I recently bought an old Packard Bell stereo cabinet (RPC 122). It came with a Garrard turntable, which works fine for the most part, apart from some wires coming undone and needing a new cartridge. I would like to replace the turntable at some point to something for which parts are still made. Every time I try to replace the Garrard with a newer turntable (Technics, among others) I come across one of two problems. The first is when I try to connect the Technics turntable directly to the Packard Bell amp with RCA cables, I hear music but it is muffled. To get rid of the muffling (leading to the second problem), I plugged the Technics turntable into a pre-amp and then into the Packard Bell amp, which solves the muffled problem but adds a loud humming, like something is not grounded or plugged in all the way. I have a grounding wire that plugs into the back of the Technics, which I then attach to the Packard Bell chassis. That makes the humming a little quieter, but doesn't solve the problem. There is no place on the pre-amp to ground it, and the package said it didn't require grounding. Someone told me the hum is due to the fact that the Garrard has a ceramic cartridge as opposed to the newer Technics magnetic cartridge, but I've had people tell me that shouldn't be an issue. I don't know who to believe! Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!
Replacing old Garrard turntable
- Thread starter eirik
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BrocLuno
Lunatic Member
Boy - does this take me back - phew. The folks had a lovely PB console back in the day (note, I'm over a 1/2 century myself). Likely the Packard Bell amp (phono section) is looking for a much larger signal than you are feeding it with the Technics. The old Garrard probably has a ceramic cartridge which puts out a much larger signal. It may also be self correcting for RIAA compensation.
To get around this, you'll need a new phono section in the line to apply the RIAA decode curve. You'll also need some gain to get you back to what the PB amp wants to see as a usable signal. This will take a bit of work on your part to get dialed in.
I would suggest an ART DJ phono amp (don't let the name scare you - it's plenty HiFi). It has adjustable gain. I just don't know if the lowest output is close to what the console amp wants to see.
Also, if the PB amp phono section has a built-in RIAA correction curve, you'll be doubling the correction which would be very bass heavy. Maybe someone here will have direct experience with one of these. Otherwise it'll be a bit of trial and error?
To get around this, you'll need a new phono section in the line to apply the RIAA decode curve. You'll also need some gain to get you back to what the PB amp wants to see as a usable signal. This will take a bit of work on your part to get dialed in.
I would suggest an ART DJ phono amp (don't let the name scare you - it's plenty HiFi). It has adjustable gain. I just don't know if the lowest output is close to what the console amp wants to see.
Also, if the PB amp phono section has a built-in RIAA correction curve, you'll be doubling the correction which would be very bass heavy. Maybe someone here will have direct experience with one of these. Otherwise it'll be a bit of trial and error?