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gain ground [hifi geeks]
bsjezz
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
...not the videogame
so i bought an awesome vintage turntable cheap. i'm having real problems getting a good sound out of it, and my best theory at the moment is that it's the missing ground cable. the stylus is fine - i took it into a record store today to order a replacement, but the dude gave it a spin and it sounded better than his, so the stylus isn't an issue.
he was sure that there'd be a port somewhere in the back of the thing, or, if not, a wire pulled out that could be connected if i check out the innards. i checked and rechecked, but there's nothing other than the two stereo cables and the power cord. i've got the thing open next to me now, and there's nothing obvious
how do i ground the thing? my amp's got a pre-amp and a spot for the ground cable, i just don't know what it needs to be attached to inside the record player. where would the interference be coming from?
alternatively, what else could be causing the crappy sound? could my preamp be busted? oh god, i don't want to think about that. basically at the moment, depending on which phono port i plug the thing into ([mag] or [xtal]), i get either a really low-fi, grumbly, horrible result with enough volume, or a really really un-amplified signal that i need to crank my amp to 15 to listen to. which is damned dangerous when i'm switching to other inputs frequently
i have pictures of this thing's guts if it helps
so i bought an awesome vintage turntable cheap. i'm having real problems getting a good sound out of it, and my best theory at the moment is that it's the missing ground cable. the stylus is fine - i took it into a record store today to order a replacement, but the dude gave it a spin and it sounded better than his, so the stylus isn't an issue.
he was sure that there'd be a port somewhere in the back of the thing, or, if not, a wire pulled out that could be connected if i check out the innards. i checked and rechecked, but there's nothing other than the two stereo cables and the power cord. i've got the thing open next to me now, and there's nothing obvious
how do i ground the thing? my amp's got a pre-amp and a spot for the ground cable, i just don't know what it needs to be attached to inside the record player. where would the interference be coming from?
alternatively, what else could be causing the crappy sound? could my preamp be busted? oh god, i don't want to think about that. basically at the moment, depending on which phono port i plug the thing into ([mag] or [xtal]), i get either a really low-fi, grumbly, horrible result with enough volume, or a really really un-amplified signal that i need to crank my amp to 15 to listen to. which is damned dangerous when i'm switching to other inputs frequently
i have pictures of this thing's guts if it helps
bsjezz on
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Make sure it's not your preamp: can you hook up a different turntable(that's known to work) to your preamp?
Try grounding: hookup a wire to the ground outlet on your amp, touch it to anything metal you can find on your turntable, the stylus arm, screws in the chassis, etc.
When you brought it in did you just bring in the stylus or the whole turntable? Do you know that the cartridge and stylus are in properly alignment and weighted correctly?
xtal is not the right preamp to use, btw. Mag is for magnetic, xtal is crystal, which are ghetto stylus from the past.
it's an old amp so i'm not sure if getting it repaired or just getting another pre-amp for the side is the best bet. kind of bummed because i love this thing - it's kind of an heirloom. that is to say, i stole it from my nan
plus i want to hear my new record player going at its best! bah.
pictures for the curious: