Testing Receiver Phono In Without a Turntable?

hi*ball

Records & Coffee
I realize this question may sound, well simple, but...

Is it possible to check a receiver's phono in without using a turntable?

I am going to look at a Sansui 661 receiver tomorrow, but the seller does not have a turntable.

Can you just plug in any RCA and expect a lower sound level?

Thanks! :music:
 
The magnetic phono input takes a very low level signal anything else plugged in there
will give you lots of distortion and may harm the sellers phono input stage. Don't do it!.
 
Well I don't really recommend it, but if you have just an RCA cord plugged in and Phono selected you will get some noise if you touch the other end of the cable. It might be pretty nasty buzzing or humming noise so make sure the volume is turned very low and it should not harm anything. As suggested already do not connect a line level source such as CD, iPod or otherwise.
 
Take a TT with you. If its going to be a deal breaker.
 
Take an iPod or similar music player with you and a 3.5mm stereo to RCA cable.

Connect the RCA's to the phono input and plug the other end into the player.

START WITH THE MUSIC PLAYERS VOLUME ALL THE WAY DOWN.

Turn on the receiver and select the phono input. Set the receiver volume about 1/3 or so and slightly increase the volume of the music player. Increase the volume enough to hear what you are playing being careful not to go too loud or the input may overload causing damage to the unit.

The sound you get will sound dull and lifeless because of the RIAA equalization but you should get sound.
 
There are plenty of inverse RIAA circuits out there to use to pump into a phono input from a high level source. I've never worked at a shop that didn't have this circuit built into the test panel.

One caveat: The circuit provided a low-ish source impedance for a phono input. This could mask leaky input transistor/FET problems in a phono preamp.

If you just want to test the basic functionality of a phono preamp, turn down the volume very low, plug in some RCA cables, and just touch the tips of the cable ends. If it's (basically) working, you'll get a hum when you touch the cables.


You can plug in some higher output level device, but just keep the output level very low, otherwise you'll overload the preamp and generate lot's of distortion. ....... and without the inverse RIAA eq, it'll sound very muddy.
 
Would follow this but also turn bass all the way down/treble all the way up - not a perfect job of undoing the RIAA equalization but gets you partway there.

John

Take an iPod or similar music player with you and a 3.5mm stereo to RCA cable.

Connect the RCA's to the phono input and plug the other end into the player.

START WITH THE MUSIC PLAYERS VOLUME ALL THE WAY DOWN.

Turn on the receiver and select the phono input. Set the receiver volume about 1/3 or so and slightly increase the volume of the music player. Increase the volume enough to hear what you are playing being careful not to go too loud or the input may overload causing damage to the unit.

The sound you get will sound dull and lifeless because of the RIAA equalization but you should get sound.
 
Here's a good solution for $8

I bought one of these line level to phono interfaces and it seems to work pretty well. Its intended application allows you to use a phono input as a line level input if you're short on inputs in an amp or receiver.

However it's a quick and effective solution for the OP's original purpose, using an iPod or some other easy to carry and use source to verify that the phono inputs in an amp or receiver are working. Keep one of these in your car with test speakers, headphones and the right cables and you're ready to test and buy the next holy grail item that shows up on Craig's List. If we're going to practice this obsession, we should at least do it efficiently, right? :no:
 
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I bought one of these line level to phono interfaces and it seems to work pretty well. Its intended application allows you to use a phono input as a line level input if you're short on inputs in an amp or receiver.

However it's a quick and effective solution for the OP's original purpose, using an iPod or some other easy to carry and use source to verify that the phono inputs in an amp or receiver are working. Keep one of these in your car with test speakers, headphones and the right cables and you're ready to test and buy the next holy grail item that shows up on Craig's List. If we're going to practice this obsession, we should at least do it efficiently, right? :no:

That looks like a great tool to have! I definitely couldn't bring myself to load a turntable into the car, but this is perfect, especially for the $8 price tag!

Thanks for the info!
 
So I will resurect the thread.
I don't have a turntable. I need to test if the phono stage is ok when I sell an amp. I have an oscilloscope though which I use to test other inputs with 1KHz sin signal. I never tested phono stage although I always restore/recap it.
How should I test the phono input with oscilloscope, any special care should I take?
 
I agree with wmgwizards post number 6 above. It how I always do a quick and dirty phono input check. Obviously it's not a purist approach, but it works for me......
 
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