My turntable - what do you guys think?, thumbnails inside Options

[vytman]

I had this old turntable at home but it was broken.

It was my dad's music player back in the 70's.

I remember when I was a little kid to listen to my dad's records...but then came the tape...and then came the cd...and the old turntable was shelfed in my grandfather's attic.

About half an year ago I remembered to check how it was...I plugged it and it didn´t work...so I took it to a store near my house and six months later...Tchara!!!! I have it and it works!

I let you with some pics to you guys see it!

[2Bdecided]

I had one a bit like that once. The cartridge head was detachable, and the contact was quite poor, causing one or both channels to drop out regularly. You had to take the stylus off the record, waggle the cartridge, and pop it back down on the record again, hopefully getting both channels for a while!

I don't think I'd use it to play any records that I cared about.

Cheers,
David.

[vytman]

I'm thinking in plug the turntable in my living room amp...but the guy at the store said that the turntable has a pre amp and if I plug it to the amp it could have some noise...but I have to try it...I have a nice amp

[DVDdoug]

but the guy at the store said that the turntable has a pre amp and if I plug it to the amp it could have some noise...but I have to try it...I have a nice amp

I don't know what he was trying to say...

Good "magnetic" cartridges (moving magnet or moving coil) always require a preamp. Preamps always add some noise. The slight hum & hiss from the preamp used to bother me a little, but not as much as the vinyl "ticks" & "pops".

The standard receiver had a preamp built-in, and when you plug-into the "phono" input, you are plugging into a preamp. Your modern "nice amp" probably doesn't have a phono input, so you need the preamp!

Some "cheap" (ceramic or crystal) cartridges didn't require a preamp... I'm pretty sure nobody makes those anymore.

BTW - Is there a "tape out", or "preamp out"? How are you going to connect this all-in-one unit to your amp?

This post has been edited by DVDdoug: Mar 26 2009, 21:37

[vytman]

Well I don't know much about sound and connections...I have this amp: Marantz SR5300

Do you think it's possible to connect my turntable to it?

The guy at the store said he had the cable to do it...

I know very little about this things...but I asure you, I know when I listen to a good sounded device

This post has been edited by vytman: Mar 27 2009, 02:22

[odious malefacto...]

...I have this amp: Marantz SR5300

Better get a preamp.

[pdq]

Better get a preamp.

The turntable already has one.

[vytman]

@ odious malefactor

Thanks for the pic. As pdq said the turntable already has a preamp...I'll try to plug it to my Marantz this week to see how it sounds.

[vytman]

@ DVDdoug

Ok I talked to the store guy today and the info that my dad gave me is kinda wrong

It seems that the turntable has a preamp AND an amp!

That's why the store guy said it could have some noise when I connect it to the living room amp

I need to turn down the volume in the turntable and then, turn up in the living room amp to have a clean sound.

[pdq]

I need to turn down the volume in the turntable and then, turn up in the living room amp to have a clean sound.

? I think you mean the other way around.

[vytman]

I need to turn down the volume in the turntable and then, turn up in the living room amp to have a clean sound.

? I think you mean the other way around.

That's not what the store guy said

[greynol]

I would trust pdq over your recollection of what the store guy said. He knows what he's talking about.

[pdq]

You want to turn the volume of the turntable as high as you can without overloading the input to the amplifier. That will minimize the amount of noise that the amplifier adds.

Of course, the noise coming from the vinyl and the preamp stage are likely to swamp any other noise contribution, so what you probably want to do is adjust the turntable's output to match the level of the other sources to your amplifier. That way you won't need to change the amplifier's volume setting when you change sources.

Edit: Thanks greynol.


This post has been edited by pdq: Mar 28 2009, 00:55

[vytman]

Got it!

Thanks both you guys!

That way you won't need to change the amplifier's volume setting when you change sources.

Yes, that would be nice. I'll see if the guy at the store has the cable ready tomorrow.

[odious malefacto...]

As pdq said the turntable already has a preamp...

How do you know that? Sorry if I missed it, but all I've read in this thread is....

...but the guy at the store said that the turntable has a pre amp

I tried to make out the model of your record player, but the pics were too blurry. I'd like to find the manual for it. Do you have a hardcopy, by the way?

EDIT:

It seems that the turntable has a preamp AND an amp!.

Okay, now I understand. It's not a turntable, it's a record player. And how do you know that it has a preamp? Just that the "store guy" says it.

Maybe it only has an amp and no pre-amp. Or no access to the pre-amp.... What make/model is it again?

This post has been edited by odious malefactor: Mar 28 2009, 05:21

[uart]

This thing is clearly an "all in one", meaning that it has turntable, pre-amp, power-amp, controls and speakers in one unit (ok the speakers are detached, but they probably came as part of the unit).

So the only "output" that we can be certain that this thing has is the speaker output. My guess is that vytman is considering connecting the speaker-out wires of this unit into the line-in on his amplifier. With this in mind I think what the "store guy" has been saying makes sense.

[vytman]

Well my main language isn't english so I guess I messed up with turntable/record player thing.

And about if it has a pre amp, amp or both I only know that because the store guy says it. He opened the record player and fixed it...and as uart says, this is a "all in one"...The speakers are part of the unit...and I close the record player with the speakers and it "transforms" into a case for transport.

The manual it's lost along with some pieces of the record player and my dad's records...I only know that is a Philips...and it has a metal plate on top of it saying Diamond. On the bottom it has a sticker but it's torned out and I can only see that it says 35w.

About connecting it to my living room amp...In one part of the cable I will have the L and R proprietary Philips plug and on the other I *guess* it would be RCA.

I think it's uart trying to say but I understand better this way

I searched google to find my record player but I can't find it....so, odious malefactor, if you want more pics about the player just ask and I'll post it

EDIT:

Oh, and just to avoid confusion, I want to connect the player to the living room amp to listen thru my living room speakers, not the speakers that came with the record player.

This post has been edited by vytman: Mar 28 2009, 18:04

[uart]

About connecting it to my living room amp...In one part of the cable I will have the L and R proprietary Philips plug and on the other I *guess* it would be RCA.

Ok but don't just keep us guessing about it. IS or IS NOT the "L and R propriety Philips plug" the actual speaker output? I mean is it where you normally connect the supplied speakers or is it something else (line-out perhaps). This little detail is important you know. No one can answer your questions if you don't provide such basic and obviously important information!

[vytman]

Yes, it is.

[uart]

Ok then in my opinion your best bet would be to run the speaker outputs through a simple attenuator and then into the line-in of your main system (amplifier in living room). I'd try something like 100 ohms in series followed by 10 ohms in parallel on each channel. Then I'd adjust the volume control on the record player unit until the output volume is about the same level as when you're playing other sources (eg CD) on your main system and then just leave the volume set there and always adjust listening volume on the main amplifier only.

This post has been edited by uart: Mar 28 2009, 19:29

[2Bdecided]

Is this the only output? ...
http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00041s.jpg
...it's not proprietary philips - it's a standard speaker output.

I wouldn't connect it to anything other than speakers. You could attenuate it and connect it to a line-level input, but I wouldn't bother. It's not worth spending any money on this. Unless you're just trying to have fun!

Don't connect speaker output > line level input directly. I used to do this when I was a kid, but you risk blowing things up this way.

Cheers,
David.

[vytman]

The only outputs are showing in the picture. The 2 from the right is where I have the speakers connected that came with the player, and the 2 from left aren't connected. They are identical between them, but diferent from the 2 from the right. The 1st from the left has a "o__o" symbol and the second an "R".

Yes, the main purpose of this is having some fun trying to connect the record player to my living room amp wich has some good speakers connected to it...but I don't wanna blow anything up

[2Bdecided]

The 1st from the left has a "o__o" symbol and the second an "R".

The first is for a tape recorder - either an input or an output. If it's an output, try connecting it to your other amplifier. (If it's really an input, it will do no harm to try it as an output!)

R could be radio, record (to tape) etc. Again, see what, if anything, is coming out.

and, er, maybe learn to take better pictures?! You know, with light falling on the subject so it's actually visible and in focus!

Cheers,
David.

This post has been edited by 2Bdecided: Mar 31 2009, 12:28

[vytman]

Ok, I've talked to a friend and he will make me the din cable. I'll have it ready next week.

About the pictures, I'll consider take an intensive picture curse in holydays

[jdechamp]

Ok, I've talked to a friend and he will make me the din cable. I'll have it ready next week.

About the pictures, I'll consider take an intensive picture curse in holydays

You need to be very careful with the connection. You do not want to connect outputs designed for driving speakers to the input of your amplifier! If the unit has pre-amp outs (which may be what the dins are) that would work, but use caution as an error could damage your "very nice" amp.

Joe