NAD PP 3 Digital Phono/USB Preamp – MM & MC, Power Supply

A proper moving-magnet and moving-coil phono stage that also digitises your records, with its original NAD power supply.

What it does

Most turntables need a phono preamplifier, and most modern amplifiers no longer have one built in. The PP 3 solves that, and then does something else useful on top of it.

As a phono stage it handles both cartridge types, with separate inputs on the back for moving magnet and moving coil and a switch to choose between them. Moving coil support is the part worth noticing — the large majority of affordable phono preamps are moving magnet only, and an MC cartridge needs far more gain and a very different input impedance. NAD gave the PP 3 a discrete low-noise moving coil stage feeding an op-amp RIAA section, rather than asking one circuit to do both jobs badly.

There is also a 12 dB per octave infrasonic filter, which quietly removes the subsonic rumble a turntable produces before it reaches your woofers and wastes amplifier power on movement you cannot hear.

The digitising side

On the front is a USB port. Connect it to a computer and the PP 3 sends your records across as a 16-bit, 48 kHz digital stream, using its own analogue-to-digital converter rather than the noisy input on a sound card. NAD put a Soft Clipping circuit ahead of that converter so an unexpectedly loud passage cannot produce the hard digital overload that ruins a recording.

The line input extends that to everything else. Anything with an analogue output — a cassette deck, a tuner, a reel to reel — can run through the same converter and onto a hard drive. A rear switch chooses between phono and line, and the analogue line output stays live either way, so the PP 3 works perfectly well as a plain phono stage for someone who never plugs in a computer at all.

Not an obsolete design

NAD still makes this preamplifier. The current model is called the PP 4, and it runs the same 35 dB moving magnet and 58 dB moving coil gain, the same 47 k ohm and 100 ohm input impedances, the same 12 dB per octave infrasonic filter, and the same 16-bit, 48 kHz USB converter as the unit on this page.

What NAD added over the years was convenience — a recording level control, a shielded cable, an automatic power down, a more efficient supply. Useful things, none of them the parts that decide how a record sounds coming through it.

So this is not last year’s model being cleared out. It is the same design, still in production, still doing the same job.

Why the external power supply matters

The PP 3 runs from an outboard 24 volt supply rather than a transformer inside the case. That is a deliberate choice: a phono cartridge puts out a few thousandths of a volt, and a mains transformer sitting inches away from that signal is the single easiest way to induce hum. Keeping it outside the box is one of the reasons these are as quiet as they are.

It also means a PP 3 without its supply is a frustrating thing to own. This one comes with it.

Condition

Very Good. The black steel case is clean and presents well, with the light marks any component of this age honestly earns. All sockets and switches are intact, the gold-plated RCA jacks are clean, and the grounding post is sound.

A phono stage that takes moving coil cartridges seriously, at a fraction of what that usually costs, and an archiving tool for anyone with a record collection they would rather not lose.

Available for pickup in Kanata, or shipped across Canada and internationally — we have sent equipment to fifteen countries in the past year, each piece packed in-house in 275 lb test double-wall boxes. Live shipping rates for your address are calculated at checkout. Backed by Radique Audio’s Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and our Perpetual Trade-Back Program. Available for audition by appointment in Kanata.

NAD PP 3 Specifications

• Moving magnet and moving coil phono preamplifier with USB digital output
• Gain: 35 dB (MM), 58 dB (MC)
• Input impedance: 47 k ohms + 200 pF (MM), 100 ohms + 180 pF (MC)
• Input sensitivity at 300 mV output: 5 mV (MM), 0.38 mV (MC)
• Signal to noise ratio: 76 dB (MM), 78 dB (MC), A-weighted
• RIAA accuracy: plus or minus 0.3 dB
• Total harmonic distortion: 0.03%, 20 Hz to 20 kHz
• Infrasonic filter: 12 dB per octave
• Digital output: 16-bit linear PCM, 48 kHz sampling, USB Type-B
• Inputs: MC, MM and line level, all on gold-plated RCA jacks
• Output: line level on gold-plated RCA jacks
• Grounding post for the turntable earth lead
• Power: external 24 V DC, 100 mA supply — included
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 5.3 x 1.7 x 2.8 inches (135 x 43 x 72 mm)
• Weight: 1 lb (0.44 kg)

⚠️ Important Information for International Buyers

This unit is configured for North American 110/120V power. Buyers outside North America will require a step-down transformer and appropriate plug adapter.

✅ Buy With Confidence — The Radique Promise

Backed by Radique Audio’s Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and our Perpetual Trade-Back Program. When you’re ready to move on, we’ll take it back. That’s the Radique difference.

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📞 Questions? Use the Ask a Question button above, or call us at 613-416-9995.