Introduction

With vinyl experiencing such an incredible comeback over the past few years, so have phono preamplifiers, a.k.a., phono stages. They are required because the output of a phono cartridge is so low - on the order of 0.3 mV to 5 mV - that the inputs of preamplifiers that don't have phono stages can't amplify the signal enough for the power amplifier down stream. Mass market receivers still have phono stages (they never really went away), but high end two-channel preamplifiers tend only to offer the phono stage as an optional card that would be installed at the factory. For the preamplifier that does not offer that option, an outboard phono preamplifier is the answer, and there are plenty of them out there to choose from. The current review is on the Bryston BP-1.5, which is a solid state phono preamplifier that handles both MM and MC cartridges.

Although the BP-1.5 is an outboard preamp, it requires a separate power supply, the MPS-2. Fortunately, the MPS-2 has several output connections that will supply power to more than one Bryston product, such as the BP-26 preamplifier.