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Topic: vinyl n00b. need help with basic audio setup (Read 14458 times) previous topic - next topic
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vinyl n00b. need help with basic audio setup

I apologize if this isn't the right place to be posting this.

I received a turntable for Christmas from my parents and it was apparently not the "portable" kind they had in mind. I.e., they didn't realize that I would need speakers to go with it. It's the Audio-Technica LP60.

I was born in the 90's so I'm new to all of this, but I did some research (though I don't think enough) and ended up ordering the Micca MB42x. As I'm reading more about speakers and such, I learn the difference between active and passive (I said i was n00b) and realize that I *probably* will need a receiver. However the LP60 turntable I have has a pre-amp built in, and a switch on the back for phono or line.

Do I need a receiver? Did I get the wrong speakers?

I do have 16 gauge speaker wire. I do not know what I am doing. Please help!

Thanks in advance,

headup

vinyl n00b. need help with basic audio setup

Reply #1 –
Quote from: headup on
I apologize if this isn't the right place to be posting this.

I received a turntable for Christmas from my parents and it was apparently not the "portable" kind they had in mind. I.e., they didn't realize that I would need speakers to go with it. It's the Audio-Technica LP60.

I was born in the 90's so I'm new to all of this, but I did some research (though I don't think enough) and ended up ordering the Micca MB42x. As I'm reading more about speakers and such, I learn the difference between active and passive (I said i was n00b) and realize that I *probably* will need a receiver. However the LP60 turntable I have has a pre-amp built in, and a switch on the back for phono or line.

Do I need a receiver? Did I get the wrong speakers?

I do have 16 gauge speaker wire. I do not know what I am doing. Please help!

Thanks in advance,

headup


You're heading in roughly the right direction, don't worry :-)

Right now you've got a turntable, a set of passive speakers and some speaker wire, correct?

What you need is a stereo amplifier of some kind. It doesn't have to be fancy, it doesn't have to be new, the only criteria you have to worry about is that 1) it actually works, 2) it has RCA plugs for inputs (the red+white plugs like on your turntable) and optionally 3) a remote control (optional).

There are pretty much always a good choice of used stereo amps available for sale just about everywhere. It doesn't matter if you find one that's 10 or even 20 years old, as long as it works. Check Craigslist etc., or even Goodwill stores and the like. $50-$100 will buy you something that is quite nice on the used market, but sometimes you can get lucky and get a decent amp for next to nothing. If you'd rather buy new, I'm sure we can come up with some good suggestions, too. The small Lepai amps available on Amazon are pretty good as long as you're not trying to reach discotheque sound levels.

When you get an amp, all you need to do is plug the turntable into the amplifier using a red+white RCA lead (the red+white part of this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_connector). If the amp has a PHONO input, you can use that and set the turntable to phono, otherwise just plug it in to AUX/CD/TV/LINE/TAPE IN or whichever other input the amp has, and set the turntable to "line".

The speaker terminals will probably be either spring loaded or screw pegs. Remove the isolation from 1-2cm of each end of the cable and plug one end into the amp has and the other into your speakers. Red to red, black to black, and obviously left channel to the left speaker and vice versa.

Don't feel intimidated by all of this, it's not that complicated once you get into it

vinyl n00b. need help with basic audio setup

Reply #2 –
Fellow nineties kid here. You need an amp. That is the extent of my knowledge.
If you post your budget, someone might be able to recommend you one.

EDIT: Too slow! Stupid touchscreen keyboard...

vinyl n00b. need help with basic audio setup

Reply #3 –
Quote from: KozmoNaut on
You're heading in roughly the right direction, don't worry :-)

Right now you've got a turntable, a set of passive speakers and some speaker wire, correct?

What you need is a stereo amplifier of some kind. It doesn't have to be fancy, it doesn't have to be new, the only criteria you have to worry about is that 1) it actually works, 2) it has RCA plugs for inputs (the red+white plugs like on your turntable) and optionally 3) a remote control (optional).

There are pretty much always a good choice of used stereo amps available for sale just about everywhere. It doesn't matter if you find one that's 10 or even 20 years old, as long as it works. Check Craigslist etc., or even Goodwill stores and the like. $50-$100 will buy you something that is quite nice on the used market, but sometimes you can get lucky and get a decent amp for next to nothing. If you'd rather buy new, I'm sure we can come up with some good suggestions, too. The small Lepai amps available on Amazon are pretty good as long as you're not trying to reach discotheque sound levels.

When you get an amp, all you need to do is plug the turntable into the amplifier using a red+white RCA lead (the red+white part of this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_connector). If the amp has a PHONO input, you can use that and set the turntable to phono, otherwise just plug it in to AUX/CD/TV/LINE/TAPE IN or whichever other input the amp has, and set the turntable to "line".

The speaker terminals will probably be either spring loaded or screw pegs. Remove the isolation from 1-2cm of each end of the cable and plug one end into the amp has and the other into your speakers. Red to red, black to black, and obviously left channel to the left speaker and vice versa.

Don't feel intimidated by all of this, it's not that complicated once you get into it


Thanks KozmoNaut, that's really helpful. So I would still need an amp even though my turntable already has a built-in pre-amp? I was under the understanding that I needed a receiver so that I could control volume, as there is no volume control on the turntable or speakers I have.

I'd like to spend under $100 if possible, as I spent around $100 on the speakers and I'm quite new to this world of vinyl - however I do enjoy quality audio and would be willing to spend over if necessary.

Thanks again

vinyl n00b. need help with basic audio setup

Reply #4 –
Quote
Thanks KozmoNaut, that's really helpful. So I would still need an amp even though my turntable already has a built-in pre-amp? I was under the understanding that I needed a receiver so that I could control volume, as there is no volume control on the turntable or speakers I have.
Yes, you need a power amplifier (or active speakers with a volume control).   

The signal from the phono cartridge is about 1/100th  of a the line-level signal that comes out of a CD/DVD player, or a soundcard, etc.  The preamp brings that up to line level, but it still can't directly power a speaker.

If you have a pair of computer speakers, these are active (powered) so you can connect them to your turntable as long as you have the appropriate adapter cable.

I bought this amplifier a few months ago for listening to TV sound in the bedroom.  You have to buy a the wall wart power supply separately, but it works fine.  I think I bought this power supply but I'm not 100% sure. 

The amp has a weird color-changing LED that just cycles through the colors...  The LED doesn't react to the sound or anything, but it's an economical little amp that's doing the job.

vinyl n00b. need help with basic audio setup

Reply #5 –
Quote from: headup on
Thanks KozmoNaut, that's really helpful. So I would still need an amp even though my turntable already has a built-in pre-amp? I was under the understanding that I needed a receiver so that I could control volume, as there is no volume control on the turntable or speakers I have.


"Amplifier" can mean a couple of different things, depending on context.

Turntables output a very low signal that needs special amplification before it can be passed to a normal amplifier. This is done using a phono pre-amplifier (also known as a RIAA pre-amplifier), which your turntable has built in. Some amplifier/receivers also have this pre-amplifier built in to their phono inputs. It's very important that you don't "double pre-amp" the signal. Either use the "line" setting on your turntable OR the phono input on a receiver, not both at the same time.

This pre-amplification brings the signal up to the same level as the signal from a CD player or PC or other modern device.

The device you're looking for is commonly referred to as an amplifier, but it is in fact an "integrated" amplifier or a "receiver". What this means is that volume control and input selection is built together with the power amplifier. This is exactly what you need. In the case of receivers, a radio is built in as well. For your use, that obviously doesn't matter.

vinyl n00b. need help with basic audio setup

Reply #6 –
A receiver is an amplifier with a built-in radio. Despite the extra feature, they may actually be cheaper than some amplifiers since they are more common. Do you want to connect other things besides your turntable? Some of the simple mini amplifiers may not have extra inputs, but all receivers will.

vinyl n00b. need help with basic audio setup

Reply #7 –
You would need a power amplifier to power them speakers as they are passive (un-powered).

The one thing I can't see anyone else mention here is that when buying your power amplifier you need to match up the Wattage and resistance to your speakers or you could end up damaging either your speakers or your amp!

Them speakers are 75 Watt RMS @ 4 Ohms. You want an amp that's slightly higher in RMS power output (roughly a 10% higher power rating), so that it can comfortably and effortlessly power the speakers without your speakers requiring more power then your amp can pump out to make them move, causing your amp to get damaged as it's working too hard. You also want to match up the impedance in Ohms, as HiFi amps are more often then not 8 Ohms, your speakers are only 4 ohms, and if you plug 4 Ohm speakers into an 8 Ohm amp, you run the risk of overheating your amp by drawing too much power out of it and wrecking your speakers at the same time!

So, you're looking for an amp that's in the 80-85 Watt RMS power PER CHANNEL range, that has a 4 Ohm impedance. Something like this would be ideal for you...

http://www.pulse-audio.co.uk/5051259017924.shtml

If it's over your price range (they sell it cheaper on other sites, just I wanted to link you to the manufacturer's website, so you can see the exact specifications), then I must mention this if you are going to look for an amp yourself...

... not all power ratings are made equal. What I mean by this is there are three ways of denoting the power rating of speakers and amps (all measured in Watts) and different manufacturers like to use different methods, as they can make the speakers look louder then they are if people aren't paying attention to which "wattage" rating they are actually reading (sneaky or what?!):

RMS POWER = Root Mean Square power- The average power (derived from the RMS voltage) that the amp can safely and comfortably power the speakers at , and that the speakers can safely and comfortably handle over extended periods of time. This is the one I personally try to find out to match amps and speakers.

PEAK POWER = The maximum peak level of power that the speakers can handle without getting damaged in a short time frame (you do not want to be running your speakers at the peak wattage constantly, I like to look at it as more of a safety buffer if you like, although in reality with music it will constantly be jumping up towards this peak level of power and back down again due to the fact music is dynamic in it's volume over time.

POWER HANDLING = This is the absolute physical limit of power that a speaker can mechanically handle before it overheats and burns out, or certainly gets damaged in some way or another.

So you want to get an amp with these ratings:

An RMS Power rating of  80 Watts to 85 Watts per channel (there or there about)

An Impedance of 4 Ohms


I hope this helps and doesn't confuse you more. I tried to keep it as simple as possible, whilst still giving you enough information for you to be able to at least partially understand what the jargon and the numbers mean.

vinyl n00b. need help with basic audio setup

Reply #8 –
Quote from: rick.hughes on
A receiver is an amplifier with a built-in radio. Despite the extra feature, they may actually be cheaper than some amplifiers since they are more common. Do you want to connect other things besides your turntable? Some of the simple mini amplifiers may not have extra inputs, but all receivers will.

Receivers with amps in generally have poor quality amps inside, It's much better to get a dedicated power amp as the sound quality will greatly improve, and as in my post above, he needs to pick the amp to fit the speaker's wattage and impedance; The amps that do this (at least the one's I've looked at) have more then enough inputs for a whole stack system.

vinyl n00b. need help with basic audio setup

Reply #9 –
Quote from: DaftFader on
Quote from: rick.hughes on
A receiver is an amplifier with a built-in radio. Despite the extra feature, they may actually be cheaper than some amplifiers since they are more common. Do you want to connect other things besides your turntable? Some of the simple mini amplifiers may not have extra inputs, but all receivers will.

Receivers with amps in generally have poor quality amps inside, It's much better to get a dedicated power amp as the sound quality will greatly improve, and as in my post above, he needs to pick the amp to fit the speaker's wattage and impedance; The amps that do this (at least the one's I've looked at) have more then enough inputs for a whole stack system.

They do not necessarily have worse amplifiers inside, and having the radio will be convenient as well as expanding your listening choice beyond your LP collection.

Your simplest solution would be an 'integrated' amp, which means that you get input selection, volume control and amplification in one box. If you can find a decent receiver, though, it'll probably be a good choice. Receivers usually have a wider range of connections (analogue and digital) too. Connecting your TV's sound output to some decent speakers is something I've always recommended, as it enhances your enjoyment of television a lot, compared to the set's built-in speakers.

vinyl n00b. need help with basic audio setup

Reply #10 –
Quote from: DaftFader on
Receivers with amps in generally have poor quality amps inside, It's much better to get a dedicated power amp as the sound quality will greatly improve, and as in my post above, he needs to pick the amp to fit the speaker's wattage and impedance; The amps that do this (at least the one's I've looked at) have more then enough inputs for a whole stack system.



The above is an audiophile myth.

If one checks over a few service manuals, one might even find the identical same electronic circuit in an AVR, a Stereo Receiver, Integrated amp, and Power Amp. Sometimes even different brand names.

A more logical rule is to keep the audio signal in the digital domain as close to the speakers as possible.

vinyl n00b. need help with basic audio setup

Reply #11 –
Quote from: Arnold B. Krueger on
A more logical rule is to keep the audio signal in the digital domain as close to the speakers as possible.


Not very logical when the OP was specifically asking for help setting up a vinyl playback system ;-)