U-Turn Audio - Pluto Phono Preamp

The Pluto is often compared with the Schiit Mani as the two best preamps in this price range. The Mani is an audiophile favorite of sorts and considered to punch way above its weight class. It tends to be favored over the Pluto. I made the mistake of buying a Mani. Months later, here I am with this 5 star review for Pluto. How did we get here?1. First and foremost, the Mani is highly susceptible to RFI from local radio stations. It seems to depend on how close stations are to you and the idiosyncrasies of your particular unit. Well, I live in a major city, downtown, multilple stations nearby, and my unit had so much static and radio interference that I had to set it on the absolute lowest gain settings just to make it halfway listenable. The radio static was audible in between songs and it was absolutely miserable. If you live in Wyoming, Mani might be a homerun. If you live in a major city surrounded by radio stations, avoid like the plague or pray to Preamp Jesus that you get a good unit. Which brings me to....2) Gain settings. Some see it as a plus that the Mani has several variable gain settings. The lowest is 30db, while the standard setting is 48. Well, because of my static issue this was a major pain. 30db helped with the static, but is so quiet you have to CRANK the volume, adding distortion and other issues. 48db was much too high, making the static too loud for playback. I found myself wishing I had something in between....3) Build design. The Mani has an on/off switch and an obscenely bright power light. Originally, I thought I wanted the on/off switch, until I did research and learned that preamps use very little power, so it's sort of a worthless feature. The best part of the switch? It let me switch off the Mani power LED, which is practically blinding. I found myself deeply resenting the build of this unit after a week of use.Taken all together, this was just too much. I had to fight with Schiit to let me return the unit, which was a miserable experience.So there I am, sitting without a preamp, wondering what to do. I had written off the Pluto but decided to go for it.And oh my god am I happy I did. First, the sound quality is every bit as good as the Mani, and I notice absolutely no difference in quality between them. Second, the Pluto is fixed at 36db of gain, which is the exact right amount for my system and my volume knobs. It just sings, and my volume is always around 50% - rather than 20% or 80% with the Mani. I still have some minor RFI interference, but less than half of what I had with the Mani, so it is now unnoticeable. Last but not least, the build quality is superior in every possible way. The unit stays cooler, is always on (and drawing minimal power!), and has a very subtle, comforting, useful power LED light that is not like the Mani where you felt you were staring into an exploding star.Ah, life with the Pluto. After a month of constant fighting, adjustments, tinkering, worrying, cursing with the Mani, I got my Pluto, plugged it in, and do you know what I'm thinking about these days?The music.I'd give this preamp 1000 stars if I could.

I had originally bought a Pyle pre-amp as it was cheap and I did not feel the pre-amp was that important. How wrong I was as that product caused an annoying hum/buzz when used. Using the process of elimination I determined I needed a better pre-amp. I plugged this one in and it’s been great sounding vinyl ever since! Great product! A little pricey, but you typically get what you pay for! If you need a great pre-amp this one can more than get the job done!

Excellent preamp, especially when paired with a u-turn turntable. High quality audio output, affordable, and sleek design. Was worried I’d have to buy another cable but comes with a solid one.

This is my third phono amp. First one was a basic 40$ amp. Then a Project phono MM amp.(139$) And now the U turn Pluto . I must say the Pluto is way better than the Project even tho the Pluto was less expensive . I was pleasantly surprised that the sound was way open and clean . Virtually no hum , not even a tiny bit. I have been living with it with the Project.

Works as expected. Sound is rich from my turntable. Then again, I'm not an expert.

The Pluto Phone Amp really didn't make a significant difference. Because the bass and tremble were suppressed, the music didn't sound as lively. Sure it cut down on the vibration a bit but a what cost. I was hoping to get an overall better quality sound. A little disappointed but can live with it.

There are options for nearly half the cost but I wanted to stay with the turntable brand. It sounds good but have no idea if one has to pay up necessarily

When it comes to price-to-value ratio, it's impossible to beat the U-Turn Pluto.Shopping for a solid state preamp means that you're looking for the cleanest signal possible. In other words, you want something that will lift life out of your cartridge without coloring it. I personally describe it as "giving air".I've extensively used the Schiit Mani, Emotiva XPS-1 and Cambridge Audio Azure 651p over the past few years. I've had the Pluto for a month and without a doubt, it absolutely blows the Mani out of the water and easily matches (maybe even outmatches) the XPS-1 and Azure 651p at half the price. My cherished 2M Blue has never sounded better.To my ears, there's no contest. New to turntables and looking for a solid preamp? Get the Pluto. Experienced with turntables but looking for the best solid state preamp under $400? Get the Pluto.