I've been slowly upgrading my vinyl setup over two years. I started with a mediocre at best Pyle Pro turntable and preamp. I got rid of it when I realized I couldn't turn the volume up anywhere near a satisfying level without starting a feedback loop. I upgraded to an ATLP120 which is still going strong. I used the built in preamp for a time, but when I upgraded to an Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge, the sound was awful. So I did the deed and took the preamp out. For the last year or so I was using the Pyle Pro preamp with the straight output from the cartridge. At this point the mains power to the turntable powered only the platter. The cartridge output went straight to the preamp. The sound was acceptable and decent, until it got really crackly sometimes. It was not due to the records being played because they sometimes sounded fine, and other times they did not. I decided it was time to upgrade to a MM specific preamp. I mostly just wanted the cutting in and out to stop, and I wanted the volume considerably loud without the increasingly annoying hiss I was noticing. I also suspected that the left channel was being slightly favored. My suspicions were confirmed when I hooked this ProJect Preamp up. Not only did it eliminate the aforementioned issues, but it improved on the sound in a way I could not have imagined!! I can't wait to go back through my Genesis and Floyd albums with this thing. Fantastic on speakers and headphones!!! Worth every penny!