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is a preamp needed between turntable and eq?

swcrites

swcrites

New Member
greetings from sacramento!
First, I'd like to say that audiokarma ROCKS and thank you for the awesome website, as I reference it often. Yesterday evening I was Goodwillng and came across an ADC Sound Shaper SS-315X for only $10! I'm pretty excited about it. I'm really diggin the VFD on it.. I'd love to integrate it into my system, but only for my turntable. I cant seem to find any info on the unit online at the moment so i guess my question is: do I still need a preamp from the turntable, or does this eq have an input sensitivity that can detect 4mV..? the catrtridge is an Audio Technica mlb440 mounted on a Technics SL-1400 mk1. Any advice would be appreciated!!
once again, thanks for your time and awesome site
Scott
 
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EQ's work at line level. Turntable cartridges output a much, much lower level. This means that you'll need a phono preamp between your TT and the EQ..
 
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Do not do not run the TT signal directly through the EQ.
The TT preamp has special (RIAA) equalization required for the proper frequency response.
Also, the EQ would add significant noise to your TT signal.
Install the EQ in a tape loop on your amp/receiver or after the TT preamp - which would be at the higher "line level".
 
Thanks for the quick replies. As of right now, my setup is Technics SL-1400 mk1 with an Audio Technica mlb440 cart, Audio Technica ATLP-1240USB with an Audio Technica AT120EP cart (for digitizing my vinyl), a Denon DR-M30X tape deck, a pair of Klipsch Heresy 1's my dad bought in the late 70's (the gem of my system), 2 Klipsch powered subwoofers, and a Pioneer Elite SX-N30 Stereo Integrated Amplifier as the main vein (newest edition of the collection). My setup constantly changes though, as I'm constantly collecting old amps, tape decks, anything related to audio. haha i have a whole closet full of equipment and I couldn't tell you why i keep buying it. I'm passionate about music and sound quality. Anyways, in my collection of components, I have an Onkyo P-306RS preamp. It looks like I'll be hooking it up today with the new EQ!
Thanks again!
Scott
 
The standard way would be to connect the equalizer to the tape loop that you now have the cassette deck on. Connect the tape deck to the tape monitor on the equalizer. Place the eq in bypass and play any source. When you want to eq the TT engage the equalizer. This way you can observe the display all the time

Why use the eq only for LP playback?:dunno:
 
The way i listen to music is mainly vinyl, as well as streaming from a hard drive over the internet. I NEVER will adjust eq settings on my amp or preamp and try to set it up to be as direct as possible. If i do use a filter, I;'d like it to be through a dedicated one which is why I picked up the EQ (since im an audiophile wannabe haha) I use itunes with bitperfect digitally. So, I figure that the digital source already has a filter on it (bitperfect) but the turntable does not. It seemed logical, but after doing some research as well as following your suggestion, i think I may run the digital source through the EQ.
 
Scratch all my previous answers. I took a look at the back panel of your amplifier and there is no tape loop. Consequently there is no easy way to connect an equalizer on anything other than one line level input.

AFAIK Bitperfect is not a filter.
 
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