Pluging a turntable to Amp6-BASIC

[b.desmarets]

Hey all,
I've bought, months ago, an Amp6 Basic, in order to start a small DIY project.

Actually, the final goal is to use the amp with volume control, PS and battery (everything housed in a nice case), with a pair of speakers, playing my vinyls. And it's about this last part I'm now needing help : the turntable, and more precisely, the need of pre-amplifying its signal. I've only understood that I need to get a pre-amp, to amplify, adjust and correct the signal, but could you give me more information about the practical aspect of it? What specifications of the pre-amp do I need to check? Where does it have to be soldered on the amp? And do I need to configure it or just sold it? Such elementary questions I prefer to get from humans than articles...

I've only been advised by a friend, to get the "Phono-M pre-amp" from Thel Audio : here with its transformer : here

Thanks in advance for all the help. And, as I post here my first message, thank you for the precious help you've already given to me.

Baptiste.

[gnome]

Hey all,
I've bought, months ago, an Amp6 Basic, in order to start a small DIY project.

Actually, the final goal is to use the amp with volume control, PS and battery (everything housed in a nice case), with a pair of speakers, playing my vinyls. And it's about this last part I'm now needing help : the turntable, and more precisely, the need of pre-amplifying its signal. I've only understood that I need to get a pre-amp, to amplify, adjust and correct the signal, but could you give me more information about the practical aspect of it? What specifications of the pre-amp do I need to check? Where does it have to be soldered on the amp? And do I need to configure it or just sold it? Such elementary questions I prefer to get from humans than articles...

I've only been advised by a friend, to get the "Phono-M pre-amp" from Thel Audio : here with its transformer : here

Thanks in advance for all the help. And, as I post here my first message, thank you for the precious help you've already given to me.

Baptiste.

The question is why on earth would you want to ruin the amp6 by playing vinyl on it??

But very well, it's your business why you want to listen to crackles and pops, however you need to understand why you need a special preamplifier for listening to phonograph records and why it is such a retarded format
read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIAA_equalization

So pretty much any pre amplifier with a phono input will do because they have to be able to deal with riaa equalization by definition, you could use a dj amplifier for simplicity's sake, that phono pre amp that was suggested to you is probably just fine, but I have to admit that the input and output tabs seem very confusing, you will have to ask them for instructions.

[krilli]

It turns out that the exact method by which vinyls render music listening especially pleasurable isn't something that can be measured ...

The phono preamp and correction circuit doesn't need to be soldered on the amp. It can be in a separate housing. It's simply connected somewhere on the way between the record player and the amp - you can place it where you like.

[b.desmarets]

Okay, thank you very much guys.

Would it be a good idea to enclose the pre-amp in a special housing, so I could use it later if I get another amp? And, for this project, can I set up a RCA switch at the amp input, to plug on a side, the amp and on the other one, my iPod? And finally, can you confirm that the pre-amp doesn't need to be powered? It only transforms the signal by reducing or boosting intervals of frequencies, without the need of electricity?

[krilli]

Yes, a separate housing for the preamp works fine.

No, the preamp does two things: It boosts the very low signal from the turntable to line-level, and it corrects the frequency response. As far as I know, the boosting needs to be done with an active circuit.

To show an example, here's the Boozhound Labs JFET Phono Kit: http://boozhoundlabs.blogspot.com/p/...reamp-kit.html

It's very simple. I don't know if it's any good - I show it only to give a picture of the essentials.

[V-bro]

Vinyl records can sound very very nice. I have m trusted old Pioneer C21 preamp for that purpose. Indeed you need EQ-ing (called RIAA) which needs to match the response of the pick-up to make it somewhat linear.

I don't see why listening to well EQ-ed vinyl would be any worse than listening to L/C filtered square waves??

[gnome]

It turns out that the exact method by which vinyls render music listening especially pleasurable isn't something that can be measured ...

Maybe it's the fact that you know that it destroys itself a little more every time you play it? A metaphor for life?

[V-bro]

I have a CD here from the French artist Jean Michel Jarre, the famous album Equinoxe and it sound considerably much more pleasurable from the vinyl record than it does from the CD. I don't particularly call myself a vinyl enthusiast, but it is definitely a wig scratcher.

[gnome]

I have a CD here from the French artist Jean Michel Jarre, the famous album Equinoxe and it sound considerably much more pleasurable from the vinyl record than it does from the CD. I don't particularly call myself a vinyl enthusiast, but it is definitely a wig scratcher.

The CD release of Equinoxe was in the first wave of CD's being released in the early 80's, which is well known as the learning phase of the new medium, to be kind to mastering engineers, not a surprise that they ruined Equinoxe. Actually there was a "learning phase" when vinyl records were made in stereo in the 60's, and they learned that the magic didn't come by panning instruments hard left and voices hard right, but it did show off that you had 2 channels of sound. The same way mastering engineers wanted to show off the 96dB dynamic range of CD's, actually it was probably more the marketing department pushing them to overuse the capabilities, just like the marketing departments push them to compress pop releases these days to ridiculous levels to make their track appear louder.