it falls down the rest of the way. Then install the screws. Also, you could remove them that way -- with the bottom cover still in place -- if you could get something to wedge into them and pull them out. Unfortunately they are non-ferrous or you could use a magnet. Maybe a fatter toothpick. That way they don't scatter when you take the bottom cover off. I didn't know this when I bypassed the preamp in the one I did and I permanently lost one when I disassembled it. Keeping fingers crossed that it's not inside the turntable waiting to short something!
Hey man. I heard a big difference. The audio with out the pre-amp is brighter in sound. Definitely having more high tone. Where the pre-amp sound lost it and was more midrange sounding. Thanks for the video. Just might do this to mine after the warranty goes out. Buy the way. I've watch 7 of your video's in a row. I like what ya have to say. What you said in your video, "Why Vinyl" I totally agree with ya. Listening to music like we did when we were kids was an event. Something to savor as we listened to the albums. Kids today just don't get it. I to have just gotten back into vinyl. Started out buying a new turntable and a high end cartage and stylus. Up graded to a better feet for it. An album weight. Better wires and connectors all across my system. I'll say this. Half the fun of listening to vinyl is the work going into setting it up to listen. Thank for all you do out here for us old farts.....LOL I'm 61. Bought my first album when I was 11 or 12. Yes Fragile. Classic..... PS, I'm a big RUSH fan a well. Peace and love, Kevin
I did the same thing on mine. When I purchased the AT-LP120, it was to be used as a second turntable alongside my vintage Yamah YP-B2 TT. If I didn't have anything to compare it to, I'd think it sounded fine. But the difference between the two was night and day. My Yamaha sounded bright and full of life, while the AT sounded muffled. Put it through surgery, and now they both sound fantastic. Totally worth the hassle! Great video. Yours was the best I've seen showing the before and after.
I was going to start my day with the dampening mechanism repair, but now I'm thinking of finally removing the preamp (same TT) as I've been considering it and your video takes out ALL the mystery. Thanks for you!
Noticeable difference, I prefer nonetheless the 'before' version, but it might be from my headset. You are doing a fantastic job, by the way! And the song is amazing!
Great video!! Even my 72 year old ears were disappointed each time you switched back to BEFORE. Using older iPad Pro, Bluetoothed to new RAYCOM Everyday Earbuds, set to “Balanced Sound”. Impressed how much I still like the sound of vinyl, (and your recording). I owned an AudioTechnica like yours, without the vertical adjustment, I think it was $139, with the Shure cartridge, from Heads Together in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, circa 1972, same day I bought the newly-released LedZep 4 ZOSO!. Thanks, Craig!
Nice one! Just did the LP120-USB surgery today, having followed your very clear and precise directions... Total success, and the difference is very noticeable! That annoying 'noise gate' that the built-in pre-amp has is gone, and the overall sound is much cleaner, with better and more extended treble, and a more defined bass. :-) Many thanks for your excellent video! As a tutorial, it's the best on RUclips..! :-)
Thanks for finally talking me into being brave enough to finally commit to doing this. The song and performance was impressive and a great time capsule .
Just performed this mod as explained in the video. I left the preamp inside and coiled the wire in there. Took a risk with the soldering but managed to do it without issue :) All i can say is... if you have one of these decks, you MUST do this mod as the internal pre-amp phono out is garbage. I'm playing this direct through a rega phono mini and it sounds amazing now, the frequency range is much more expansive. Great video. well explained and gave me the confidence to try it myself.
I can’t decide if I’m more impressed by the video or that song! Great music man! I think I may take mine out now as well. I closed my eyes and could guess every time which parts of the song were with or without the pre-amp. Great job!
Well I did the gutting of the pre amp and can say without a doubt that this was the best thing I did to improve the sound hands down. It brought the 95 cartridge to life outstanding!!
Finally, a video where I could actually tell the difference! I might actually get this now as a second turntable. I was considering it before, but then I went for a heavily discounted Music Hall mmf-2.2 that went for a little over $100, but was completely new. Although I love the Music Hall, I'd really like to be able to swap cartridges without having to perform minor surgery, and I'd also like to be able to use carts that others seem to be able to use without searching for a compatible counterweight. And don't even get me started on the fishing plumb anti-skate weight...
just did this today on a sunny day, it is indeed a big difference, much clearer now, try this test, record the sound with your iphone, i know, not the best device to do this with but still, trust me, you WILL hear the difference! I did the test with "Hell to the liars" from London Grammar and some other from Steve miller band. With london grammar , as soon as she begins to sing the difference is noticable even through the microphone of my iphone , put on headset and listen to both recordings, you will be amazed.I went the same route as Craig did, complete removal of the preamp, i reused the preamps ground and simply extended it, i also used the same original audio cable simply soldered directly to the board. Be sure the included the extra ground wire as it reduces noise( Hum ). Thanks for this detailed video Craig, you made my day(s) :-)
Many thanks for this video. Although I'm currently more worried about motor noise on my LP120 than its preamp behaviour, it's good to see an objective analysis of the preamp/cartridge wiring. If only we could find the manufacturer's schematics, it would save us all a lot of time! However, I'd like to see a couple of extra things investigated: (a) What are the actual values of the inductor and capacitor low-pass filter on the outputs - it's possible they are extremely small, intended only to affect radio frequencies, in which case it's possible there's some other reason for your observed results; and (b) As the cartridge is still - as far as I can tell - connected in parallel with the internal preamp's input when switched to 'cartridge-only' output, what is the loading effect of the internal preamp's input impedance on the cartridge output? I suspect that this might be the primary reason for the lower amplitude and possibly loss of treble. Could you possibly check these values and connections on the preamp board that you've extracted?
Hi Craig, I've just seen your video. Your hint about the capacitors and coils at the output of the signal was really helpful for me. I didn't remove the preamp. I soldered a thin cable bridge from before the coil to after the capacitors for each channel. This short circuit around the output filter has the same effect but the USB remains active and can still be used.
Thank you! You understand what you are doing and you've proven that bypassing the preamp does improve treble performance - improved transient response. I have to wonder if removing the LC network on the preamp / USB board might have done much the same - possibly a third test which would also determine how much digital noise is coming through.
Amazing just amazing. I just did this mod and I'm hearing a more detailed sound the highs are scary good with my ortofon 2m blue cart. and the dynamics are better plus bass is tighter as well. Thank you so much Vinyl TV!!
I did this mod and added an ART DJPRE II and I can hear a difference mostly in the high end. It seems crisper and doesn't have that high end digital distortion I was hearing before. For reference, I was running with the ATLP120s pre through a Bose 321 and rehearsal studio PA with powered Mackie speakers. I know this isn't an audiophile setup, but I thought I would share my experience. The mod was very easy by the way.
Thank you, this video saved me time and helped me to decide. I use a tube phono preamp and a tube amplifier driving Klipsch Cornwalls. The difference between before and after is incredible.
I can even hear the improvement even with my 71 year old ears and through any compression that you tube causes. Great demonstration and to add I love that song and looked ti find it on you tube. Wonderful music I use a vintage high end Pioneer turntable with no electronics inside and use a Sure M97xE cartridge.
Wow, I was expecting this to be one of those videos where I needed to hook it up to my sound system to hear any difference. The improvement is clear like night and day even through my built in computer speakers.
I never really believed in certain Audio Equipment hacks/modification (extremely expensive speaker cable, thousand dollar audio connects, upgraded ceramic fuses (still on the fence on this one), etc., until now. My skeptical ears have been convinced that this modification really improved/s the vinyl dynamics. I will try this modification myself. Also, nice song. Thanks for your video, you are an inspiration to the audio community.
So I did this mod thanks to your video. I did use the original RCA cable. HOOOOOLY SHMOAKIES, what an improvement!! Attack, transients, pads and tails, oh my! Just more life and clarity. Concretes my decision to move from the 2MRed to Blue (or comparable) soon. In the meantime I saw a video by someone who, based on his content and rude remark to a valid comment/question I left, made me appreciate Vinyl TV even more than I already had. Thanks for what you do and how you do it, good man.
I bought this turntable just this week...I heard about the bypassing...your explanation rocks and in deed, you can hear the difference, at least with the external speakers in my iMac - greetings from Costa Rica and by the way, I loved your 45!
Ive looked at a handful of videos on how to perform this mod but yours is by far the most informative by a long shot. Ive now modded mine and very please I did. Thanks :)
Thank's for a great tutorial.I have this turntable, and i have been happy with it for 5 year's, since new. The was certainly an improvement over 4 KHz.
I just bought mine 3 days ago and found this video...I live in Puerto Rico and there are not many electronics stores around anymore so I might have to do this myself (I'm not an electrician...but a software developer)...can't wait to do it.
I have been a DJ since way back and now i am getting back into it, i just ordered those turntables so i won't be able to say anything yet but i am sure that the pre-amp is for the USB side. Your gonna need it when plugging it up into the PC. The only bad that i see everyone is complaining about are the jacks. My gemini PT-2000 have the same cables on it and have had no issues.
I really appreciate this vid. I was tossing up whether to rip the pre out of mine and have now done so. Those having trouble identifying the difference, focus on the snare; that's what swung me. Again, thanks.
Thanks for shooting this video, it was very informative and really appreciated you showing the actual signal paths in such detail. Now I know exactly what is going on inside mine! Your audio comparison at the end solidified my decision to mod mine. I was wondering if the filter cut the levels as well as frequency response, but your test showed it doesn't which is good to know. I think you made the correct decision to bypass the circuit completely. You could've pulled the chip caps and inductors, but the switch would have remained in-circuit, possibly leading to crosstalk or attenuation due to contact oxidation. Well done!
I removed my preamp today following the way you did it and it works great! I still notice a slight motor sound though. I'm working on a fix for that...Thanks! BTW...you don't have to tape the spacers...I just threaded them through the screws and dropped them in the holes...
Los audiofilos buscamos el total de los sonidos y este filtro LC lo limita, para todos aquellos que tenemos un POWER con entrada Phone con EQ RIAA no es necesario este filtrado que lo limita en las frecuencias altas, gracias por este detalle tecnico 😎🙋
Just did this upgrade, tremendous difference! Turn table sounds high end now even with original cartridge. Had a few issue though. First attempt, used quality shielded cables. Tied each cable ground to the board and a separate ground for my preamp. Had an unacceptable hum i could not get rid of. Discovered in was my "quality" cable. Installed another good cable and had much better results. Also grounded both wires to single solder point on board on the board from the tonearm. Still had small hum. Used larger gauge wire on the dedicated ground wire and discovered it made a significant difference. Hum is now nearly non existent. This is great because i had a fair hum even before this upgrade. So I upgraded my sound quality, and all but eliminated my hum.
The difference going from 'after' to 'before' reminds me of when i switched on Dolby B noise reduction on my cassette deck when listening to a pre-recorded tape back in the 90s.
Hey Craig this is very informative thank you, I need to do the same to mine the hum is dreadful after playing Janis Ian earlier all I wanted to do was chuck it out the window and buy something else so I guess tomorrow I will get my tools out. Thanks again for taking the time to make this his video and I preferred your record after the removal. Regards Peter from the UK
Always a good idea to remove anything from the signal line that is not really required. The cartridge is now probably seeing the correct loading and that will make a difference. I only use passive filter vacuum tube RIAA pre-amplifiers as they seem to sound the best. I have really tried hard to find a solid state circuit to remove the necessity for high voltage power supplies and current hungry tubes but to no avail. The tube circuits win every time, delivering a perfect RIAA characteristic and at the same time sounding just that bit better. Cannot understand it, perhaps it is down to the capacitance difference in solid state devices but anyway, I recommend you look into building a tube RIAA to complement the change you have made to the cartridge wiring. A very well done tutorial video - first class!
I have a new LP120xUSB. I opened it up and they have changed the circuit board. I was able to trace the circuit. I found the capacitors and coils. It's a relatively easy bypass. The capacitors (C680, C623) under a little bit of pressure from needle-nose pliers crumbles and breaks the circuit. The really isn't a need to remove the capacitor and run the risk of damaging the circuit. For the Inductors (L601,L602) I jumped across the inductor to the top of the RCA terminal. Wish I could post pictures. Sounds much better.
It is never too much to say again and again "nice work Craig". You pick my attention and made me disassemble my Stanton T120c turntable to find out i had exactlly the same issue. But i will leave all routing as is and add a new one directlly from the tonearm cabling to 2 new RCA panel plugs + ground connector. Thank you for your research.
I just performed this process myself following this video. However, since mine is still very much under warranty, I decided to unsolder the wires of the pre-amp and disconnect it. I left the wires neatly tucked inside, except for the RCA, which I just wrapped neatly with a strap. I don't care if I have an extra set of wires coming out of the equipment. However, I want to comment on the spacers...you really do not need to tape them or hold them in place like you did. I figured out that they go right through the screw holes (it's hard to explain), which means when you lift the bottom cover up, they just slide. Just in case someone is doing this same process, all you have to do is just close the bottom cover nice and then slide the spacers in, and finally the screws. The spaces will just slide in place as expected. You might need a kebob skewer or something similar to accommodate any spacer that lands sideways.
Fantastic video, good music. Those inductors and capacitors are just standard EMI filters, likely needed to filter out digital hash noise produced by the "USB" parts of this device; in order to pass regulatory testing (as you mentioned). Thanks for sharing, I hope all is well. Cheers from Sweden!
oh my god, the difference is screaming! how can some people not hearing it? the bass is much clear now! learned so much watching this and inspired me to try it on my AT-LP60, i know it's not the same, but this gave me some base to try it at least. If the preamp on the LP120 steals that much quality, imagine on cheaper turntables?
Great video, Craig...thanks. I removed my preamp today and I'm so glad I did. The difference in sound quality really is amazing. Like you mentioned in the video, it sounds like a serious cartridge upgrade. I left the preamp inside the housing and just neatly bundled up the wires and cables. That way I don't have to store the board and it's ready to re-connect if I ever decide to use it again. Although I don't know why I ever would now. Thanks again for the instruction and motivation.
WOW I really like the work you put into the product of this video. Your the best. Thank for Posting to RUclips. Actually the removal of the per-amp wasn't why I watch your video, it was your skill in explaining what was going on how you were going to complete this project. I hope to see more of type of videos produce by you.
Well..That is awkward..LOL..I watched every video you made about homebrewing and now I stumble, as I'm searching RUclips for vinyl videos, on your vinyl video's! LOL..Again, greetings from the Netherlands!
i'm my opinion the difference is because of the equalised sound even if the pre-amp is not turned on, i feel i like the before sound as it is correctly equalised, the after sound having excess in the high frequency range, on my headphones the sound is near to distorsion due to the excessive volume in the high frequency ranges
People upgrade their cartridges to get that more open and full frequency sound you've achieved by removing the preamp. I need to watch again to see if it's possible to disconnect the pre and leave it in the chassis. I have the earlier model without the USB analogue to digital converter. I expect this 'operation' would still apply. Thanks for this video.
There is. Just disconnect the ground shielding wire and the red, white, blue green wire coming from the tone arm. Connect these wires to your left, right RCAs and then shielding to ground.
I know this comment is old but did you end up doing the mod on your PL120? I just got one and am thinking about doing it… don’t know how just yet but I’m scouring RUclips and forums to try and figure it out
Buen vídeo amazing comparation before & after, this is my tip do not need put first the gold screw there, first you can put the case and then can put the gold screws and the last screws
Yep, much less recession on the higher frequencies. Doesn't sound too great with this particular recording because of the sibilance level. But other recordings would benefit from this modification. Apparently the LP5 turntable does a complete bypass with the internal preamp turned off, so Audio Technica must have been working on this issue, but didn't wish to rectify it on the LP120, as they wanted to push the LP5 as much as possible.
I enjoyed watching your analysis - I'm in IT, and though IT has changed to the point where most people no longer do component-level repair, it's fascinating to look at how this stuff works, and see how you traced the audio leads. It's deceptively simple, and as both a vinyl enthusiast, and retro video game console collector, that knowledge will definitely come in handy. Also, good song! I'd not heard of you before, and I don't recall ever hearing that on the radio, but I rather enjoyed it. I'm more of a metal head, but I have a soft spot for 80's and early 90's pop-rock, because the local radio station played it constantly, and that's all I heard at the pool all summer. Thanks for the video, and I will definitely have to check out more of your stuff.
Very thorough video! Sometimes peace of mind is a worthwhile "upgrade", especially when it's free. A subtle change but probably worth doing if you have the tools and know-how.
Good lookin' out! I'll eventually do this to my 120, but I'll need an outboard preamp first, and I want a grown-up's full system preamp. At the moment, all my components are run into a modern receiver, and that's fine, but it has no phono stage and no tape loop-out, both of which are things my analog gear will appreciate looking forward. Now I know that this is a really simple mod, it'll get done sooner rather than later. Thanks!
I took the preamp out...floated the turn table base from the housing...put "O" rings on the tone arm. Modded the anti-skate..Raised the platter so the tone arm is now parallel to the record.Lost the felt pad...put on a rubber mat with a deer skin cover on top of that.....got the heavier counter balance...got a scale to measure the tracking force...got a protractor and adjusted the cartridge...Leveled the stand the turn table is on and got a spindle weight with a bubble level in the middle to make sure the turn table is level... I like it now.
I was very skeptical before the video, but I actually heard the difference! The pre-amplifier circuit actually cuts the highest frequencies. I am not one of those people who IMAGINE the differences just to prove their stupid point, but this is really noticeable difference. Thank you. Now what a really interesting video would be to compare the integrated pre-amplifier and your external pre-amplifier waveforms.
That's a great comparison! Definitely better highs and "sizzle" after removing the preamp completely. I'll need to do this mod once I settle on a preamp- my new receiver does not have a phono input, so I switched to the "line" mode and found this video when I was wondering if the onboard preamp is any good.
That difference is huge! Very noticeable. I can even close my eyes and clearly hear when you switch back and forth. That little LC filter circuit is destroying the audio.
Really excellent video. I came close to picking up the AT-LP1240 turntable which is made a lot better than the 120 but also has the preamp. Can anyone else comment on other brands? Do Stanton tables have the same issue with their built-in preamps? The only new direct drive table I can think of without the preamp is the Pioneer PLX-1000 but those are at least $200 more than the 1240 and $300 more than the 120. I hope the manufacturers start offering models without the preamps, or start wiring their output differently.
Thanks very much for that analysis. I hated the sound of the pre-amp the first time I tried the turntable. I couldn't believe how bad it sounded. There must be a chronic design problem in the pre-amp. Using the pre-amp bypass switch seemed to fix the problem but according to those who removed the pre-amp, there was still a further improvement possible but I wasn't sure if it would make a significant difference. Your waveform test and audio comparison definitely shows that there is high frequency loss if the pre-amp is left connected but bypassed. Looks like I will be doing a pre-amp-ectomy!
Great video. I pulled my preamp out even before seeing your video. I was hearing an electronic "hum" that made the turntable worthless for me. After pulling the preamp the hum was gone and the overall sound was better (as the empirical evidence of your waveform comparison confirms). I absolutely recommend doing this. if you want still to grab the output for digitizing your vinyl, then there are plenty of cost effective, good quality external options that can be used. I use the Behringer analog capture gizmo thingy that can be run into your PC. At like $30 it's amazing. As for the preamp, my receiver has one onboard so I am already good there. Once again, if you hear the hum then do this fairly easy procedure for sure. If you do t hear the hum, then do it anyway and unlock the full capability of this turntable. Thanks for the great video
I've been exposed to audiophilia, and realize alot of the descriptions they give to equipment and sound is subjective. That being said, the non-preamp recording had more *AIR* , which basically means it had a slightly more extended high frequency range. I wasn't as patient as you were when I got mine. I immediately ripped that preamp out and didn't look back. Great information here.
Wow. Thanks Craig ! I've watched several others on this topic and yours is a very nice addition. Good clarity in the video!!! I especially like the before/after recordings. Huge difference :-)
ground from arm headshell i have seen on old good turntables, where they have a lead from arm chassi with a cermaic cap in series to ground lug where pickup ground also meet.This is then soldered to the ground terminal used normaly on them from the time there was no usb
It honestly sounded better with the preamp IN, but only because, as you so honestly noted in your caveat, this particular LP has a lot of treble and sibilance. It's like viewing a DVD on a 1080 or even 4K TV: because the reproduction is so good, you see the flaws so much more easily! Without a doubt the absolute best video on this topic.
IMHO, what you are really comparing is which phono preamp do you prefer. The inboard one that comes with the turntable or the outboard one that the turntable plugged into. Would have been interesting to carry this to the next level and hear you compare a second or third outboard phono preamp. In any case, great video and excellent channel!!
I agree with all of your conclusions about the lp120. That being said, many cartridges work well with the extra capacitance as they are bright in the top end. If you are hearing more high frequencies, it might get to be too grating over time. It's all a subjective thing to the listener, not necessarily a shortcoming in the turntable. I do enjoy all of your videos though mainly because you go out of your way to make things easy to understand. On another plain, I really enjoy your recording. Well done.
Thanks for the insight, I just removed the shunt capacitors & replaced inductors with 0 jumper blocks = much clearer treble, further more replaced tweeter caps in the jMax 127 speakers - more clarity. Electrolytic caps are no good in tweeter xovers, ESR attenuates treble, use metallized polypropylene caps
This is unreal, I used your how to brew beer video from ages ago and I recently got into vinyl and find you again!!! Ha :)
Negligible
You guys should go out on a date .. i guess this is you guyses song too huh lol
I've had Toneyanne Since January So far I have no problem with it.
She's still going strong.
That's a couple of drinks you owe now ;-)
Hi Craig - I’m an electronics novice but you have no idea how much I enjoyed your analysis of the phono amp circuitry - respect from Scotland 🏴- David h
Well-done, Craig. Thanks for using the scientific method, showing your hands-on technique, and honesty about the (small) difficulties involved.
I just performed this preamectomy. I did things slightly different, but it sounds great! I simply unplugged the white/red wires at the preamp. Then unsoldered the red, white, and outermost black from the mainboard. I then resoldered my new RCA cable, combining the grounds to the outermost pinout on the mainboard. I left the innermost ground from the mainboard connected to the preamp. Further, I left the preamp and the existing RCA outs in place (I effectively have two sets of RCA's exiting the unit). So, the built in preamp is dead but easily reconnected. And, those little brass rings that surround the 8 screws? A little dab of hot glue will easily keep them in place during reassembly. Thanks for the great video!
I just did the preamp-otomy this morning, after 1year of owning the 120. I'm more than satisfied with the result and wanted to say thanks, it was your video that convinced me to do it.
I did this project with my turntable of this make and model two years ago. I did it on pure faith that it was the right thing to do because since I had no use of doing U.S.B. transfers, any signal going through extra circuitry would produce some sort of resistance in the overall signal. (At least that was my way of thinking). Thanks to your extra effort Craig, I can rest easy that I KNOW I did the right thing, because the result to my ears is the same. The recording without the u.s.b. circuitry, sounds clearer, and more ALIVE, and that's what it's all about when listening to artists. A listener has feel their words as well, and unfiltered clarity helps make it happen. (at least with me it does! ) THANKS AGAIN, CRAIG!
Just pulled the pre-amp out of my AT-120 and it's a HUGE difference!! Well worth the time!! Thanks for posting this vid Craig!! BTW.....you can put the little spacers back in AFTER you sit the the back on the body of the turntable. They will fall right down into the little holes. They are basically spacers to keep the heads of the screws from breaking out the plastic when you tighten them down.
Richer, brighter more defined and complete. Without the preamble work I would have assumed a compressed recording in the before. BTW, nice work on your recording. Stands up well. Kudos
Oy, that is indeed a noticeable difference! Huge difference for those cymbals! They suddenly jump into action and were muffled before. Thanks for the modification demo and the video!
“vinyl is final” I FUCKING LOVE IT DUDE!!! your explanations are unmatched compared to other channels!!!!
I found the easy way of doing those washers was to leave them out, put the bottom cover back on and then put a round toothpick into the screw holes, one by one. Then drop the washer onto the toothpick, it slides down and gets perfectly centered on the hole. Remove the toothpick and it falls down the rest of the way. Then install the screws. Also, you could remove them that way -- with the bottom cover still in place -- if you could get something to wedge into them and pull them out. Unfortunately they are non-ferrous or you could use a magnet. Maybe a fatter toothpick. That way they don't scatter when you take the bottom cover off. I didn't know this when I bypassed the preamp in the one I did and I permanently lost one when I disassembled it. Keeping fingers crossed that it's not inside the turntable waiting to short something!
Hey man. I heard a big difference. The audio with out the pre-amp is brighter in sound. Definitely having more high tone. Where the pre-amp sound lost it and was more midrange sounding. Thanks for the video. Just might do this to mine after the warranty goes out. Buy the way. I've watch 7 of your video's in a row. I like what ya have to say. What you said in your video, "Why Vinyl" I totally agree with ya. Listening to music like we did when we were kids was an event. Something to savor as we listened to the albums. Kids today just don't get it. I to have just gotten back into vinyl. Started out buying a new turntable and a high end cartage and stylus. Up graded to a better feet for it. An album weight. Better wires and connectors all across my system. I'll say this. Half the fun of listening to vinyl is the work going into setting it up to listen. Thank for all you do out here for us old farts.....LOL I'm 61. Bought my first album when I was 11 or 12. Yes Fragile. Classic..... PS, I'm a big RUSH fan a well. Peace and love, Kevin
I did the same thing on mine. When I purchased the AT-LP120, it was to be used as a second turntable alongside my vintage Yamah YP-B2 TT. If I didn't have anything to compare it to, I'd think it sounded fine. But the difference between the two was night and day. My Yamaha sounded bright and full of life, while the AT sounded muffled. Put it through surgery, and now they both sound fantastic. Totally worth the hassle! Great video. Yours was the best I've seen showing the before and after.
I was going to start my day with the dampening mechanism repair, but now I'm thinking of finally removing the preamp (same TT) as I've been considering it and your video takes out ALL the mystery. Thanks for you!
Noticeable difference, I prefer nonetheless the 'before' version, but it might be from my headset. You are doing a fantastic job, by the way! And the song is amazing!
Great video!! Even my 72 year old ears were disappointed each time you switched back to BEFORE. Using older iPad Pro, Bluetoothed to new RAYCOM Everyday Earbuds, set to “Balanced Sound”. Impressed how much I still like the sound of vinyl, (and your recording). I owned an AudioTechnica like yours, without the vertical adjustment, I think it was $139, with the Shure cartridge, from Heads Together in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, circa 1972, same day I bought the newly-released LedZep 4 ZOSO!. Thanks, Craig!
Nice one! Just did the LP120-USB surgery today, having followed your very clear and precise directions... Total success, and the difference is very noticeable! That annoying 'noise gate' that the built-in pre-amp has is gone, and the overall sound is much cleaner, with better and more extended treble, and a more defined bass. :-) Many thanks for your excellent video! As a tutorial, it's the best on RUclips..! :-)
Thanks for finally talking me into being brave enough to finally commit to doing this. The song and performance was impressive and a great time capsule .
Just performed this mod as explained in the video. I left the preamp inside and coiled the wire in there. Took a risk with the soldering but managed to do it without issue :)
All i can say is... if you have one of these decks, you MUST do this mod as the internal pre-amp phono out is garbage. I'm playing this direct through a rega phono mini and it sounds amazing now, the frequency range is much more expansive.
Great video. well explained and gave me the confidence to try it myself.
I can’t decide if I’m more impressed by the video or that song! Great music man! I think I may take mine out now as well. I closed my eyes and could guess every time which parts of the song were with or without the pre-amp. Great job!
Well I did the gutting of the pre amp and can say without a doubt that this was the best thing I did to improve the sound hands down. It brought the 95 cartridge to life outstanding!!
Finally, a video where I could actually tell the difference! I might actually get this now as a second turntable. I was considering it before, but then I went for a heavily discounted Music Hall mmf-2.2 that went for a little over $100, but was completely new. Although I love the Music Hall, I'd really like to be able to swap cartridges without having to perform minor surgery, and I'd also like to be able to use carts that others seem to be able to use without searching for a compatible counterweight. And don't even get me started on the fishing plumb anti-skate weight...
It sounds a lot better after the removal of the preamplifier. The change brought dramatic improvement of sound. Great blog. Regards.
just did this today on a sunny day, it is indeed a big difference, much clearer now, try this test, record the sound with your iphone, i know, not the best device to do this with but still, trust me, you WILL hear the difference! I did the test with "Hell to the liars" from London Grammar and some other from Steve miller band. With london grammar , as soon as she begins to sing the difference is noticable even through the microphone of my iphone , put on headset and listen to both recordings, you will be amazed.I went the same route as Craig did, complete removal of the preamp, i reused the preamps ground and simply extended it, i also used the same original audio cable simply soldered directly to the board. Be sure the included the extra ground wire as it reduces noise( Hum ). Thanks for this detailed video Craig, you made my day(s) :-)
Many thanks for this video. Although I'm currently more worried about motor noise on my LP120 than its preamp behaviour, it's good to see an objective analysis of the preamp/cartridge wiring. If only we could find the manufacturer's schematics, it would save us all a lot of time!
However, I'd like to see a couple of extra things investigated:
(a) What are the actual values of the inductor and capacitor low-pass filter on the outputs - it's possible they are extremely small, intended only to affect radio frequencies, in which case it's possible there's some other reason for your observed results; and
(b) As the cartridge is still - as far as I can tell - connected in parallel with the internal preamp's input when switched to 'cartridge-only' output, what is the loading effect of the internal preamp's input impedance on the cartridge output? I suspect that this might be the primary reason for the lower amplitude and possibly loss of treble.
Could you possibly check these values and connections on the preamp board that you've extracted?
WOW! That really made a HUGE difference, for me at least the sound is a lot richer and way more comes through. Amazing to hear this.
Hi Craig, I've just seen your video. Your hint about the capacitors and coils at the output of the signal was really helpful for me. I didn't remove the preamp. I soldered a thin cable bridge from before the coil to after the capacitors for each channel. This short circuit around the output filter has the same effect but the USB remains active and can still be used.
Thank you! You understand what you are doing and you've proven that bypassing the preamp does improve treble performance - improved transient response. I have to wonder if removing the LC network on the preamp / USB board might have done much the same - possibly a third test which would also determine how much digital noise is coming through.
Amazing just amazing. I just did this mod and I'm hearing a more detailed sound the highs are scary good with my ortofon 2m blue cart. and the dynamics are better plus bass is tighter as well. Thank you so much Vinyl TV!!
I did this mod and added an ART DJPRE II and I can hear a difference mostly in the high end. It seems crisper and doesn't have that high end digital distortion I was hearing before. For reference, I was running with the ATLP120s pre through a Bose 321 and rehearsal studio PA with powered Mackie speakers. I know this isn't an audiophile setup, but I thought I would share my experience. The mod was very easy by the way.
Thank you, this video saved me time and helped me to decide. I use a tube phono preamp and a tube amplifier driving Klipsch Cornwalls. The difference between before and after is incredible.
I can even hear the improvement even with my 71 year old ears and through any compression that you tube causes. Great demonstration and to add I love that song and looked ti find it on you tube. Wonderful music I use a vintage high end Pioneer turntable with no electronics inside and use a Sure M97xE cartridge.
Wow, I was expecting this to be one of those videos where I needed to hook it up to my sound system to hear any difference. The improvement is clear like night and day even through my built in computer speakers.
Well done Craig! After being "fixed", it sounds fuller, even on an iPhone 6+. Nice singing sir!!!
I never really believed in certain Audio Equipment hacks/modification (extremely expensive speaker cable, thousand dollar audio connects, upgraded ceramic fuses (still on the fence on this one), etc., until now. My skeptical ears have been convinced that this modification really improved/s the vinyl dynamics. I will try this modification myself. Also, nice song. Thanks for your video, you are an inspiration to the audio community.
So I did this mod thanks to your video. I did use the original RCA cable. HOOOOOLY SHMOAKIES, what an improvement!! Attack, transients, pads and tails, oh my! Just more life and clarity. Concretes my decision to move from the 2MRed to Blue (or comparable) soon. In the meantime I saw a video by someone who, based on his content and rude remark to a valid comment/question I left, made me appreciate Vinyl TV even more than I already had. Thanks for what you do and how you do it, good man.
I bought this turntable just this week...I heard about the bypassing...your explanation rocks and in deed, you can hear the difference, at least with the external speakers in my iMac - greetings from Costa Rica and by the way, I loved your 45!
Ive looked at a handful of videos on how to perform this mod but yours is by far the most informative by a long shot. Ive now modded mine and very please I did. Thanks :)
Thank's for a great tutorial.I have this turntable, and i have been happy with it for 5 year's, since new. The was certainly an improvement over 4 KHz.
Hi Craig, What a song, Music & Recording - oh, so many Hidden Gems in this world. Thank You Very Much.
I just bought mine 3 days ago and found this video...I live in Puerto Rico and there are not many electronics stores around anymore so I might have to do this myself (I'm not an electrician...but a software developer)...can't wait to do it.
I have been a DJ since way back and now i am getting back into it, i just ordered those turntables so i won't be able to say anything yet but i am sure that the pre-amp is for the USB side. Your gonna need it when plugging it up into the PC. The only bad that i see everyone is complaining about are the jacks. My gemini PT-2000 have the same cables on it and have had no issues.
I really appreciate this vid. I was tossing up whether to rip the pre out of mine and have now done so. Those having trouble identifying the difference, focus on the snare; that's what swung me. Again, thanks.
Not only on snares. I think the final result will greatlly depend on your loudspeakers performance.
Great video. After remove the pre-amp, the sound is more cleaner, sharper and has more high tones.
Thanks for shooting this video, it was very informative and really appreciated you showing the actual signal paths in such detail. Now I know exactly what is going on inside mine! Your audio comparison at the end solidified my decision to mod mine. I was wondering if the filter cut the levels as well as frequency response, but your test showed it doesn't which is good to know. I think you made the correct decision to bypass the circuit completely. You could've pulled the chip caps and inductors, but the switch would have remained in-circuit, possibly leading to crosstalk or attenuation due to contact oxidation. Well done!
I removed my preamp today following the way you did it and it works great! I still notice a slight motor sound though. I'm working on a fix for that...Thanks! BTW...you don't have to tape the spacers...I just threaded them through the screws and dropped them in the holes...
Los audiofilos buscamos el total de los sonidos y este filtro LC lo limita, para todos aquellos que tenemos un POWER con entrada Phone con EQ RIAA no es necesario este filtrado que lo limita en las frecuencias altas, gracias por este detalle tecnico 😎🙋
Just did this upgrade, tremendous difference! Turn table sounds high end now even with original cartridge. Had a few issue though. First attempt, used quality shielded cables. Tied each cable ground to the board and a separate ground for my preamp. Had an unacceptable hum i could not get rid of. Discovered in was my "quality" cable. Installed another good cable and had much better results. Also grounded both wires to single solder point on board on the board from the tonearm. Still had small hum. Used larger gauge wire on the dedicated ground wire and discovered it made a significant difference. Hum is now nearly non existent. This is great because i had a fair hum even before this upgrade. So I upgraded my sound quality, and all but eliminated my hum.
The difference going from 'after' to 'before' reminds me of when i switched on Dolby B noise reduction on my cassette deck when listening to a pre-recorded tape back in the 90s.
Hey Craig this is very informative thank you, I need to do the same to mine the hum is dreadful after playing Janis Ian earlier all I wanted to do was chuck it out the window and buy something else so I guess tomorrow I will get my tools out. Thanks again for taking the time to make this his video and I preferred your record after the removal. Regards Peter from the UK
Always a good idea to remove anything from the signal line that is not really required. The cartridge is now probably seeing the correct loading and that will make a difference. I only use passive filter vacuum tube RIAA pre-amplifiers as they seem to sound the best. I have really tried hard to find a solid state circuit to remove the necessity for high voltage power supplies and current hungry tubes but to no avail. The tube circuits win every time, delivering a perfect RIAA characteristic and at the same time sounding just that bit better. Cannot understand it, perhaps it is down to the capacitance difference in solid state devices but anyway, I recommend you look into building a tube RIAA to complement the change you have made to the cartridge wiring. A very well done tutorial video - first class!
Yes I did notice. Without preamp it sounds more fuller, brighter. With preamp sounds a little muffled.
Great video and nice song.
I have a new LP120xUSB. I opened it up and they have changed the circuit board. I was able to trace the circuit. I found the capacitors and coils. It's a relatively easy bypass. The capacitors (C680, C623) under a little bit of pressure from needle-nose pliers crumbles and breaks the circuit. The really isn't a need to remove the capacitor and run the risk of damaging the circuit. For the Inductors (L601,L602) I jumped across the inductor to the top of the RCA terminal. Wish I could post pictures. Sounds much better.
It is never too much to say again and again "nice work Craig". You pick my attention and made me disassemble my Stanton T120c turntable to find out i had exactlly the same issue. But i will leave all routing as is and add a new one directlly from the tonearm cabling to 2 new RCA panel plugs + ground connector. Thank you for your research.
Sir, I am greatly impressed. Audio selection, your methods, and your explanation of all goings on. I'd love to hang out with you honestly.
I just performed this process myself following this video. However, since mine is still very much under warranty, I decided to unsolder the wires of the pre-amp and disconnect it. I left the wires neatly tucked inside, except for the RCA, which I just wrapped neatly with a strap. I don't care if I have an extra set of wires coming out of the equipment. However, I want to comment on the spacers...you really do not need to tape them or hold them in place like you did. I figured out that they go right through the screw holes (it's hard to explain), which means when you lift the bottom cover up, they just slide. Just in case someone is doing this same process, all you have to do is just close the bottom cover nice and then slide the spacers in, and finally the screws. The spaces will just slide in place as expected. You might need a kebob skewer or something similar to accommodate any spacer that lands sideways.
Fantastic video, good music. Those inductors and capacitors are just standard EMI filters, likely needed to filter out digital hash noise produced by the "USB" parts of this device; in order to pass regulatory testing (as you mentioned). Thanks for sharing, I hope all is well. Cheers from Sweden!
Forgot to add, I enjoyed your composition! That’s so cool! I see all sorts of videos having to mute the playback cause of ©️... not everyday you see a DIY video backed by the guy in the video, and via LP at that!
oh my god, the difference is screaming! how can some people not hearing it? the bass is much clear now! learned so much watching this and inspired me to try it on my AT-LP60, i know it's not the same, but this gave me some base to try it at least. If the preamp on the LP120 steals that much quality, imagine on cheaper turntables?
Great video, Craig...thanks. I removed my preamp today and I'm so glad I did. The difference in sound quality really is amazing. Like you mentioned in the video, it sounds like a serious cartridge upgrade. I left the preamp inside the housing and just neatly bundled up the wires and cables. That way I don't have to store the board and it's ready to re-connect if I ever decide to use it again. Although I don't know why I ever would now. Thanks again for the instruction and motivation.
WOW I really like the work you put into the product of this video. Your the best. Thank for Posting to RUclips. Actually the removal of the per-amp wasn't why I watch your video, it was your skill in explaining what was going on how you were going to complete this project. I hope to see more of type of videos produce by you.
Saw this video and did this as well, and made a comparison video. Yall should come watch it. The difference is night and day. Thanks Craig!!!
Well..That is awkward..LOL..I watched every video you made about homebrewing and now I stumble, as I'm searching RUclips for vinyl videos, on your vinyl video's! LOL..Again, greetings from the Netherlands!
Wow! What a difference the mod makes. The music came alive.
i'm my opinion the difference is because of the equalised sound even if the pre-amp is not turned on, i feel i like the before sound as it is correctly equalised, the after sound having excess in the high frequency range, on my headphones the sound is near to distorsion due to the excessive volume in the high frequency ranges
People upgrade their cartridges to get that more open and full frequency sound you've achieved by removing the preamp. I need to watch again to see if it's possible to disconnect the pre and leave it in the chassis. I have the earlier model without the USB analogue to digital converter. I expect this 'operation' would still apply. Thanks for this video.
There is. Just disconnect the ground shielding wire and the red, white, blue green wire coming from the tone arm. Connect these wires to your left, right RCAs and then shielding to ground.
I know this comment is old but did you end up doing the mod on your PL120? I just got one and am thinking about doing it… don’t know how just yet but I’m scouring RUclips and forums to try and figure it out
Good timing as I was just looking for a AT LP120 without the usb bits and bobs
Thanks Craig, just did the surgery and so so so much better, great video. Please keep posting videos. Please.
Buen vídeo amazing comparation before & after, this is my tip do not need put first the gold screw there, first you can put the case and then can put the gold screws and the last screws
Definitely there is a big difference! I'll remove the preamp today! Thank you for the awesome demonstration and great song!!!!!
Yep, much less recession on the higher frequencies. Doesn't sound too great with this particular recording because of the sibilance level. But other recordings would benefit from this modification. Apparently the LP5 turntable does a complete bypass with the internal preamp turned off, so Audio Technica must have been working on this issue, but didn't wish to rectify it on the LP120, as they wanted to push the LP5 as much as possible.
I enjoyed watching your analysis - I'm in IT, and though IT has changed to the point where most people no longer do component-level repair, it's fascinating to look at how this stuff works, and see how you traced the audio leads. It's deceptively simple, and as both a vinyl enthusiast, and retro video game console collector, that knowledge will definitely come in handy. Also, good song! I'd not heard of you before, and I don't recall ever hearing that on the radio, but I rather enjoyed it. I'm more of a metal head, but I have a soft spot for 80's and early 90's pop-rock, because the local radio station played it constantly, and that's all I heard at the pool all summer. Thanks for the video, and I will definitely have to check out more of your stuff.
It is definitely brighter (more high-freq energy post-op) :).
Thanks, Craig! Great video, I'm going to mod mine too.
Very thorough video! Sometimes peace of mind is a worthwhile "upgrade", especially when it's free. A subtle change but probably worth doing if you have the tools and know-how.
I took my pre-amp out. Same setup. The hum on my Grado Black is less, and it does sound better. Thank you.
Wow, that was a great tutorial video. Yes I can truly hear the diff. It sounded clear and unmuffled. Made that $250.00 turntable sound great !👋😎👍
Good lookin' out! I'll eventually do this to my 120, but I'll need an outboard preamp first, and I want a grown-up's full system preamp. At the moment, all my components are run into a modern receiver, and that's fine, but it has no phono stage and no tape loop-out, both of which are things my analog gear will appreciate looking forward. Now I know that this is a really simple mod, it'll get done sooner rather than later. Thanks!
It become brighter after you removed that preamp.But the music is really good!Thanks for that.I might have to order one of your records!Cheers, Craig
I took the preamp out...floated the turn table base from the housing...put "O" rings on the tone arm. Modded the anti-skate..Raised the platter so the tone arm is now parallel to the record.Lost the felt pad...put on a rubber mat with a deer skin cover on top of that.....got the heavier counter balance...got a scale to measure the tracking force...got a protractor and adjusted the cartridge...Leveled the stand the turn table is on and got a spindle weight with a bubble level in the middle to make sure the turn table is level... I like it now.
I was very skeptical before the video, but I actually heard the difference! The pre-amplifier circuit actually cuts the highest frequencies. I am not one of those people who IMAGINE the differences just to prove their stupid point, but this is really noticeable difference. Thank you.
Now what a really interesting video would be to compare the integrated pre-amplifier and your external pre-amplifier waveforms.
That's a great comparison! Definitely better highs and "sizzle" after removing the preamp completely. I'll need to do this mod once I settle on a preamp- my new receiver does not have a phono input, so I switched to the "line" mode and found this video when I was wondering if the onboard preamp is any good.
Thanks Mr.Craig! Your detailed analysis inspire me to do the same for my AT LP 120 and it is sound great with Schiit Mani.
That difference is huge! Very noticeable. I can even close my eyes and clearly hear when you switch back and forth. That little LC filter circuit is destroying the audio.
Really excellent video. I came close to picking up the AT-LP1240 turntable which is made a lot better than the 120 but also has the preamp. Can anyone else comment on other brands? Do Stanton tables have the same issue with their built-in preamps? The only new direct drive table I can think of without the preamp is the Pioneer PLX-1000 but those are at least $200 more than the 1240 and $300 more than the 120. I hope the manufacturers start offering models without the preamps, or start wiring their output differently.
Looks like this is definitely the way to go, *IF* you don't want to use the internal preamp. The difference sticks out like a sore thumb.
Thanks very much for that analysis. I hated the sound of the pre-amp the first time I tried the turntable. I couldn't believe how bad it sounded. There must be a chronic design problem in the pre-amp. Using the pre-amp bypass switch seemed to fix the problem but according to those who removed the pre-amp, there was still a further improvement possible but I wasn't sure if it would make a significant difference. Your waveform test and audio comparison definitely shows that there is high frequency loss if the pre-amp is left connected but bypassed. Looks like I will be doing a pre-amp-ectomy!
Great video. I pulled my preamp out even before seeing your video. I was hearing an electronic "hum" that made the turntable worthless for me. After pulling the preamp the hum was gone and the overall sound was better (as the empirical evidence of your waveform comparison confirms). I absolutely recommend doing this. if you want still to grab the output for digitizing your vinyl, then there are plenty of cost effective, good quality external options that can be used. I use the Behringer analog capture gizmo thingy that can be run into your PC. At like $30 it's amazing. As for the preamp, my receiver has one onboard so I am already good there. Once again, if you hear the hum then do this fairly easy procedure for sure. If you do t hear the hum, then do it anyway and unlock the full capability of this turntable. Thanks for the great video
I've been exposed to audiophilia, and realize alot of the descriptions they give to equipment and sound is subjective. That being said, the non-preamp recording had more *AIR* , which basically means it had a slightly more extended high frequency range. I wasn't as patient as you were when I got mine. I immediately ripped that preamp out and didn't look back. Great information here.
Wow. Thanks Craig !
I've watched several others on this topic and yours is a very nice addition. Good clarity in the video!!!
I especially like the before/after recordings. Huge difference :-)
The vocals actually rise above the rhythm section in the after part, too!
ground from arm headshell i have seen on old good turntables, where they have a lead from arm chassi with a cermaic cap in series to ground lug where pickup ground also meet.This is then soldered to the ground terminal used normaly on them from the time there was no usb
That was a bigger difference than I expected too. thanks for the vid
It honestly sounded better with the preamp IN, but only because, as you so honestly noted in your caveat, this particular LP has a lot of treble and sibilance. It's like viewing a DVD on a 1080 or even 4K TV: because the reproduction is so good, you see the flaws so much more easily! Without a doubt the absolute best video on this topic.
After definitely sounds better - the song breathes better and doesn't sound like it's recorded in a shoe box. Nice job.
IMHO, what you are really comparing is which phono preamp do you prefer. The inboard one that comes with the turntable or the outboard one that the turntable plugged into. Would have been interesting to carry this to the next level and hear you compare a second or third outboard phono preamp. In any case, great video and excellent channel!!
The wonders of the channels on RUclips ! Audio Technica needs a true bypass circuit .
I agree with all of your conclusions about the lp120. That being said, many cartridges work well with the extra capacitance as they are bright in the top end. If you are hearing more high frequencies, it might get to be too grating over time. It's all a subjective thing to the listener, not necessarily a shortcoming in the turntable. I do enjoy all of your videos though mainly because you go out of your way to make things easy to understand. On another plain, I really enjoy your recording. Well done.
Before sound better, more natural and easy to the ears.
Thanks for the insight, I just removed the shunt capacitors & replaced inductors with 0 jumper blocks = much clearer treble, further more replaced tweeter caps in the jMax 127 speakers - more clarity. Electrolytic caps are no good in tweeter xovers, ESR attenuates treble, use metallized polypropylene caps
Without the preamp it sounds better. That is an excellent recording by you.