I recently purchased a Sony STR-DE545 receiver. Unfortunately, I did not notice that it DID NOT HAVE A PHONO JACK!! I have a Technics SL-MK1600MK2 turntable that I would like to attach to it. In the owner’s manual, in the section concerning the AUX jack is the phrase “If you have an individual audio component (except PHONO)…” so I’m assuming I can’t hook the turntable to this jack. Also, there’s no grounding screw like on my old receiver (also a Sony). Turntables are not refered to anywhere else in the manual. I went to the Radio Shack website and found a “Magnetic Cartridge Stereo Preamp” (#970-1018) which “allows turntable with magnetic cartridge to be connected to ceramic phono or aux input of amplifier, stereo or boombox.”
What you need is a CD Player. Step into the 21 century.
I’m just joking.
I think the only concern is the grounding. I’m no electrician, but you may be ok if you can figure out a way to “ground” the turntable to the receiver. Couldn’t be that hard.
On the other hand I could totally be talking out of my ass.
The auxilliary jack is for a mono device .If I understand your post you could plug a mic in there.
The magnetic cartrige won’t help if the reciever doesn’t have stereo input capabilities.
Go ahead and get the Radio Shack pre-amp or find one on ebay. It’s exactly what you need. In a nutshell, the magnetic phono cartridge just doesn’t put out a strong enough signal to drive the AUX inputs. Receiver manufacturers don’t put phono inputs in their receivers anymore to save a few cents since not a lot of people listen to vinyl anymore . You should be able to ground your turntable to a screw somewhere on the receiver case. The Pre-amp manual should have something in it about grounding. Good Luck !
I recently bought a second CD player. There was only one CD input, so I considered plugging it into the phono input.
I found the website for the company that made my reciever and e-mailed them with my question and the specific model I owned. I got a personal e-mail back. (It went something like NO! Don’t plug it in there! Plug it in the tape input instead.)
So I recommend going to the Sony website and e-mailing them for advice.
My Rotel Amp has two AUX jacks, and they’re both stereo. And gold plated, too. But hey, the OP should have asked us about what to buy before he went ahead and bought a Sony.
If you want to test if the pre-amp will work, you can plug the turntable into the back of your VCR and the audio outs into the AUX jacks. You’ll see the VCR will work as an amp. Actually, you can boost the signal simply by using y-splitters from your VCR audio outs into the AUX ins on the reciever. Mine works just fine that way, although for a true audiophile, this is not acceptable due to the slight noise factor.
The VCR has to be on for this to work. I usually switch it over to the AU channel to do this, to avoid other audio being produced.
The RS pre-amp will do the job… but quite frankly as an inexpensive add on it is not that high quality and, depending on what you want to do with the phono source input/output, it may add unwanted noise if you are mastering the record to tape or some digital medium.
Input Impedance:…50 Kohms at 1,000 Hz
Output Impedance:…50 Kohms
Amplitude Gain:…34 dB
Rated Input Level:…3mV
Maximum Permissable Imput:…38mV
Output Level:…1.8V ms
Frequency Response:…30 Hz to 20 kHz +/- dB
Compensation:…RIAA with deviation less than +/- 1 dB
Signal-to-Noise Ratio:…50 dB with normal input
Crosstalk:…Better than 50 dB
Transistors:…Four (4) Silicon transistors
Battery:…9 volt transistor radio type (006P or equivalent)
Current Drain:…1 mA average
Size:…3 5/8 x 2 9/16 x 1 3/16 (HWD) Inches
Weight:…5 1/2 oz w/o battery
This one on ebay for ($ 38.50 buy it now) looks to be of considerably better quality) http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1238216256
"FYI, 98% OF MY FEEDBACK RECORD IS FROM BUYERS OF THESE UNITS… This is a high quality OEM Bozak Madisson, Model CLK-PH2 Stereo Phono Preamplifier. It is used to install turntables to receivers, mixers, amplifiers or mini systems where only AUX, TAPE or CD line levels are available. It can also be used to hook up your turntable to your PC so you can record all your favorite LP Vinyl Albums on to CD Audio discs (NECESSARY 3.5mm to RCA PATCH CABLE INCLUDED). It utilizes passive RIAA equalization which provides precise and phase-correct frequency response. The CLK-PH2 is a pleasant sounding, low noise piece that sounds surprisingly rich, round and satisfying. SN ratio is 78db…If you’re slowly creeping your way back to analog or just want something to use to play back all your old record collection and don’t want to spend a small fortune, this preamp is what you need… It will come with a factory two year, no fault warranty and a thirty day satisfaction guarantee. I am also including an 18 page step by step tutorial on Vinyl to CD recording, which also contains various websites and links, all which are loaded with essential info on Vinyl to CD Recording. And also a new 6ft RCA patch cable and a 3ft 3.5mm to RCA patch cable(this is the one that hooks up to your PC’s sound card) will also be included
[/QUOTE]
My Rotel Amp has two AUX jacks, and they’re both stereo. And gold plated, too. But hey, the OP should have asked us about what to buy before he went ahead and bought a Sony.
[/QUOTE]
I’ve always had good luck with Sony products in the past. The other receivers I was looking at just didn’t do it for me. Most appeared to have been designed by people who didn’t know what the hell they were doing.
Also, it offered the most stuff (sans phono input :)) for the least amount of money. I do not consider myself to be a hardcore audiophile and would probably not notice any difference between this unit and a much higher-end one.
Just curious, though, what would you have recommended?
Guess I misunderstood . Use the aux input or use the tape input.
If the reciever has an antenna input, the kind for 300 ohm with screws use the one that is labeled ground.
I would think your new preamp will work OK.
Mr. Blue Sky, I am by no means a HiFi specialist, and it’s all a matter of personal preference anyway. That, and budget.
I would have asked you how much money you would have wanted to spend. I would also have recommended a separate tuner and amp, since receivers often don’t make the best allround amps, and tuners are relatively inexpensive anyway (I’d hook up a $150 Technics tuner to my $500 Rotel amp in a heartbeat - it’s not like radio quality matters as much to me as CD quality).
Knowing your budget for an amp, I could offer you a few brands that make really good value for money amps, all with their own characteristics. Rotel was my choice because of its crisp, composed and slightly agressive sound. But if you want a machine for some candle light background music, it’s utterly useless. Again, it all depends.
Also, I’m not a phono addict, so in this case my advise would be of little value anyway. And yes, I did have a lot of bad experience with Sony products, especially in terms of reliability. But hey, for a mainstream brand, they make products with decent specs and adequate sound.
Thanks for the info, Coldfire. I currently have a Sony 5-disc CD changer that’s 10 years’ old and still functions perfectly. My old Sony receiver has a bad spot in the headphone jack (I have to wiggle the plug a bit), but otherwise has been flawless. The other brands available (Technics and Harmon Kardon) appeared to be poorly designed from an ergonomic standpoint. I’m a gadget freak, but too many buttons tend to be discouraging and annoying.
Gadgets schmadgets. Stuff like equalizers are only there to tell the public “This is one high-tech gizmo!”, but it really means “This product might not sound too impressive without it”.
Well, don’t get me started.
I’d pick Harman Kardonn over Sony and Technics any day in terms of sound quality. And Technics over Sony for build quality. But hey, that’s just me.
I forgot to mention that you can use your old receiver to connect up the turntable for now. Plus, it won’t cost you anything except a couple of cables. Just connect the turntable into the phono inputs of the old receiver and connct the tape out jacks on the old receiver to the aux inputs on the new receiver. All you have to do is turn the old receiver on and select the “Phono” input on the old and the “Aux” input on the new. Should work just fine till you get a Pre-amp.
The phono preamp is REQUIRED to connect a turntable to these newer amps/receivers. Without it, it will sound like mud; the tinny hiss will be overwhelming and there will be no bass content. In the interest of dispelling ignorance, here is the reason: In the early times of stylus (shellac/wax/vinyl) recording, it was realized that when cutting the grooves for bass information, the signal would have to be reduced to avoid cutting into the adjacent grooves, and the treble information would have to be boosted in order to be heard. In the 50’s a standard was reached by the RIAA (and firmly in place before the LP was introduced) which required all phono playback equipment to boost the bass and reduce the treble (quite a bit, in fact) in order to hear the intended program. So if anyone has this question, it is hoped that they read down this far. (Can the moderator boost it to the top?)
A phono input processor does 2 things: amplifies a signal weaker than line level (also a standard) and adjusts the signal curve.
(I am surprised by the number of people posting to this thread that don’t know the basics of this stuff. Way too much misinformation by SDMB standards.)
