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EQ/pre-amp hookup

D

Dirty

New Member
I have a general installation question regarding installation of an equalizer.

Does the EQ fall in line before or after the external pre-amp?

I have a Marantz SR880MKII AV/Receiver, a ClearAudio Basic pre-amp, an early 80s EQ, and a Marantz 6300 turntable. That's it.

Any tips I should know?

Thanks,

Tony
 
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It only has 2 in and 2 out. It does not have any "tape" indicators.

Maybe I should call it a phone stage...or is pre-amp and phone stage interchangeable?
 
bob06 said:
The way I have mine connected is in between the PRE and the AMP. Out of the PRE, IN to the EQ, OUT of the EQ, IN to the AMP.:D
Click to expand...

You can do that as long as the sensitivity of the EQ is matched to the output of the Pre-amp, and the Input of the amplifier.
Often the domestic EQ's are designed to hook up to a tape loop which is a different sensitivity from the preamp output and poweramp input. -10db (tape loop) as opposed to +4db (preamp output/poweramp input).

Pro EQ's tend to be +4db, and sometimes have a switchable option for -10db
 
Seems to me that if you hook it up to the tape loop on the receiver, then you could switch it in and out of the circuit to see what difference it's making.
 
JDub said:
Seems to me that if you hook it up to the tape loop on the receiver, then you could switch it in and out of the circuit to see what difference it's making.
Click to expand...

I think the OP has stated it doesnt have a Tape Loop.....or at least the way I read it.....:scratch2:

petehall347 said:
you could just put it in-between pre and main
Click to expand...

I have mine like that, but I use a pro EQ (BSS FCS926) which has a +4db sensitivity. This is fine, but if its a domestic designed to go in a tape loop, he will have a sensitivity miss-match....can be a bit noisy....
 
kevzep said:
I think the OP has stated it doesnt have a Tape Loop.....or at least the way I read it.....:scratch2:



I have mine like that, but I use a pro EQ (BSS FCS926) which has a +4db sensitivity. This is fine, but if its a domestic designed to go in a tape loop, he will have a sensitivity miss-match....can be a bit noisy....
Click to expand...
oh righto . just going off how i wire mine in the p.a rack except i go into compressor limiter after the eq but that's another story
 
I checked again and there is a tape input along with an input for CD, LD, AUX.

I never thought about an sensitivity mismatch. How can I tell what each of them are? Will it say on the unit?

I guess I'll try and set it up between the pre and the amp and see what I get. Should I leave it running through the LD input as I have it now or switch it to the tape input?

Thanks for everyone's input...
 
Last edited:
Dirty said:
I checked again and there is a tape input along with an input for CD, LD, AUX.

I never thought about an sensitivity mismatch. How can I tell what each of them are? Will it say on the unit?

I guess I'll try and set it up between the pre and the amp and see what I get. Should I leave it running through the LD input as I have it now or switch it to the tape input?

Thanks for everyone's input...
Click to expand...
It's been difficult following this thread.

Just to clarify:

What are you referring to as the PRE - are you talking about the Clear Audio Basic phono preamp?

What are you talking about as the AMP? The Marantz Audio Video Receiver?
If so, what inputs are you connecting the equalizer to the Marantz? Is that the LD input you mention? If you are putting the equalizer in between the Clear Audio and Marantz you are only equalizing the turntable source.

If you have a tape input, you should also have a tape out which was originally recommended for the equalizer. That connection should allow you to equalize any source.
 
Dirty said:
I have a general installation question regarding installation of an equalizer.

Does the EQ fall in line before or after the external pre-amp?
Click to expand...

If the "external pre-amp" is is a ClearAudio phono preamp, then the eq goes after the external pre-amp.

Dirty said:
I have a Marantz SR880MKII AV/Receiver, a ClearAudio Basic pre-amp, an early 80s EQ, and a Marantz 6300 turntable. That's it.

Any tips I should know?

Thanks,

Tony
Click to expand...

Since you have a receiver (Marantz SR8800MKII), there should be a tape loop on it. Look for "Tape in" and "tape out" on the back of the receiver.

The connecting the eq between the pre amp out and power amp in is not a good idea for a lot of reasons.
One of the primary reasons is noise. At "power amp in", there is no more volume control. So, whatever noise floor there is on the eq gets automatically amplified. The input voltage on the eq is much lower than it would be if it were plugged into a tape connection.

If it is plugged into a tape connection on the receiver, the noise contribution of the eq is much less.
Using the tape connection, the same noise floor exists on the eq, but since the input voltage is much larger the signal to noise is much better through the eq.
Additionally, the eq'd signal coming back into the receiver, is sent to the volume control where the whole signal is knocked down. ...signal and noise. So the eqs contribution to noise is lessened again.
 
If that's an AVR, the odds of it having a proper tape loop are virtually nil. It may have a tape out and a tape in, but I doubt it's got the monitor switch that makes the all-important loop that feeds the signal out and then right back in.
 
So it would be helpful for others to describe what you finally did.

What did you hook the Clear Audio phono preamp to?
What did you hook the equalizer to?
 
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