PP-3 Digital Phono Preamplifier
Details
LP to HD
NAD’s PP-3 combines the award winning PP-2 MM/MC Phono Preamp with a high quality Analogue-to-
Digital converter with USB interface. Utilizing VinylStudio™ Lite PC Software (CD included) copy your LPs
directly to a PC as either .wav or .mp3 files. Once your analogue LPs are digitized, the music can be burned
onto CD-Rs or transferred to portable music players. The PP-3 also includes the same analog outputs as the
PP-2 for connection to an analogue stereo system.
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING
The PP-3 phono preamp consists of a low noise discrete MC preamp followed by a low noise opamp-based
RIAA MM stage incorporating a 12dB /octave infrasonic filter to attenuate turntable “rumble” noise. The
output feeds the Line Output as well as the soft clipped input of an A/D converter with USB Output. This can
be connected to any PC for recording from vinyl disc to PC hard drive.
MC/MM PHONO STAGE
The moving coil preamp is a 4 transistor low distortion amplifier noise-optimised for the very low source
impedance of moving coil cartridges. It uses ultra-low intrinsic base resistance transistors and operates
two of them in parallel push-pull for a further 3dB lowering of input noise. Its input noise is typically 60nV, or
78dB below 0.5mV (RIAA and A weighted). It has a gain of 15 times or 24dB bringing the lowest output MC
cartridges up to MM level. The input impedance is 100 ohms in parallel with 180pF.
The Moving magnet preamp section uses a low noise low distortion opamp with RIAA equalisation and
infrasonic filter in the feedback network. The gain at 1k is 35.2dB, or 287mV out for 5mV in with 23dB
overload margin and the frequency response is accurate within +/- 0.3dB 50Hz-20kHz, +/- 1dB 20-50Hz.
The infrasonic filter has -3dB point at 10Hz and is 14dB down at 5Hz. The input noise with IHF cartridge
source is 0.75uV or 76dB S/N re 5mV (RIAA and A weighted as per IHF202.)
DIGITAL STAGE
The output of the phono preamp is attenuated, further low pass filtered and fed to the input of the A/D
converter. A Soft Clipping circuit is employed to prevent overdriving the A/D converter. The MM preamp
has a 100dB dynamic range and the A/D converter 89dB allowing NAD to optimise the gain for best signal
to noise and lowest distortion. The A/D converter has a sampling frequency of 48kHz for USB compatibility
and a THD of only 0.01% at 100% FS.
POWER SUPPLY
By increasing the power supply voltage from 15 volts to 24 volts, we have improved overload margins and
enhanced musical dynamics. This supply delivers raw DC to the PP-3. Internal circuitry has a precision low
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