sound system question

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what does it mean when i turn on my turntable and start it playing but no sound comes out of the speaker at first and then comes in fits and starts for a few seconds and then finally comes in. only happens when the turntable has been off for a while. is my (cheap) amplifier going?

― a name means a lot just by itself (lfam), Thursday, 14 September 2006 18:05 (nineteen years ago)

maybe, or connection between cartridge and tone arm, or connecetion betwen turntable and amp

― Dr. Alicia B. Titsovich (sexyDancer), Thursday, 14 September 2006 18:08 (nineteen years ago)

also i just switched methods of hooking the turntable up to the amp. i had 1/8 inch stereo-to-mono plug into 1/8 stereo to rca plugs. i switched to rca plugs to stereo-to-mono rca downmixer.

― a name means a lot just by itself (lfam), Thursday, 14 September 2006 18:09 (nineteen years ago)

i'm mixing everything down to mono because i am using one gigantic old hi-fi speaker. i keep the volume sort of low because i know that at it's loudest it would be too much for my amp.

― a name means a lot just by itself (lfam), Thursday, 14 September 2006 18:10 (nineteen years ago)

its not it's

― a name means a lot just by itself (lfam), Thursday, 14 September 2006 18:10 (nineteen years ago)

I have the same problem. I think my old receiver is going, because it doesn't happen unless I turn it off. Once it warms up it's OK so now I leave it on. Hate for it to die, because it has a phono input, which most amps don't nowadays.

― Mark (MarkR), Thursday, 14 September 2006 18:10 (nineteen years ago)

it's like a have to coax the sound out by turning the volume way up and then easing it back down and letting the distortion fade :(

― a name means a lot just by itself (lfam), Thursday, 14 September 2006 18:24 (nineteen years ago)

Doesn't happen w/ CD player?

― Mark (MarkR), Thursday, 14 September 2006 18:38 (nineteen years ago)

i don't use the cd player so i don't know. it doesn't happen playing out of my computer. i'm still using the 1/8 inch mini-stereo plug for that.

― a name means a lot just by itself (lfam), Thursday, 14 September 2006 18:40 (nineteen years ago)

I have the same problem with my turntable. I fear it's cartridge contact corrosion. D Selzer said to use a deoxit pen or pencil eraser. The eraser worked for a bit, but every shift in temperature brings the problem back.

― Dr. Alicia B. Titsovich (sexyDancer), Thursday, 14 September 2006 18:47 (nineteen years ago)

This is sometimes caused by dirty 'pots' (the knobs on any amp). Dust gets onto the track that forms the contact between the knob itself and the electrical connection that affects the increase/decrease of volume, switching between Cd, Tuner, etc. I thought my speakers were dying on me before I worked out the solution; quickly rotate the knobs back and forth to effectively 'clean' the contacts of dirt and any possible light corrosion.

― tolstoy (tolstoy), Thursday, 14 September 2006 18:47 (nineteen years ago)

i don't know Dr Silverfuck, the turntable does fine plugged into headphones or another stereo

― a name means a lot just by itself (lfam), Thursday, 14 September 2006 19:42 (nineteen years ago)

it feels like the amplifier in my receiver is having to warm up to be able to drive the giant speaker. it's got this huge woofer cone that has lost all of the rubber lip so i now stabilize it with a piece of masking tape. but i don't quite grasp why this happens using the rca outputs but not with the miniplug. that's not a very big difference in signal strength, is it?

― a name means a lot just by itself (lfam), Thursday, 14 September 2006 19:45 (nineteen years ago)

I'll play "engineer hysterical face" and say "phasing"

― Dr. Alicia B. Titsovich (sexyDancer), Thursday, 14 September 2006 19:49 (nineteen years ago)

plz explain

― a name means a lot just by itself (lfam), Thursday, 14 September 2006 19:49 (nineteen years ago)

are you combining the two stereo signals into one mono signal? sometimes that causes that ol' injun prob #99 aka "phase cancelation." I don't understand it either, but I've heard it happening. Gremlinz

― Dr. Alicia B. Titsovich (sexyDancer), Thursday, 14 September 2006 19:54 (nineteen years ago)

that's it

― a name means a lot just by itself (lfam), Thursday, 14 September 2006 19:58 (nineteen years ago)

I bet my problem is the dirty pots thing. I'll try it.

― Mark (MarkR), Thursday, 14 September 2006 20:10 (nineteen years ago)

i probably have that dirty pots thing - but never knew ! i have an amp that on low volume one channel keeps cutting out, then i whack it up/down and all ok. will try out that trick .. ta for the advise.

― mark e (mark e), Thursday, 14 September 2006 20:25 (nineteen years ago)

i never tried it but someone once recommended this to me for cleaning pots: It sounds like the VOL POTentiometre is dirty. Go get yourself a can of "WYNNS No 5" spray. It is a aerosol oil. With the supplied tube spray the VOL POT wipers with it. You have to open up the pre-amp. Look for holes in the VOL POT for the oil to get in - spray a generous amount. The "No 5" spray cleans and protects electronic contacts. Get an old toothbrush and spray it with the oil - brush all your RCA and speaker terminals with it for good contact and oxidation protection.

― W i l l (common_person), Friday, 15 September 2006 01:30 (nineteen years ago)

X post.

Yup, that'll do the trick just thought no one would be into pickin' their amps apart.

― tolstoy (tolstoy), Friday, 15 September 2006 17:33 (nineteen years ago)

piece of cake!

― a name means a lot just by itself (lfam), Friday, 15 September 2006 17:33 (nineteen years ago)

For those wondering:

"A potentiometer is also referred to as a pot.

An electronic component that is used to vary, or control, the amount of current that flows through an electronic circuit."

Which is what your knobs and switches do!

― tolstoy (tolstoy), Friday, 15 September 2006 20:18 (nineteen years ago)

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