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Will this DIY improves your sound??

jayhe108

jayhe108

New Member
So here is the big question: if you cut short your RCA cable, connect it with a female RCA then use a much better ($$) RCA to the amp, will the sound quality be better just as much as using the whole $$ RCA or at least very close?

I have an Audio Technica LP120 turntable, love it a lot. Two big limitations in terms of upgrades 1. RCA cable is builded in 2. Preamp is builded in.

Don't want to touch the preamp, at least not yet but I like to see if I can DIY the cable. I know there are ways to modify it inside on the circuit board but if this method works I rather not touch the circuit board.
 
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4-2-7 said:
Leave your table alone, if you want better sound look at better cartridges, staging, records and or another table.
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I just happened to find a good deal on a pair of cables. I wasn't thinking about buying because of the LP120 limitations but this question pop up in my head a few times so I started to think about it. I had slightly upgrade my cartridge, staging is now set.
 
I wouldn't change the cables since copper is copper but If you want, there are many youtube videos that will show you how. How to change cables, how to eliminate the built in phono stage. You will be able to see whats involved and decide whether you're capable or not.
 
There’s an old saying in motor racing. Spend money on the parts that make you go faster, not on the things that don’t.
The RCA cable won’t make your TT “faster”.

Spend your money on the things that really matter, the best recordings, good cartridge, good turn table, great speakers, good phono amp and amplifier. When you have those, play around with the rest.

Mr Relish.
 
"Better cables" in turntables are usually related to cable capacitance. The cable capacitance does affect the sound in a TT WITHOUT a built in preamp, since the cables are a "load" to the cartridge, but not in your TT, since the preamp is built in.

In your case the cables are line level interconnects, which usually impact very little in the sound quality if they are already of average good quality.
 
elnaldo said:
"Better cables" in turntables are usually related to cable capacitance. The cable capacitance does affect the sound in a TT WITHOUT a built in preamp, since the cables are a "load" to the cartridge, but not in your TT, since the preamp is built in.

In your case the cables are line level interconnects, which usually impact very little in the sound quality if they are already of average good quality.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for straightly answered my question.
 
Turntable leads can be replaced, they will often be soldered under the plinth or have a "din" plug to the turntable. As noted above, moar turntable leads need to be low capacitance, whereas it's less critical for other rca leads.

However, upgrading tonearm leads only has benefits for high-end systems. I wouldn't bother with your turntable (no offense), upgrading the cartridge would give you much better audio value for money.
 
I have a LP1240 with output jacks instead of cables. It has a switchable preamp as well. I don't intend on bypassing the preamp and switch unless something goes wonky. I would rather spend my money on cartridges. If it ain't broke don't fix it!
 
AudioFeline said:
Turntable leads can be replaced, they will often be soldered under the plinth or have a "din" plug to the turntable. As noted above, moar turntable leads need to be low capacitance, whereas it's less critical for other rca leads.

However, upgrading tonearm leads only has benefits for high-end systems. I wouldn't bother with your turntable (no offense), upgrading the cartridge would give you much better audio value for money.
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Thank you so much for the advice, I already upgraded my cartridge, even though it’s a small upgrade, I am not looking for a big upgrade until I have better turntable. I think safe to say it’s not worth both money or work on the rca right now. I am also curious if the same principle apply to cassette deck, CD player and etc?
 
jayhe108 said:
...worth both money or work on the rca right now. I am also curious if the same principle apply to cassette deck, CD player and etc?
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Yes. Better quality interconnects to produce better sound. However, the audiophile equipment that benefits from quality cables. If you have entry-level equipment, you are better upgrading the hardware.

When you get into quality hifi levels, then upgrading from cheap to higher quality cables will make an improvement. Surpassing this level, you can pay ridiculous amounts of money for interconnect, but at the very high price level the improvements will not be proportional to price, and you will need an ultra-high quality system to justify the investment.
 
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If you search these forums for interconnects, wires, cables etc, you will find a multitude of posts. Most eventually get shut down by the mods because they get personal. What they mostly come down to is that if you can hear a difference, it is worth it. If you can not, it is not. Your most noticeable changes/improvements in sound will come from speakers followed by cartridge/stylus, source, then receiver. You can worry about connections much later.
 
HTHMAN said:
If you search these forums for interconnects, wires, cables etc, you will find a multitude of posts. Most eventually get shut down by the mods because they get personal. What they mostly come down to is that if you can hear a difference, it is worth it. If you can not, it is not. Your most noticeable changes/improvements in sound will come from speakers followed by cartridge/stylus, source, then receiver. You can worry about connections much later.
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That pretty much sums it up. I wish I had listened years ago. Speakers first! What cartridge did you get? The Nagaoka MP110 worked out very well with my AT table. Look up the $11 cartridge in the TT forum. I bought one of those $11 AT cartridges and was not disappointed. Crazy cheap cartridge that sounds really good. I payed $34 with a carbon cantilever with an elliptical stylus. It performs almost as good as the MP110.
 
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HTHMAN said:
If you search these forums for interconnects, wires, cables etc, you will find a multitude of posts. Most eventually get shut down by the mods because they get personal. What they mostly come down to is that if you can hear a difference, it is worth it. If you can not, it is not. Your most noticeable changes/improvements in sound will come from speakers followed by cartridge/stylus, source, then receiver. You can worry about connections much later.
Click to expand...

that is a very good order of upgrades, thank you so much
 
In my experience with TT interconnect cables, I have found that in every single case I had to replace a cable, it was due to wear in the cable strands. There are several "stress points" in a fixed TT cable.
1. The RCA leads (they are handled and abusing them may interrupt the connections between the cable and the jacks. Intermittent problems are common).
2. The retain block in the TT (this is where the cables are kept from being pulled off the TT. Pressure is applied and pulling against that can also cause troubles)
3. The leads solder joints (this is where the actual interconnect is soldered on a PCB or joints. Usually doesn't wear but corrosion combined with a marginal solder work, has caused issues, mainly ground loops and hum. This happens when the thicker ground lead doesn't make a good contact and exhibits increased resistance).
4. Leads going to the cart (This is a two pronged problem, as the leads usually connect to the cart and to connections in the headshell. These are exposed, touched and corroded. Cause drop in one channel or even hum).

IMHO, it is these issues that are more important than the actual capacitance of the interconnect. It may be that certain carts are so much affected by cable capacitance that the actual cable makes a difference but I have not experienced anything like that.
 
SaSi said:
In my experience with TT interconnect cables, I have found that in every single case I had to replace a cable, it was due to wear in the cable strands. There are several "stress points" in a fixed TT cable.
1. The RCA leads (they are handled and abusing them may interrupt the connections between the cable and the jacks. Intermittent problems are common).
2. The retain block in the TT (this is where the cables are kept from being pulled off the TT. Pressure is applied and pulling against that can also cause troubles)
3. The leads solder joints (this is where the actual interconnect is soldered on a PCB or joints. Usually doesn't wear but corrosion combined with a marginal solder work, has caused issues, mainly ground loops and hum. This happens when the thicker ground lead doesn't make a good contact and exhibits increased resistance).
4. Leads going to the cart (This is a two pronged problem, as the leads usually connect to the cart and to connections in the headshell. These are exposed, touched and corroded. Cause drop in one channel or even hum).

IMHO, it is these issues that are more important than the actual capacitance of the interconnect. It may be that certain carts are so much affected by cable capacitance that the actual cable makes a difference but I have not experienced anything like that.
Click to expand...

I see, that make sense a lot. My TT still kind of new (bought brand-new 3 years ago and lightly used) so I shouldn't expect anything like that perhaps? maybe to the point I start having issues like that I should think about upgrade
 
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