8mm Forum: stereo amps and record players

This is topic stereo amps and record players in forum General Yak at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on November 29, 2006, 06:11 AM:

Hi guys-

My stereo amplifier that I've had since 1985 finally gave up on me recently [Frown]

. I used it for everything, from record players, to super 8, to DVD.

So, I recently bought new one. It's pretty basic, with the typical hook ups of today (tape, video-1, video-2, etc.).

Of course, it doesn't have an option for "phono", but I figured I could just hook it to another line out. The problem I'm having is, no matter what line I hook it to, the volume is VERY low for the record player, even at the maximum setting. Everything else has perfect sound.

Do I actually need a special amp designed just for record players? I thought they could be hooked to any auxilary line, like everything else.

Any information on this would be greatly appreciated! [Smile]

Nick.

Posted by Kevin Faulkner (Member # 6) on November 29, 2006, 07:21 AM:

Yes you will need a preamp for a manetic pickup. Most pickups (and I take it yours is a magnetic pickup) will give an output of about 5mV but most other sources will give an output of 100mV upwards.

This is why your old amp had an input marked "Phone" this had an extra stage of amplification.

It is possible to by small Magnetic Pickup preamps which you put between your record deck and a spare input on your amp.

Kev.

Posted by Chris Quinn (Member # 129) on November 29, 2006, 01:31 PM:

James,

Kev is right, you will need a pre amp. i had the same problem and bought one from ebay. You will need something similar to this.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Stereo-Phono-Pre-Amp-Kit-Record-From-Turntable_W0QQitemZ280051157364QQihZ018QQcategoryZ48460QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Chris.

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on November 30, 2006, 07:31 AM:

Thanks guys.

In all these years, I've never heard of this before. I'll check around locally first at the electronics shops.

Nick.

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on November 30, 2006, 10:03 AM:

Radio Shack will do them. You just need a stereo microphone pre-amp. I use one of these (£15 to £20) with my 35mm projector and also had to put one on my father's amplifier to hook up a record deck.

Don't attempt to play records through the other inputs otherwise you could find yourself replacing the fuse in the amp. I managed to do this when I was 16 years old. I learned the hard way.

Posted by David Roberts (Member # 197) on November 30, 2006, 01:53 PM:

its not just a pre amp required,but a phono stage with the correct equalisation,as well as the extra gain.a mike pre amp will not have this equalisation.

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on December 01, 2006, 08:26 AM:

Why does mine appear to work okay David? Is there something I'm missing?

Posted by David Roberts (Member # 197) on December 05, 2006, 01:50 PM:

the equalisation is to the riaa standard and this is the usual for phono stages,either moving magnet or moving coil. ive no idea why your mike amp works john,but without this equalisation,it wont sound quite as it should,but who am i to say it doesnt sound perfectly ok!

Posted by Joerg Niggemann (Member # 611) on December 05, 2006, 11:28 PM:

John, without RIAA equalisation, you should get an emphasized high frequency range and a weak bass reproduction. This ist the way vinyl recordings were done (pre-emphasis). Linear frequency response is achieved by using the phono pre-amp with equalisation stage (de-emphasis).

If it sounds ok for you with the mic amp, there's nothing you could miss. We are used to CD sound with excellent high frequency response. I can imagine that today vinyl records may sound "better" to us with a boosted high frequency range (without equalisation).

Joerg

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on December 06, 2006, 03:09 AM:

Next time I'll have a serious listen. I have a phone pre-amp somewhere and if I ever find that again I'll give that a try too.

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