Vinyl records are back. If you want to listen to your favorite album on vinyl, there is a lot of equipment involved. To make the record sound as good as possible, you need an amplifier and speakers that will play low frequencies and everything else you can think of. You need a turntable and the stylus to be able to actually play the record (more about this below).
Vinyl records have a lot of creative and sentimental appeal, as well as being a more durable medium than CDs or digital downloads. But the sound quality of the vinyl records is uneven and not as good as you can get from modern equipment, so this post will tell you how to set up your stereo so you can play those records!
Table of Contents
How to Setup Stereo to Play Vinyl
To play vinyl records, the stereo setup must include four necessary components. In order to take your records from a piece of vinyl to a song that can have you dancing in your living room, you need a turntable, an amplifier that is capable of producing vibrations higher than the 44.1 kHz range, and a pair of speakers for playing back the music.
1. Turntable
The turntable is a free cross-platform media player that works on your computer, Android, iOS, or Windows Phone. It enables you to play your local files from your disk as well as stream from the internet. The interface is clean with easy controls and auto favs settings.
The turntable can also serve as a controller for another app such as Spotify using the built-in Bluetooth Speaker Radio.
2. PHONO preamp
A preamp is a device that is used to control the volume of an audio signal using the volume control. A preamp amplifies the low-level audio signal from a turntable or CD player before it enters a mixing console’s microphone or line inputs, where the signal is amplified further.
The PHONO preamp was created to provide audiophiles with an affordable way to improve their stereo system’s sound quality and performance without spending too much money on professional equipment.
3. Amplifier/receiver
An amplifier is commonly considered a vacuum tube. It is made of two parts: an output device, which contains the circuitry that determines the signal strength, and an input device, which contains the circuitry that receives the signal. The input device amplifies or strengthens the signal by using one or more components that limit its power. The output device then sends this amplified signal to your television or other electronic equipment.
Receivers can come in many shapes and sizes. Primarily, they are the piece of hardware on your TV that allows you to watch TV before sending it on to your speakers or your computer. What it does is receive transmissions from the satellite-TV operator, decode the signal for digital transmission, and send it out again to the set-top box in English for human interpretation. Receivers are often used by people who struggle with reading subtitles in other languages than their own.
4. Speakers
The speaker is a sound-generating device that converts electric energy into acoustic energy. It consists of an electromechanical transducer, which converts electrical signals to mechanical motion, and a diaphragm attached to the end of the diaphragm. The electromechanical transducer includes one or more permanent magnets and coils attached to the armature shaft with wire windings.
How to connect
Have you always wanted to listen to the vinyl records on the ground right in front of you but couldn’t figure out how to connect your stereo system? Don’t worry, this tutorial will teach you everything you need to know about setting up a simple stereo system.
The sound is amplified by using what’s called an amplifier, which then sends it through speaker cabinets. The whole process is engineered with one goal in mind to beat all others: quality.
Components
- Tuning a turntable
- Connecting a turntable to a stereo receiver
- Connecting speakers to your receiver
- Playing records with a universal Bluetooth adapter or an auxiliary input for your receiver.
- Connecting the RCA cables from your stereo receiver to the speakers.
Conclusion
A lot of people these days use digital media to listen to music. The only problem is that sometimes we miss out on some of the good old vinyl records because digital media makes them harder and harder to find. Still, there are a number of benefits for vinyl, such as the sound quality and the fact that you can age your collection with its own unique character that’s not found in any other format.
FAQ:
Q: How should I set up my vinyl player?
A: How you want to set up your vinyl player is 100% your choice. There is no right or wrong, just simple and a bit more complex. With that being said, if you’ve migrated to vinyl records because of the nostalgic appeal, then challenge yourself—pick up some old audio equipment, and see if you can’t configure your own external phono preamp setup.
Q: How do I choose the right setup for my record player?
A: The setup you choose will largely be determined by budget, the physical space you have available, integration with other home audio components, and the type of music experience you are looking for. At the heart of your record playing experience is the turntable.
Q: What are the parts of a vinyl record player?
A: Platter – The surface where you place your record and is spun by the belt in order for the stylus/needle to track the record groove. 2. Motor Pulley – Will drive the belt to spin the platter. 3. Motor Pulley Cap – Protects the motor from dust and debris.
Q: How does a turntable connect to a stereo system?
A: Then, the turntable connects to the stereo system through the RCA cables. The stereo system then connects to the passive speakers via the RCA cables. After, both the turntable and stereo system need to be plugged into an outlet.