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Turntable on receiver?

N

nbriles2000

Active Member
This should be pretty straight foreward.. Is it a bad idea to place a turntable on top of a receiver/ integrated amp? I've seen some photos around here of people doing it, but I was never sure if it was a good idea or not.
-Nate
 
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Commonly called "stacking", looks cool, convenient and uses less space, that's the plus side. On the other hand the receiver will overheat from having the vent blocked by the turntable. The turntable will cook sitting on the receiver and there's a good chance of electrical interference from the receivers transformer. One of the biggest enemies of electrical components is excessive heat build up. Bottom line at least from me it's not recommended.
 
Some receivers and amps have the vents on the side or external heat sinks on the back, so heat shouldn't be a big problem with those.
 
I always tried to isolate my turntable from everything else as much as I could. Cartridges can pick up all kinds of unwanted electronic noise.
 
I've had mine setup this way for the past couple of years due to space issues. It's not ideal, obviously, but I haven't had any problems.
 
Isolation wouldn't be my concern, heat buildup would be. The top of the reciever won't really vibrate any more than the table next to it. As long as you have enough ventillation, and aren't experiencing any feedback problems, run it. Maybe add in some spacers between the units to make sure there is plenty of air circulation space. If you're running a tube reciever, absolutely no way though. Those run hot enough to fry eggs under normal circumstances.
 
nbriles2000 said:
This should be pretty straight foreward.. Is it a bad idea to place a turntable on top of a receiver/ integrated amp? I've seen some photos around here of people doing it, but I was never sure if it was a good idea or not.
-Nate
Click to expand...




Yes, bad idea.

And I agree with Crossram that a worse position for a turntable would be on top of a speaker (or too near to a speaker).
 
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If you want to go the other way, you can stack your receiver on top of the turntable, but you will have to get a Sony PS FL7II direct drive, quartz controlled, linear tracking. Not a great turntable, but it gets the job done fairly well, It is designed to have 80 lbs of gear stacked on top of it. How do you place the LP, well, simply press a buttom and the front cover swings up and the turntable slides out, something like a big CD player tray. Put your LP on, hit play and it slides back in and plays it. Pretty cool. I used it for many years with a receiver, a CD player and a double tape deck on top of it with no problem.
 

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A set-up that has no doubt been done by millions, but not a good idea. I've done it myself once or twice short-term when other possibilities were non-existent. Not a good idea for all of the reasons already mentioned, plus the possibility of jiggling things when adjusting volume or something.
 
I'm with fiddlefye. I've done it very short term when juggling and testing gear but I don't recommend it.
 
Get some kind of shelving unit. Stacking looks convenient until you want to change out one of the units, at which point you'll discover it's the one on the bottom.
 
If the receiver manufacturer did't want you to put the turntable on top of the receiver, they would have made them dome shaped on top.:D
 
I did it for a while when I didn't have any free space around. Once I stuck my hand/fingers in the gap between the top of the receiver and turntable. It was very hot between the two components. I don't think it hurt anything, but I stopped stacking it after that.

.
 
I stack my table in my vintage rig 2 system, but do use a pair of AT-605 audio isolators to add more room between the table and the reciever. It sees minimal use so I don't worry about it.
Regards,
Jim
 
Read the owners manual for your receiver and turntable and see what the mfg has to say about installation/location. Like anything else audio some throw caution to the wind and do it their way, it's your equipment your choice.
 
Done it

Greyson said:
I've had mine setup this way for the past couple of years due to space issues. It's not ideal, obviously, but I haven't had any problems.
Click to expand...

While not ideal, my shop system is a Pioneer SX 850 with a Dual 1009 on top with a Kenwood KX 1030 between them. The Pioneer is big enough to allow ventilation. Without doing this I have no bench though I have a rolling bench with three other Duals in various states of repair. Starting to pile up again:thmbsp: The upstairs sets aren't stacked. The Mrs bought a big cabinet for the Marantz and 1229, a nice Pioneer CTF 9191 with a flat screen too:smoke: Same in bedroom. Do what ya gotta do.

Eric:music:
 
I'd also worry about leaving prints on a wood cased receiver from the feet on the turntable. Have to be there a while, but those marks seem to be permanent.
 
I had my equipment stacked for years when I was a kid. I cut a plywood sheet to the size of my turntable and raised it to clear the receiver vents using hockey pucks.
 
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