phono without phono inputs?

[drevil]

I’m a newbie entering the world of home theater & a/v set up. I’m on a budget (trying to stay around that $500 figure, or so…) and am going to build piece by piece. Most receivers I’m interested in have one problem – a lack of a phone input. (This seems to come only on higher end models.) Is there a way to safely and properly hook up a record play to a receiver if it doesn’t have a specific input? What kind of pre-amp unit would I need? Are there grounding issues? I welcome any advice…I may be off in the wrong direction and maybe I should invest more in a receiver?

Welcome any thoughts…

[E-Stat]

Is there a way to safely and properly hook up a record play to a receiver if it doesn’t have a specific input? What kind of pre-amp unit would I need? Are there grounding issues? I welcome any advice…I may be off in the wrong direction and maybe I should invest more in a receiver?

No need to buy a more expensive receiver. Instead, you can buy an outboard phono preamp and run it through one of the other high level inputs. For conventional magnetic cartridges, they can be found for as little as $25 from Radio Shack. Sometimes, it is helpful to ground the turntable to your receiver. I don't find it necessary with my rig.

rw

[Worf101]

Go to Rat Shack or somewhere and get a cheap phono pre-amp and run it through an auxillary input. Most low to mid level HT hookups no long have phono-in's. Kinda a sign of that times. Next on the endangered species list, Cassette Deck inputs and outputs.

Da Worfster

[drevil]

Thanks...thought I could do the pre-amp thing, but an "expert" at a store said I should be concerned about no grounding wire. Is he just being overly cautious? Can I just make sure it is grounded someplace else?

Thanks.

[E-Stat]

Thanks...thought I could do the pre-amp thing, but an "expert" at a store said I should be concerned about no grounding wire. Is he just being overly cautious? Can I just make sure it is grounded someplace else?

The ground wire, if needed at all, would be run from turntable to receiver chassis anyway. My guess is that the store "expert" is a younger person with very little experience with turntables. When I started with this hobby in 1973, that's really all there was! And my first phono preamp was the venerable Radio Shack model.

rw

[Mr Peabody]

There's no ground problem. Most phono preamps provide a place for the ground to go. The only one I tried without a ground was a NAD. It sucked in all aspects and should have had the ground. If you already have a turntable look at the back, you should have a left and right RCA male connectors and a third wire for ground. The ground may possibly be just a thumb screw for connecting ground. If your table don't have this either you have a really nice table like a Rega that has engineered around having an extra ground or it's a piece of junk ceramic cartridge which you should immediately throw away. If you don't have a TT there are still good buys on the used market. Try thrift stores and resale shops for gems. You can get a Project or Music Hall with cartridge for about $300. that will be much better than new TT from mass market brands. Some of the cheap preamps are alright, I'd suggest checking the specs just to be sure the frequency response is at least 20 to 20k. One of the old Radio Shacks I noticed only went to about 15k. This would roll your high end off pretty bad.

[markw]

I can't even remember the last time I saw a standalone turntable offered with a ceramic cartridge. I think those passed away in the late 60's or possibly the early 70's.

[Stu-r]

You can look up phono preamps or phono preamplifiers on the web and find many available - some very poor ones and some very good ones. All will connect to any high level input on your amplifier/receiver.