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A moron asking about turntable hook ups to modern home theatre system

post #1 of 8
2/1/13 at 6:54pm
Thread Starter 
biggrin.gif Hey guys, I am the first to admit I'm a moron when it comes to turntable stuff and did a little research, but still need some help, so I figured I would ask those vastly more knowledgeable than myself on the matter.

First off, my father just purchased a new Vizio 65" TV(not my choice), but my brother and I purchased a Yamaha YHT-397 5.1 surround system to hook up to his TV. Now, this doesn't have a phono hook up and neither does my brother's(still lives there) LG 6820 5.1 system. They really love their vinyl, but I don't think they know the ins and outs of it, as we tried hooking up my brother's turntable to his 5.1 and it wasn't very loud. My knee jerk reaction was that it was missing an amplifier and after doing a bit of research it seems I was right, so....

My question is out of the 5 billion turntables they hoard, do any of them have built in amps that they could use by themselves?

They have:
Toshiba SR-F770
Pioneer PL-950
Technics SL-3300
Technics SL-D2
Some "Ion" modern turntable
Sansui SR-535

The next question would be, do they just need a phono-pre amp if none of those work by themselves? I've looked a few phono pre-amps, but I have zero clue what separates a $17 one from a $20,000 one(Yea I really saw one running for that). What makes some phono pre amps better than others and which ones would be good candidates to hook up to the LG 6820 5.1 and Yamaha YHT-397 5.1 systems that they have? Ideally, something under $100 would be preferable, but like I said I don't know the ins and outs of what's worthwhile, which is why I'm here. biggrin.gif Any help would be much appreciated as we would like to set up their turntable to run through the new Yamaha YHT-397 5.1 that is being hooked up to the new TV.
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post #2 of 8
2/2/13 at 4:44am
The Ion TT should have a built in phono. But IMHO it's the worst sounding TT of the bunch. The Sansui is an intresting TT. It's a quartz driven Direct Drive and if it's in good shape I would go online to Parts Express and pick up a decent phono for about $50. Then just hook up the TT w/grounding wire to the phono and the phono to the AUX in your AVR and yous should be good to go.smile.gif
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post #3 of 8
2/2/13 at 7:14am
You can get a decent phono preamp for a bit under $50 at www.phonopreamps.com.
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post #4 of 8
2/2/13 at 7:46am
A phono preamp does not only increase the volume, it has an RIAA equalization circuit to restore the frequency balance to normal.

On a vinyl record, the bass is SEVERELY reduced and the treble is boosted.

This is done to allow the bass to be recorded without taking up excess physical space on the record surface, and to improve signal-to-noise ratio at the higher frequencies.

The sound is not really listenable until it goes through an RIAA EQ circuit, which every phono preamp includes.
Read the Wikipedia article on RIAA Equalization.

A very good phono preamp can be had for $200; the Musical Fidelity V-LPS. Most of the cheaper ones are not nearly as good-sounding IMO, and it compares well to some very expensive ones.

Some cheap turntables have a built-in phono preamp, but they are mostly not very good at all.

Some receivers or amplifiers, such as certain Harmon-Kardon models, have a fairly good phono preamp built in.
Edited by commsysman - 2/2/13 at 7:53am
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post #5 of 8
2/2/13 at 8:54am
Thread Starter 
Out of all the phono pre-amps listed there, what would be the best sounding one for just simple play through the Yamaha receiver we are hooking it up through. I see they have a $25 one, but then they have a billion underneath it with jargon that I quite frankly don't understand? Does anybody have any personal experiences with particular phono pre-amps from that site or others? cool.gif
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post #6 of 8
2/2/13 at 8:56am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Class A View Post

The Ion TT should have a built in phono. But IMHO it's the worst sounding TT of the bunch. The Sansui is an intresting TT. It's a quartz driven Direct Drive and if it's in good shape I would go online to Parts Express and pick up a decent phono for about $50. Then just hook up the TT w/grounding wire to the phono and the phono to the AUX in your AVR and yous should be good to go.smile.gif

By phono, you mean phono pre-amp I'm assuming right? I'll take a look and see what I see. The father uses the Sansui, so that might be out of the question, but my brother's Toshiba might be moved downstairs and hooked up to it. The rest of the turntables are just collecting dust elsewhere. They actually have more that I don't know of. They like to hoard a lot of crap and not even use it. rolleyes.gif
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post #7 of 8
2/2/13 at 9:19am
Yup phono preamp. Take a look at the link mcnarus posted. By the way your father has good taste. I would give the Technics SL-3300 a shot. They are pretty durable and still qute a few around after being built in 78-79. Also if you need a new cart pick up an Audio Technica AT95E cart for around $55. It goes very nicely w/your tonearm.smile.gif
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post #8 of 8
2/2/13 at 9:31am
Don't forget EBAY and Audiogon. But I also think the link Mcnarus posted above is the best option.
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