Help Needed with Turntable and Surround Sound System

essexbevy

I have recently bought a very simple £25 turntable from a well known department store (their own) and hoped to connect it to my Yamaha surround sound system (which admittedly has been in storage for a while but does appear to be working). The turntable has a white and red cable. I cannot get it to work with the surround sound (which has four little speakers, a big box speaker and an upright thin control type box into which the speaker wires etc go). I have also tried to connect it to my Mum's old stack system and got some music out but its very low and only from one speaker. I have searched the internet and it seems I may need a pre-amp and this is where it all goes wrong for me! I dont understand what I should be doing at all :0( is anyone able to help please?

fwor

A turntable cartridge has a lower level signal than most other line-level sources such as CD players, so you need a phono preamp, which also needs to add what is known as RIAA equalisation, or it won't sound right.

You can buy them from around £15 upward from Ebay, but don't expect fantastic sound quality at that price.

Alternatively, an old stereo amp which has a PH or Phono input will have one biult in, if you can lay your hands on something old enough.

ohreally

Does the Yamaha have an auxiliary input suitable for a turntable - one of the inputs may have a phono stage (inbuilt pre-amp) connected to it which will boost the low level signal into something more useable?

googler

You need an audio system with a dedicated turntable input, or 'phono' input. alternatively, you need what's called a 'phono stage' to step up the output from the turntable so that it's at line level, and so that you can plug the output from the phono stage into an Aux or Line input.

You're unlikely to get a phono stage for £25 unless you look on eBay or Gumtree, I fear.

The model numbers for all the components might help ....

nomoreheroes

If you have are Richersounds store near to you they are selling a phono preamp for £19.99

Empty_pockets

Turn? Table?

What is this black magic of which you speak?
As said above, phono amp needed. Richer sounds is your friend.

Get yourself a set of JPW mini's genuinely great speakers and can be had for £20 if you're savvy.

penrhyn

Garrard 401, SME arm, Shure cartridge mmmmmmnnnnn!