stereo question

check this: http://www.kabusa.com/setup.htm

(xpost, I guess we have consensus)

If it's possible to bypass the turntable's internal phono section, the one on the new amp might sound better. Otherwise, just plug it into any spare aux/line level input and enjoy.

I'm sure I am screwing this up, but I have a turntable, cd changer, tuner and speaker set which were all purchased separately and are made by different manufacturers. For whatever reason, the turntable is waaaay too loud even at the lowest volume setting and the CD player sounds very flat and "un"clear. There is also a lot of hiss coming through the speakers when I have nothing playing.

So what completely elementary mistake am I making? I have noticed that the "impedance" on the speakers does not match that on the tuner. Is this something to do with it?

Oh - also the EQ light things barely register for the cd player at all. Do I need to boost the signal somehow perhaps.

I am really not an audiophile. This is the first "stereo" I've had in four years.

xpost to impedance question:

yes.

impedance mismatches will result in either very loud and distorted signal, or very quiet/trebly/thin signal. You need to find speakers that match your amp's impedance, or get an amp that matches your speakers.

what he said.

also, does your turntable have a built-in preamp? or is there maybe a ground switch on the back of your receiver?

Thanks, guys.

I don't think my turntable has either of those things.

I'd guessed that the impedance mismatch could be a problem but does that explain why the EQs barely register for my cd output?

What set of jacks are you plugging the turntable into? Turntables generally have to go into a turntable input, which functions as both a preamp and an essential EQ to compensate for standard turntable output.

On the impedance thing, what do the speakers say/what does the amp say? Impedance matching is normally automatic on modern amplifiers, unless you are below the rated impedance.

I am using the errr, RCA cables? The impedance on my speakers is 6 and my amp has 8 OR 9.

Well, you are below the rated impedance then, which isn't a good idea (the "8 OR 9" thing is beyond odd, though. Are you sure that's what it says?)

RE: the inputs - On your receiver, the inputs should be labelled (Tape in, tape out, aux in, phono in, possibly MAG and CER inputs in the phono section.) Which pair of inputs is the turntable plugged into?

Phono.

Let me check on that 8 OR 9 thing. I'll post the exact wording!

OK, so I have two rows of rca ports marked horizontally - "A" and "B"

It says "A OR B - 8ohms minimum" and "A AND B = 16ohms minimum".

So I think I need speakers with at least 8 ohms. Would that be right?

yes. most 6-ohm speakers I've seen are for boombox type setups.

also, your speaker connection is an RCA port? that seems odd. usually it's just a place to conenct the bare wire. you may have to hack the speaker end of your cable if you can't find 8-ohm speakers with RCA plugs.

and this still does't explain the low CD player output in the EQ.

maybe list the brands and model numbers of these components?

No, the turntable connection is RCA, sorry. The speakers are just bare wires. My bad.

This is a seriously cheap ramshackle thrift store buy setup save for the cd changer which is Kenwood and nice. The tuner is TEAC or something, the speakers are cheap Panasonics and the turnatble is Aiwa. Stuck together with spit and string.

I appreciate all your help, guys. ILX is great when you're stuck in a rut.

I may just have to buy a proper stereo system, but for now I was hoping this inbetweener could work.

If the turntable is waaaay too loud even at the lowest volume setting but the CD isn't, it does suggest to me that the turntable has built-in phono amplification. Have you tried plugging the turntable into the CD input rather than the phono one? What's the volume like then?

Ok, I'm going from my computer into my receiver via a quarter inch to RCA audio adapter. When I have "stereo" set on my receiver, I only get music out of the left speaker but when I have it on "mono" I get the same mix out of both sides. This makes some sense, of course, but I'm wondering what could be wrong - does the problem therefore have to be in my adapter?

Is it a stereo 1/4" plug? (two black lines instead of one?)

Sounds like the adapter or a bad connection -- how is a 1/4 plug involved though? Aren't all computers 1/8"?

I'm assuming he has a souped up audio soundcard, many of which do have 1/4" out.

ah, right.

yeah, I bet it's a mono 1/4" (only one black line on plug)

Have you try plugging in some headphones (of course you may need a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter) on the output of your computer? If the sound is OK (stereo) then definitely the problem is in either the adapter's 1/4" plug (either bad connection or mono) or your stereo (try plugging in something else on your stereo's RCA input like the audio from a DVD player to rule this out).

If the headphone's signal is in one channel only then it's your soundcard's output (or the settings in your computer; you may have the balance set completely to the left or right for instance).

so, this "contour" dial... it operates like a variable loudness button, yeah? hard left is "normal", and for lower volumes I might turn it to the left (which seems to reduce the volume at some frequencies). or am I missing something here?

The way loudness dials were originally designed is that you would set the volume knob to a level that represented where music sounded good to you. And then you would use the loudness knob to turn it down from there, and it would change the equalization to keep the levels consistent with your desired volume. The idea being that the proportion of various frequencies your ear detects changes with volume. At low levels, it's harder to hear bass, even though it is "there" your ears don't really register it, so loudness boosts the bass at low levels so it seems "normal."

for the last ~14 years had two paradigm atoms, paradigm sub, and an NAD 712. in the last two weeks both atoms' woofers blew out. i haven't been playing music extraordinarily loud or anything. was it just their time or is something funky maybe happening with the amp?

After years of making sure I had the 'L' speaker/earbud in my left ear and the 'R' in my right, it occurred to me Wait. Does it really matter?

So what if the searing guitar solo starts on the right, travels over my head and ends on the left? So what if Chuck D is in this ear and Flav is now in that ear now?

Please name examples where music recorded in stereo must be heard explicitly with the correct left/right channels set.

The only instances I can think of offhand are those where the liner notes specify "x is in the right channel, y is in the left channel" (e.g., the Ornette Coleman Double Quartet's Free Jazz).

i have been told that some bands intentionally mix the drums so you will hear them from the drummer's own perspective (hi-hat and snare on the left, floor tom on the right). i think i would rather hear them from an observer's perspective (i.e. the reverse). but i also think i probably don't care.

this may matter more in classical recordings, where producers presumably want to re-create the experience of being in a concert hall: violins to your left, violas and cellos to your right, etc.

iirc Raising Hell by Run DMC pans "Left y'all / to the left y'all / because I rock upon the mic real def y'all" and "Right y'all / to the right y'all / because I rock upon the mix all night y'all".

would you hang a pollock upside down? no! it'd look stupid!

Most fish look pretty stupid upside down imo

the (I'm surely bullshit) liner notes to pere ubu's st arkansas claim that we hear from left to right.

i have been told that some bands intentionally mix the drums so you will hear them from the drummer's own perspective (hi-hat and snare on the left, floor tom on the right). i think i would rather hear them from an observer's perspective (i.e. the reverse).

I have a couple of jazz records that do this (separate different parts of the drum kit to different channels), and it's a bit disturbing to listen to them on the headphones, with a stereo set it's okay.