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Newbie Needs Help With Turntable

C

Carrie Love

New Member
I was recently given a turntable (a cheapo 'Victrola' in a wood case), which is a lot of fun, but sounds terrible. So I got some really nice Rockwell speakers that have amplifiers in them (one for each woofer and tweeter). The speakers sounded really good, but the volume was very low, and there wasn't much bass. I did some research, and then got a preamp to boost the volume -- but when I hooked it up, the sound was all distorted. I did some more research, and I think I also need a regular amplifier. My question is, why isn't the amp in the speakers good enough? What am I missing here? I know you all are high-end audiophiles, and my question is kind of lame, but I live alone on a deserted island and have nowhere else to turn. Thoughts, please? Thanks!
 
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Though your Rockwell's are amplified, you still require a pre-amp to boost the signal from the turntable to be amplified by your speakers (which is why the volume was low). What preamp did you get? Also your cartridge might need a new stylus (needle), if it has one left at all.
 
The preamp is a Go Groove. The needle was fine before setting up the preamp. It took me awhile to figure out the grounding wire. Maybe it's not attached correctly?
 
[QUOTE=" I live alone on a deserted island and have nowhere else to turn. Thoughts, please? Thanks![/QUOTE]

Its a metaphor for shes' out on her own with no one close to ask advice from.
 
Pictures of everything would be helpful. "Victrola" could mean a number of different things, e.g. a phonograph machine designed to play shellac 78s or a Crosley-type all-in-one thing in a faux-wood box.
 
I forgot to mention that the turntable is new. It's a 'Victorla,' made by Innovative Technology. Would that have a old-school ceramic cartridge? But - if that's the case, what's my solution?
 
Just saw you last post. It's one of those 'all in one' kinda things. Had a radio, CD and cassette player. I'm now guessing that it's not up to the task of what I'm wanting from it. Perhaps I need to get another turntable?
 
Carrie Love said:
Just saw you last post. It's one of those 'all in one' kinda things. Had a radio, CD and cassette player. I'm now guessing that it's not up to the task of what I'm wanting from it. Perhaps I need to get another turntable?
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If possible, return everything you bought and get your money back. Start over from scratch, people here can help you out with advice on what to look for. You may need to budget a bit more than previously, or have a lot of luck and patience w/r/t acquiring quality used gear.
 
Attached are some pictures. Thanks for the suggestion, but the turntable was a gift, and I'm keeping the speakers. They're too good. I can always hook them up to my 'main stereo' (which is also hooked up to my computer and TV), which has great speakers, but not as good as the Rockvilles. After hearing all your thoughts, I'm thinking the best solution is to get a good, basic turntable. Make sense? 20180104_151804_resized.jpg 20180104_151757_resized.jpg 20180104_151737_resized.jpg
 

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I can understand not wanting to return a gift so as not to offend. If that's not the issue, and you just don't have a receipt, you could probably still return for store credit depending on where it was purchased. Just food for thought.

Re: the speakers, those are not great speakers. I would suggest returning them if possible.

What is your "main stereo"? Depending on what it is, it might make sense to build a vinyl playback system around that.

Carrie Love said:
Attached are some pictures. Thanks for the suggestion, but the turntable was a gift, and I'm keeping the speakers. They're too good. I can always hook them up to my 'main stereo' (which is also hooked up to my computer and TV), which has great speakers, but not as good as the Rockvilles. After hearing all your thoughts, I'm thinking the best solution is to get a good, basic turntable. Make sense? View attachment 1081252 View attachment 1081254 View attachment 1081251
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Carrie Love said:
I was recently given a turntable (a cheapo 'Victrola' in a wood case), which is a lot of fun, but sounds terrible. So I got some really nice Rockwell speakers that have amplifiers in them (one for each woofer and tweeter). The speakers sounded really good, but the volume was very low, and there wasn't much bass. I did some research, and then got a preamp to boost the volume -- but when I hooked it up, the sound was all distorted. I did some more research, and I think I also need a regular amplifier. My question is, why isn't the amp in the speakers good enough? What am I missing here? I know you all are high-end audiophiles, and my question is kind of lame, but I live alone on a deserted island and have nowhere else to turn. Thoughts, please? Thanks!
Click to expand...

The Victrola already has a phono preamplifier built in. The phono preamp amplifies the signal AND applies RIAA correction to the signal. By putting a second phono preamp in the chain, you are applying RIAA correction again, which is causing distortion. Remove the second phono stage and connect the cables from the "line out" on the Victrola to the inputs on the right speaker.

Adjust the dials on the back of the speakers for power, overall volume and the bass and treble settings to see if you can get better sound and volume.

Start with all the power off as you change the cable connections, and turn all the volume down before you power things up. You can use any source (cd, for instance) to set your volume levels. Assuming the volume and bass performance improves, try a record last to see if the distortion is gone and the volume is better.
 
Hope I don't hurt OPs feelings but whoever gifted him had good intensions but sorry to say didn't know anything re audio. If it was a gift of shoes or shirt that didn't fit I doubt there would be no hurt feelings if the items were returned for a either an exchange or refund, same should be for that Victrola and speakers, not much better than kids toys, usually purchased for seriously hearing impaired elderly parents. Before you buy anything read up on AK and ask advice as to what to purchase, in case you were wondering $100 doesn't even scratch the surface unless you get lucky buying used on Craigslist or a thrift shop, forget about new.
 
majick47 said:
Hope I don't hurt OPs feelings but whoever gifted him had good intensions but sorry to say didn't know anything re audio. If it was a gift of shoes or shirt that didn't fit I doubt there would be no hurt feelings if the items were returned for a either an exchange or refund, same should be for that Victrola and speakers, not much better than kids toys, usually purchased for seriously hearing impaired elderly parents. Before you buy anything read up on AK and ask advice as to what to purchase, in case you were wondering $100 doesn't even scratch the surface unless you get lucky buying used on Craigslist or a thrift shop, forget about new.
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But none of that addresses the original question asked by the OP.
 
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