Many turntables that come today such as Pioneer and Audio Technica (among others) have an integrated preamp built in. To use the integrated preamp on these devices, you will need to connect a RCA cable from the TA-IM1 3.5mm headphone out jack to your record player’s left and right line-in jacks.
If your record player does not have these jacks or if you would like to attach a third party preamp, it will be necessary for you to wire up an RCA cable from the TA-IM1’s line out port with a third party preamp that has it’s own volume control.
To do this, you will need to connect the white 3.5 mm plug on the TA-IM1 to your record player’s line-in port (note: on some record players this is known as “mike” or “mic”). Then you will want to connect the red and white 3.5 mm plugs on the TA-IM1 together, then connect that end into your record player’s left and right line-in ports. If your record player does not have 3.
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Advantage of Connecting a Turntable With a Built-In Preamp:
- If you already own a preamp, you can save the money and resources of buying it for your record player.
- If you want to listen to music on your turntable without having to rely on a computer or external amplifier, you can do this with your turntable and associated preamp.
- If the turntable has its own built-in preamp, it will be unnecessary for you to purchase another preamp for your set up. If the turntable does not have it’s own preamp, then it will necessary for you to purchase an additional preamp.
Disadvantage of Connecting a Turntable With a Built-In Preamp:
- You will need to find an inexpensive third party preamp for your turntable. If the turntable’s preamp has volume control, it will be necessary for you to purchase another preamp that doesn’t have it.
- If you are new to vinyl, then connecting a turntable with integrated preamp might confuse you or give you the wrong impression on how to connect your turntable.
- Depending on the tone of the built in preamp, you may think that it is not powerful enough to drive with a large phonograph or your turntable.
Why it is needed?
Turntable make make it possible to connect your turntable with your preamp or other audio devices. If you want to listen to music on your turntable, make sure that the turntable has its own built-in preamp. Otherwise, you will need to connect line-in of an audio device with the turntables’ line out.
If you do not have any audio device with line-in output, then use an RCA cable to connect your turntables’ left and right jack with the audio source of your choice.
Turntable with built-in preamp may have a volume control. If it does, use it to adjust the volume of the audio source you are listening to. Otherwise, connect an RCA cable from your turntables’ line out port with an external amplifier.
The point is that if you have a turntable that has its own preamp, you will not need to purchase another one. This can save you some money on your next record player purchase.
Connecting a Turntable With a Built-In Preamp:
Step 1:
Connect the turntable’s headphone out with the line out of preamp. For the purpose, you will need RCA cables . The RCA cables can be found at any electronics store such as Best Buy, radioshack and RadioShack.
Step 2:
Open your audio device and select your music source which is your line out of the turntables’ left and right jack. Check if you can see a volume control on your audio device or not so that you can adjust the volume knob accordingly to adjust the volume of your music source before connecting it with your turntable.
Step 3:
Connect the turntables’ line out with your line in of your preamp. This can be done using RCA cables. If it can, then use RCA cable. Otherwise, use the line-out of your preamp to attach an RCA cable to the left and right jack of your turntable.
Step 4:
Switch on the turntable and adjust the volume knob on your external audio device to obtain a proper volume so that you can enjoy music while listening to it on your turntable.
Step 5:
Finally, if you want to listen to music without your computer or external amplifier, then the only thing you will need is to connect your turntables’ line out with your audio source. This can be done using RCA cables. If it can, then use RCA cable. Otherwise, use the line-out of your preamp to attach an RCA cable to the left and right jack of your turntable.
Conclusion:
If you have a turntable that has its own built-in preamp, then you don’t have to purchase another one. You can save money and resources by not purchasing a new preamp for your turntable.
If you don’t have a turntable with its own preamp, then you will need to purchase an external 3rd party preamp for your turntable. If it has volume control, then use it to adjust the volume of the external device’s line-out before connecting these two together. If not, then connect an RCA cable from your turntables’ left and right jack with external amplifier shall do this.
FAQ:
Q: How do you hook up preamp to turntable?
A: The turntable itself A preamp (it can be external or internal) An amplifier or receiver Speakers.
Q: Do all turntables need a pre-amp?
A: It must have a pre-amp in it to provide proper line-out signals. What you do need somewhere for a turntable is an equalizer that compensates/undoes the intentional skew of the signals pressed into vinyl records. That means you need a pre-amp with input channels specifically equipped to put the signals back to normal.
Q: Do you need a preamp for your turntable?
A: You will need a standalone preamp for your turntable if a preamp is not built into your turntable or amplifier/receiver. And even if a preamp is included in your turntable or amplifier, a popular option is to upgrade to a standalone preamp of higher quality than the built-in one to increase the sound quality.
Q: Do I need an amplifier for my turntable?
A: Yes. A turntable must be connected to an amplifier as the output signal is not strong enough to drive speakers. However, there is an exception as a lot of record players have pre-amplifiers built-in already.