Peter Sampson
April 8, 2008

Rating: 10/10

Looks very well constructed in a robust aluminium housing. I chose it at twice the price over a competitor product for a number additional features:
1) It has a grounding post
2) it has a gain control - with a useful hard-clipping indicator
3) two input seetings 100pf and 200pf
4) it also has a switchable low cut filter - which I probably shan't use as I don't seem to get rumble from my turntable
Donwside:
1) The RCA terminals are not gold-plated - I would have preferred gold plated terminals.

I have tested this so far on several records - intial impressions are that it gives a nice detailed sound, a good stable stero image.

I am very impressed with the performance of this little pre-amp - and it has reduced the clutter on my desktop.

I am glad that I bought one with a gain control to control the output signal. The gain control combined with a hard-clipping indicator - green when all is ok and goes red when hard-clipping occurs - enables me to set the siganl at optimal level without hard-clipping.

I'm also glad that I bought one with a hardware post for grounding the ground lead from my turntable - I tested it without grounding and there is a definite noticeable hum.

The only real downside for me is that the transformer for the power supply is integrated into an oversize mains plug (like phone and iPod chargers). This means it takes up two slots on my 8-way multi-drop - but this is, of course, only a minor annoyance.

A great little piece of kit - does its job well - and is worth the money.

Paulo Nunes
March 16, 2007

Rating: 8/10

I've bought this unit to connect my technics to an AMP without phono input. Very good quality (no noise whatsoever) and configurations (capacitance, gain, subfilter).

Much better than my phono input of my other AMP (AV AMP) that costed 700£. It's also very nice looking and a very good way to record vinyl on PC.

Ben Armstrong
July 28, 2006

Rating: 10/10

I've been looking for sometime now deciding "What to do about my deck?". I own a single (ahh) Technics 1200 turntable which I use for sampling and restoration projects.

Previously, for a pre amp I had been using a middle of the road DJ mixer on an individual channel which I then DI straight into my Mackie 24:4. This whole system has got me by, but there was plenty of room for improvement which is how the whole story begins.

I visited a whole host of audio sites together with hifi sites where they had items from around £300.00 upwards (and boy do they go upwards!!) I didn't have the biggest budget in the world and yet I still wanted 95% of the features that were on some of the highly renowned makes and models of pre amps.

After emptying the last moth from my wallet, I found I had £50 (maximum) to spend. With this in mind, I then thought "ok, it's gonna have to be a cheap DJ mixer job". I searched high and low and the price went higher and higher and higher and before I knew it, I was planning on buying a couple of abstract party lights ( Don't ask, I don't even know why myself!) and a KAM mixer (that was not even as good as the existing one I wanted to replace).

After that close shave, I took a break from the web and thought about it more. All I needed was a pre amp. Nothing more, nothing less. I had imperfection removal tools on my workstation so I had no need to save for a swankey £2,000 model that was built by Mr Yang in his penthouse in LA, that had a built in Noise Crusher that will instantly turn the sound of your old 1952 single into a stunning un-destinguishable Super DVD Audio sound. On the other hand I did not want to spend over the odds on a mixer that did way too much, as I will only ever use one stereo channel.

As you can see this hole thing was turning into a bit of a brain frying experience. I racked my brain to see where else I could turn and it srtuck me. DOLPHIN!!! They have never failed me with a solution yet, so this was a chance for me to put them to the test.

I scanned around the site and saw some things that I could use (but were not in the price range) and then, the most amazing thing happened. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a picture of what seemed to be the solution to my problem.
It was the ART Deejay PRE 2.

I clicked franticly for more details and it just got better. It was the size of your average DI Box, it's mains powered, not only does it have a defeatable rumble filter but ALSO an adjustable input gain! I refreshed the page (just to make sure this was not a joke or mind trick) and there it was, clear as crystal. To make things even better It was well within my budget.

I immediately placed the order with Dolphin music and waited for the post.

When the ART DeeJay PRE 2 turned up, I immediately ripped open the packaging, sat it on my console space and examined it. The first thing that struck me was that it is layed out so well and everything is clearly marked. Their logo and writing don't look out of place (the site picture made me think it would dominate the item a bit, but fear not). The buttons are easy to opperate and feel like they will see you out by long way. Now with electronics at this price, I tend to find that companies will try and gain any losses by using a cheap pot (knob) for things like the input gain control. Again, ART have excelled themselves. The pot feels like it will last for quite a time and not seize up after a year or two. I connected the turntable to the input and fed the out straight into the line in on my desk ( I didn't want to have any Mackie influence on the sound). Again, even when connecting rca cables on "budget" items, the mounting can seem insufficiant and the mounting board will boe in with the slightest pressure. NOT HERE!!!! Solid As A Rock!!!!!

I powered up the unit and was immediately stunned by a big blue power LED. You have no worries wondering if it is on at all, it shines (like a light from heaven!). I'm sure it will double up as a cute night light for little Jonnie (if and when he arrives). The turntable was already powered up and loaded with a nice Dire Straights number (Romeo & Juliet to be precise) and so I un-muted the desk and let the music play. After a couple of fine tunes with the gain (on the unit), I had the perfect sound. You can hear everything! All the highs and the lows and bought out things I had never heard on the vinyl recording before. So I tried another and another and another and another..........

I'm now rediscovering some old favorites all over again. THANKS ART!!!

So in conclusion, this unit is very very good value for money. It's easy to use, sounds great and you can use it in a Pro situation ( Studio and restoration for example) or on any audio/ Hi-Fi system with a stereo RCA (Red and White Phono Plug) Auxilary input. If I had to (and I Mean HAD TO) give any bad points, I couldn't. All could do would be to suggest one minor detail which is a power button. That LED is very bright and the only way to turn it off is by disconnecting the mains supply. This however, is a minor detail and pulling out a plug ain't so hard is it?.

If you have a turntable but no means to plug it into your setup, this magic box is a God send at a stunningly low price. THANK YOU ART and THANK YOU DOLPHIN.

Stuart Atkins
June 23, 2006

Rating: 7/10

Do not believe the specification on the website! It doesn't quite do what it says on the tin - like the A&R man who promised to turn up at your last gig, the 1/4 inch stereo jack output has inexplicably failed to make an appearance on the DeeJay Pre 2. Only RCA outputs are provided so you need conversion to plug into anything that doesn't have RCA inputs. On the plus side, the price is right - silly, almost - and it's much cheaper than buying a DJ mixer or hi-fi amp if you only need the RIAA preamp. Better still, if you already have good A/D converters then the combination of this unit plus your own A/D will probably be better than the ART USB Phono Plus for digitising vinyl as the converters on that unit are not the highest spec I've seen. Should we believe the spec though? Hmmm. 7 out of 10 for misinformation, otherwise a 9 would have been more like it for this excellent product.

Stuart Atkins
June 23, 2006

Rating: 7/10

Do not believe the specification on the website! It doesn't quite do what it says on the tin - like the A&R man who promised to turn up at your last gig, the 1/4 inch stereo jack output has inexplicably failed to make an appearance on the DeeJay Pre 2. Only RCA outputs are provided so you need conversion to plug into anything that doesn't have RCA inputs. On the plus side, the price is right - silly, almost - and it's much cheaper than buying a DJ mixer or hi-fi amp if you only need the RIAA preamp. Better still, if you already have good A/D converters then the combination of this unit plus your own A/D will probably be better than the ART USB Phono Plus for digitising vinyl as the converters on that unit are not the highest spec I've seen. Should we believe the spec though? Hmmm. 7 out of 10 for misinformation, otherwise a 9 would have been more like it for this excellent product.