Recommended Pre-Amp for iRiver HP-120

[Capt_Lou]

I have made tests recording a CD through speakers using the Reactive Sounds Boost Box as a pre-amp with the iriver HP-120 recording gain at 0. This does not seem to produce a noticeably less noisy recording than just using the internal preamp even if the internal pre-amp needs to be set above +40 to get a good signal. Quiet passages seem to be about equally noisy using both setups.

Does anyone have suggestions for a quieter external preamp? I would prefer one that isn't too large, can go at least 4 hours on a set of batteries, and doesn't cost much over $300. Ones that can be obtained used for around $300 are fine.

[Llorean]

You might have better luck with forums dedicated to this sort of thing. These forums are really dedicate to the Rockbox software and the hardware that runs it, while this question is more appropriate to the issue of preamps in general, independent of Rockbox.

[Capt_Lou]

My mistake, Llorean. I'm new to this sort of thing. I understand your point.

[goatfarmer]

Go to the www.taperssection.com forums and check out the preamp forum in particular.

[petur]

Go to the www.taperssection.com forums and check out the preamp forum in particular.

Yes, and then buy the ST-9100 pre-amp from Chris Church (church-audio, taperssection user who sells mics and pre-amps he makes himself, has an e-bay shop). I can really recommend his pre-amp and cardoid mics, they're fantastic. Many on taperssection will agree

[Capt_Lou]

Thanks, petur. Will order one today. I have his tiny battery box and it is a fantastic product.

[petur]

You could of course also go the optical way

[Capt_Lou]

Thanks for your advice, petur. It is greatly appreciated.

For now, the ST-9100 would be much more versatile for me, as I also record with a Hi-MD recorder that doesn't have an optical in.

In the future, if I see a good price on a used SBM-1, MIC2496, or AD-20 I may pick one of those up as well for my iHP-120.