Cambridge Audio Alva Solo | Phono Preamp for Moving Magnet Turntable

I am using a current Rega Planar 2 with Carbon cartridge and a Rega Brio-R integrated amplifier as my connected sources and this MM-only phono preamp is fantastic. It is simply THERE at every point...highs, mids, lows, sparkle, shine, thump...magnificent achievement for under the $200 price point. Read up on this unit...the power supply is strong and clean and, importantly, uses a standard power cable not a wall wart. You can really tell the difference, too. I upgraded to a Pangea 14SE MKII power cable and it sounds great with very little burn in time. Try finding any other combination of outstanding circuitry and power handling at this price point and you will not get far. Thank you, Cambridge, for a well thought out design and lovely fit and finish. This is a tight, heavy little machined aluminum box that really fit the bill for me and I couldn't be happier. UPDATE 4/19 - After a few months this started sounding very congested and just not right somehow. The sparkle is gone and it’s kind of a mess overall. No idea what caused this to happen but YMMV. Plan on trying to sell mine off because it cannot compete against like anything else I have. Weird. And what is up with the name adding Alva? Like Thomas Edison? Apart from that why would anyone name anything Alva. Sounds very unattractive.

This is by far the best addition to my stereo. The sound quality and noise suppression is far beyond what i’d hoped for. Cant go wrong with Cambridge audio products.

I recently purchased a new turntable and decided that the old Behringer preamp had to go. There are plenty of cheap options and even more expensive ones so I was pleased to find the solo at a little under $200. I also looked at a slightly less expensive model from Schiit which got a lot of great reviews but there was also mention of some issues with quality control so I decided to go with the more established company and bought the solo. Shipping took a bit as it came from the U.K. But that was expected. Within ten minutes of the UPS driver leaving it at my door I had it hooked up and running. The difference in sound quality was immediately noticeable. Instrument separation and clarity was drastically increased and the low end became clean and powerful. About three weeks later however the brilliance seemed to vanish and I noticed a hum when the turntable motor was powering up. I had read a review which mentioned the loss of sound quality and got a bit depressed, believing I may have a faulty unit. Before trying to box the thing back up and starting the warranty process I decided to try something. I unplugged the turntable from the power strip that the solo was also plugged into and ran it to a strip connected to a different outlet. Oh happy day, the hum is gone and the sound is vibrant once again!! Perhaps my next investment will be power management gear but that’s for another day. I guess my only gripe (now that the first issue is resolved) would be the power indicator. When it’s on it’s slightly bright. When off it’s slightly less bright and doesn’t change color. Not the end of the world and not at all relevant to the fantastic sound quality so I’m giving this unit all the stars.

I have a vintage Technics SL Q3 turntable with an ADC Integra cartridge I use with this preamp. It is then run into a passive preamp which is essentially a volume control, two position selector switch and solid silver wire connecting everything to the input and output jacks. This in turn is connected to a Jadis Defy 7 tube power amp which drives a pair of custom speakers using two 5.5" woofers, a 2" dome midrange and a semi horn loaded 1" dome tweeter in each cabinet. The system is very detailed. Interconnects are DH Labs Revelation and for the speakers, Q 10 speaker cable. The power cable is a Red Wave. This little Cambridge Audio preamp gives an amazing soundstage to vinyl playback through this system. The system is very detailed and hides nothing so if the preamp had issues it would be very evident when playing a record. So far, after using it a year the peamp still sounds great. The noise floor is quite low and the frequency response sounds correct. I have tried other phono preamps and either the noise floor was higher or they sounded veiled, kind of like you have a pillow sitting in front of the speakers. What I look for is accuracy in any part of my system and the Cambridge Audio phono preamp seems to deliver. If you want some sort of fat flabby tuby sound then this is probably not for you. But if you want accurate reproduction of what comes out of your turntable's interconnects then this little preamp delivers. Are there better sounding ones out there? Yes, but they cost several times as much and the improvement is only marginal. As with anything it depends on your particular system. But for me it works great and it didn't break the bank.

I had forgotten how exceptional, superior, and warm vinyl sounded until I connected my new Alva Solo Phono Preamplifier to my 40-year-old Dual Model CS5000 Turntable. I applaud the musicians and other team members at Cambridge Audio for engineering an audiophile's dream. "South City Midnight Lady" on The Doobie Brothers' "The Captain and Me" album was the first song I played!

So I have a fairly small space, and wanted to add a turntable in addition to streaming music on Klipsch “The Fives” speakers. Hardly audiophile quality, but the warmth of vinyl makes a difference to the jazz I listen to as well as some of the classical stuff. Since I don’t have an amplifier, I bought the Cambridge pre amp to take it from the table to the speakers. Before the pre amp arrived, I played some records using the pre amp in the speakers. It was OK, not bad not great. Then I got the pre amp, and after a quick and SIMPLE setup put on a Diana Krall album. It was just spectacular. I can’t speak the language of people who dive deep . . . but it you are looking at a pre amp this is well worth the money. The difference is readily apparent.

Update, World Wide Stereo told me on the phone that there is nothing they would do for me and I had to deal with Cambridge Audio. They told me I was out of the 60 day return window. The preamp started it’s buzz and I reached out to them at 70 days, but they would not at still will not help me. Cambridge Audio said they would not give me a refund. The only thing they could do is keep replacing units until they find one that works. I have tried three preamps so far. All have some degree of buzzing that is not acceptable. Cambridge Audio nor World Wide Stereo seem to care that they sold a product that is so bad. I bought this last summer. It started to buzz outside of world wide stereo’s return window. They told me I had to deal with Cambridge Audio. I did, and they sent me a new preamp. The new preamp buzzed louder then my first one right out of the box. The video is of the replacement. After many emails with Cambridge Audio they came to the conclusion it was a faulty unit. I had my old NAD preamp and it didn’t have the buzz when I hooked it back up. The buzz was from the output of the Cambridge Audio Solo. I asked for a refund because my confidence in the unit is very low. Two preamps start to buzz in under a year. They sent me a third unit as a replacement without doing the refund I asked for, or telling me that is what they were going to do. I was lead to believe I could get a refund by the customer support person I was in contact with. I emailed them about the refund and they sent me back to world wide stereo. This is crazy! Someone should give me a refund on a product that has failed to work properly twice in less than a year, and it was two different units that failed. Do the right thing someone please!

After enjoying the built in phono amplifier of my old Denon receiver for a year, I kept wondering if I was missing out on the sound of my vinyl. So I ordered the Alva Solo and installed it. There was an immediate improvement in clarity and sound stage. However, each day it got better. After 4 days the sound stage had expanded in width and height while voices jumped out as if they were in the room. Bass is more defined. It is a neutral sound, truthfully delivering the quality of the recording. Highly recommended. A steal for the money.