Radial J33 2-channel Active Turntable Preamp/Direct Box Reviews
The Radial J33 is a high quality combination turntable (phono) preamp and direct box that offers a choice of balanced mic-level and -10dB consumer line-level outputs. This allows a 33-RPM record player to be connected directly to a professional mixing console or mic preamplifier. This makes the Radial J33 ideal for use in studio for re-recording, sampling and archiving, while offering DJs an improved interface for recording scratch and remix performances over typical DJ mixers or other stand-alone turntable preamps. For maximum flexibility, the Radial J33 is equipped with a rumble filter to eliminate low-frequency resonance and may be powered with remote 48Volt phantom or local external DC supply. The J33 is the tool that will make working with vinyl in the studio easier, and sound better!
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Highest Rated Reviews
Radial J33 - The Right Choice
Easy to hookup. Brings great sound from turntable to tuner. Sweetwater delivers exactly what I was looking for, with the option to convert my vinyl into digital for the road.
Professional Grade Workhorse
I own two other items from Radial Engineering: the JDI Duplex passive DI and the Reamp JCR passive re-amping device. Both are solid, sonically transparent, pro-grade pieces of equipment. So, no surprise that the J33 turntable preamp lives up to the standard I've come to expect from this company.
The J33 provides a nice upgrade from the stock preamp on my early '90s Kenwood consumer-grade receiver. I'm feeding signal into the unit from a Technics SL-1210 MK2 turntable equipped with a Shure M97XE cartridge. The J33 (powered by the included 15v 400 mA power supply) passes mic level signal into an RME Fireface 400 and then into the box at 48kHz/24 bit. The resultant audio is well balanced and pleasingly musical without noticeable coloration. Further in-the-box edit/resample/dither to redbook yields audio that compares favorably with commercially produced compact discs. Even the mp3's turn out nicely.
This piece features bulletproof construction and well thought out design. For me, it is a significant upgrade and solves the missing link in the vinyl-to-digital chain. Truly deserving of five stars.
As always, excellent customer service from Sales Engineer Mike Harris (x1382) who has been my go-to resource for close to a decade.
Radial J33--Gerat Sounding Turntable Interface!
One of the services I offer in my studio is conversion of vinyl records to digital recordings--particularly if the record has never been commercially released on CD. I've been using the J33 for several months and it is the perfect interface for this work. Most importantly, it sounds fantastic matched with a great turntable--properly balanced across the audio spectrum with very solid low end and a well-defined and clean top end. My clients have said their records never sounded better!! Like other Radial products, it is very solidly built with no compromise in quality. It made me bring out my own favorite Mobile Fidelity Original Master Recording records (I have a bunch of them) just for the joy of listening to high-end vinyl again! It's amazing! Whether you transcribe analog for clients or not, this interface is worth it just for your own listening pleasure! Highly recommended!
Really nice sounding box
After experimenting with a handful of phono preamps, I finally went ahead and put in the extra cash for the J33. It was absolutely awesome. I've been putting my old vinyl through this, and then into a pair of Neve 1073s - and the results are awesome!
Tonka tough
Like all Radial products, it"s built like a tank.
Great way to get clean hi-fi turntable signal into a PA or pro mixing console.
Noise free, works great w/ phantom power OR supplied AC adapter.
48V Phantom Power limitations
The preamp sounds and works great. I bought this as a replacement for my Teac PA4 and appreciate its small footprint. Connections are tight and secure and the box is solid. However I used it with my Spirit Live 4² board - powering it from the board's 48V. This was the only item on the circuit and within a couple of days the phantom power on my board burned out. I took my power supply in for service and confirmed the resistor was toasted. It may have been the straw that broke the camel's back after years of trouble-free use, but I'll stick with the wall wart from now on...
