A Phono Preamp is a single-purpose unit for use with a turntable.

If we look at the way electronic signals work, a turntable produces a different type of signal to any other source component. As a result, unless your amplifier has a separate turntable (“phono”) input,  you can’t connect a turntable to it.

This is Bad News if you decide to buy a turntable. Suddenly you can’t connect it.

The solution is to either buy a brand new amp with a phono stage, or you can buy a separate one. In this case, it sits between your turntable and main amplifier, and it boosts up the turntable’s signal to a suitable level for the main amplifier.

Some recently-manufactured turntables may include the phono preamp internally, so that they already put out a higher (called “line-level”) signal. If you have a newer turntable and you’re not sure, it may pay to check.