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Recommendations for a phono switch of sorts

W

wolfiesblues

New Member
Hello, everyone,

My Akai 2600 amplifier bit the dust and will be sent for repairs. Meanwhile, I'm using a Sony TA-AX295 integrated amplifier with a single phono input. Since I like to run two turntables off an amplifier, I wonder if there's a switch device of some sort that will allow me to connect two turntables into a single phono input and just switch tables as desired.

Any recommendations? Thanks.


Equipment: JVC QL-F4 DD turntable + Dual 1237
Sony TA-AX295 integrated amplifier
Cambridge Soundworks Tower III speakers
 
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Not a switch but....I picked up a project ds2 tube box phono stage a while back. 2 inputs and 2 outputs, perfect for my 2 deck, 2 amp setup. And it's very adjustable (load, gain, capacitance) for any kind of cart. Kicks the snot out of the onboard phonostage on my fisher 500c.
 
There are many low-cost RCA switches available, many with remote controls, but for the extremely low-level signals coming from a turntable, you'd probably want a mechanical RCA switch that is purpose-built for turntables. The one that AvFan posted seems like a good choice since it is built for that purpose. For general switches, this one might be ok https://www.amazon.com/TNP-Switch-S...1+switch&qid=1601926177&s=electronics&sr=1-57. This one looks like it might be better quality, but the inclusion of a volume knob probably isn't ideal -- however, it's a passive volume control, not active, so it may be fairly harmless if you leave it on max (it can only cut volume, not increase it) - https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Aud...1+switch&qid=1601926762&s=electronics&sr=1-25

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MRL_A: I'd bet, that the REC-O-KUT above also is just a renamed Technolink (alias TEC/TCC) TC-721.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
I wonder if this Sony Tape recorder switcher would be even more versatile? Could it be used to connect three TT to one main preamp and then each Input record out could go to three separate
pre amps etc . Not sure who would want to do that but it is possible right?

Athanasios
 
Nashou66 said:
(...)Not sure who would want to do that but it is possible right?
Click to expand...

Well, theoretically you could connect three turntables to the tape inputs, switch the tape-monitoring switch to tape and choose which one goes to a phone stage connected to the main/monitoring line-out via the monitoring selector. The output of that phono stage would then be connected to the main line-in and could be distributed to up to three line-stages connected to the three tape-out, with all three copy switches set to source.

Well, and in addition to the turntable choice via monitoring selector the copy selector should be set to one of the other two positions, in order to at least minimise the likelyhood of crosstalk-induced feedback at/via the other two copy switches. However, there would always still remain a certain likelyhood of crosstalk-induced feedback at/via the tape-monitoring switch.

And of course the capacitance of the whole arrangement is unknown. And another thing to heed would be the combined load impedance of those up to three line-stages.

So, all-in-all, personally I rather wouldn't use this switch box for that purpose. Or at least I wouldn't buy it for that purpose - and only try it for that purpose, if I'd happen to already have one.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
Nashou66 said:
I wonder if this Sony Tape recorder switcher would be even more versatile? Could it be used to connect three TT to one main preamp and then each Input record out could go to three separate
pre amps etc . Not sure who would want to do that but it is possible right?
Click to expand...

Generally, "less is a lot more" when it comes to a phono output switch. When the signals are "line level", like for a CD, tape, or tuner output, they are typically around 1-2 volts and you can be pretty cavalier about the switch because the overall signal level high enough that it is fairly immune to noise. The output signal level a turntable is much lower -- a moving magnet cartridge usually has only around 2-4mv (0.002 - 0.004 volts) output level, and the output of a moving coil cartridge can be much lower -- so the phono preamp inside the receiver is amplifying the signal anywhere from several hundreds of times to thousands of times. For this reason, the simplest switch, specifically designed for ultra-low phono signals, is generally the best option.

For the OP, any one of the dedicated phono switches recommended will likely be good. If the switch is really only needed on a temporary basis, and you want to minimize cost for something you need only temporarily, you might be able to get away with using the Nobsound in post #5 -- a couple of reviews mention they are successfully using it as a phono switch even though it isn't designed specifically as a phono switch. If you plan to keep the switch permanently, it's better to invest a bit more and get one made for that purpose.
 
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