Hi Fi and Home theater set ups

[jimmyjazz 45630]

According to Denon's website, that receiver has a phono input for moving magnet cartridges.  According to your link for U-Turn, the $199 Orbit has an Audio Technica AT91B cartridge, and when I follow that link, it is claimed to be a moving magnet design.

So, you should be good and shouldn't have to buy a preamp.  Caveat:  I'm trusting the product specs as stated.

[jimmyjazz 45630]

27 minutes ago, Bogeywon said:

Sorry last question is it really a big difference between this and the step up with the acrylic?

I wouldn't necessarily expect the acrylic platter to be better.  It might be, but there's a lot more to it than just the material.  For a starter system, I'd just stick with the basics.  You could probably upgrade to that platter later. 

Honestly, I'd upgrade to the Ortofon 2M Red cartridge if I was looking to spend another $75.  It will also work with the Denon receiver.

[Bogeywon 2518]

4 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I wouldn't necessarily expect the acrylic platter to be better.  It might be, but there's a lot more to it than just the material.  For a starter system, I'd just stick with the basics.  You could probably upgrade to that platter later. 

Honestly, I'd upgrade to the Ortofon 2M Red cartridge if I was looking to spend another $75.  It will also work with the Denon receiver.

Just want to make sure I get a good sound quality. I’m putting money into the speakers want to get the best out of them. Thanks for the info I’ll get that cartridge then. 

[jimmyjazz 45630]

2 minutes ago, Bogeywon said:

Just want to make sure I get a good sound quality. I’m putting money into the speakers want to get the best out of them. Thanks for the info I’ll get that cartridge then. 

Yeah, that acrylic platter might SEEM more detailed, but that could be because it is less damped than the standard MDF platter, and thus more prone to ringing (high frequency vibration, potentially induced by motor flutter).

The Ortofon 2M Red is like the Toyota Camry of cartridges.  Not a Tesla, but a lot of bang for the buck.

[Bogeywon 2518]

9 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Yeah, that acrylic platter might SEEM more detailed, but that could be because it is less damped than the standard MDF platter, and thus more prone to ringing (high frequency vibration, potentially induced by motor flutter).

The Ortofon 2M Red is like the Toyota Camry of cartridges.  Not a Tesla, but a lot of bang for the buck.

Ok cool. Good to know. I’m sure it will sound good. Can’t wait!

[Bogeywon 2518]

2 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Yeah, that acrylic platter might SEEM more detailed, but that could be because it is less damped than the standard MDF platter, and thus more prone to ringing (high frequency vibration, potentially induced by motor flutter).

The Ortofon 2M Red is like the Toyota Camry of cartridges.  Not a Tesla, but a lot of bang for the buck.

Do I need a pre amp? 

[TwiceHorn 31356]

13 minutes ago, Bogeywon said:

Do I need a pre amp? 

No.  Since you have a phono input into the receiver, no preamp necessary. 

[jimmyjazz 45630]

30 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

No.  Since you have a phono input into the receiver, no preamp necessary. 

Correct.  Any moving magnet cartridge should have high enough output for a generic (receiver) phono input.

[Bogeywon 2518]

2 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

No.  Since you have a phono input into the receiver, no preamp necessary. 

 

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Correct.  Any moving magnet cartridge should have high enough output for a generic (receiver) phono input.

Awesome ordered it with the upgraded needle. Got it in white. ITS HAPPENING!

[Celery Man 20912]

Is this the catch all home stereo thread? I have a question but it's mostly about listening to Spotify, which seems antithetical to Hi Fi.

Anyways y'all can delete the thread if this is wrong, or point me in the right direction. I have a Sonos in the attic connected to an amplifier which connects to in ceiling speakers in the master bath, the main first floor kitchen/living area, and the porch (each controlled by a volume knob in the room). I think the Sonos is pretty out of date - I had to use an older version of the app and was going to ditch it for a while before I realized that I could connect to it/control the music directly from the Spotify app. But it still is a little finicky and disconnects, which fucking sucks because I have to go up to the third floor and reset it, usually while I'm watching the baby.

It looks like I have a Sonos Connect, the new version is a Sonos Port, and that seems like way fucking overkill for listening to spotify. Is there some robust and simple device I should pick up to replace this thing?

Edited December 22, 2021 by Celery Man

[dcbc 14443]

11 hours ago, Celery Man said:

Is this the catch all home stereo thread? I have a question but it's mostly about listening to Spotify, which seems antithetical to Hi Fi.

Anyways y'all can delete the thread if this is wrong, or point me in the right direction. I have a Sonos in the attic connected to an amplifier which connects to in ceiling speakers in the master bath, the main first floor kitchen/living area, and the porch (each controlled by a volume knob in the room). I think the Sonos is pretty out of date - I had to use an older version of the app and was going to ditch it for a while before I realized that I could connect to it/control the music directly from the Spotify app. But it still is a little finicky and disconnects, which fucking sucks because I have to go up to the third floor and reset it, usually while I'm watching the baby.

It looks like I have a Sonos Connect, the new version is a Sonos Port, and that seems like way fucking overkill for listening to spotify. Is there some robust and simple device I should pick up to replace this thing?

If it connects to an amplifier, just pick up a $25 Blutooth receiver with aptx support.  I have a Besign BE-RCA, and it works fine.  Just pull up Spotify and go.

Edited December 23, 2021 by dcbc

[TwiceHorn 31356]

8 minutes ago, dcbc said:

If it connects to an amplifier, just pick up a $25 Blutooth receiver with aptx support.  I have a Besign BE-RCA, and it works fine.  Just pull up Spotify and go.

Well, if it's in his attic, that may be pushing Bluetooth range.

I can tell you one thing that might help and that is if your little amp has a DAC and an optical input, that will make listening to spotify or any streaming digital source, more tolerable.

Also, given that the Port is a $500+ component, a lot of stereo and AV receivers have streaming capability (ethernet or WiFi) built in, like some of these https://theguruchoice.com/av-receivers/stereo-receivers/

And, it looks like something like this could duplicate the functionality of your Sonos at much less cost. https://www.andoveraudio.com/products/songbird-hi-res-internet-audio-streaming-device

[dcbc 14443]

Just now, TwiceHorn said:

Well, if it's in his attic, that may be pushing Bluetooth range.

I can tell you one thing that might help and that is if your little amp has a DAC and an optical input, that will make listening to spotify or any streaming digital source, more tolerable.

Also, given that the Port is a $500+ component, a lot of stereo and AV receivers have streaming capability (ethernet or WiFi) built in, like some of these https://theguruchoice.com/av-receivers/stereo-receivers/

And, it looks like something like this could duplicate the functionality of your Sonos at much less cost. https://www.andoveraudio.com/products/songbird-hi-res-internet-audio-streaming-device

Yeah, true.  I guess I kind of assumed it was time to get things out of the attic.  I know we've got volume knobs on the wall in this scenario, but plenty of houses have old intercoms they don't use.

[Celery Man 20912]

The wiring of the speakers is probably what keeps me in the attic for the time being. I could look them up but they’re Harmon kardon something something and I don’t think that they have any kind of wireless connection. Those look promising, thanks y’all.

[TwiceHorn 31356]

2 hours ago, Celery Man said:

The wiring of the speakers is probably what keeps me in the attic for the time being. I could look them up but they’re Harmon kardon something something and I don’t think that they have any kind of wireless connection. Those look promising, thanks y’all.

Yeah, when I said duplicate function of Sonos, I meant the hook to your network and stream from Spotify, not the streaming to speakers function, which you apparently do not use.

Also, have you looked at firmware updates for the Sonos?  That may help with your connectivity issues.

[Bogeywon 2518]

Install is happening Monday

[52-80 19128]

Wife got me a Thorens TD103A turntable for XMAS.  Never heard of the thing, although I always faintly wanted a vinyl setup.

It will need a preamp. Whats the “proper” price range for these things? The Musichall mini seems popular and its in the $100 range? Prob will visit the Pro-Ject showroom and see what they advise.

My house is Sonos. Which Sonos should I hook it to? If it goes to a new Port, then it broadcasts the signal to the existing system.  If it goes to a new Five (for similar price), then I get a broadcast node AND a good standalone speaker also.  No brainer, right?

[jimmyjazz 45630]

That's a fairly high-end turntable.  You should keep your wife.  A $100 preamp is probably not going to do it justice, although I have to admit I'm not at all familiar with the rest of your Sonos gear, so the limitation might be at the amp and beyond.  Personally, I would probably start looking into Cambridge Audio, Rega, Pro-Ject in the $300-$400 range to be a decent fit for that extremely nice 'table.

[hobbes2702 12969]

I would def look at something a little better for the preamp like Jimmy says. I dunno who’s making good ones anymore outside of the brands that do receivers but theirs are usually pretty highly priced 

[TwiceHorn 31356]

4 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

That's a fairly high-end turntable.  You should keep your wife.  A $100 preamp is probably not going to do it justice, although I have to admit I'm not at all familiar with the rest of your Sonos gear, so the limitation might be at the amp and beyond.  Personally, I would probably start looking into Cambridge Audio, Rega, Pro-Ject in the $300-$400 range to be a decent fit for that extremely nice 'table.

What does Sonos do about stereo?  I know a lot of their setups are single-speaker and I assume mono or some kind of synthetic surround or something for convenience.  Do they do some L/R setups?

Answering my own question, yes it appears they have L/R setups.

Oddly, on the "Port," it says it has a "line in"

Analog RCA inputs allow you to connect an audio device, such as a turntable or CD player, using an auxiliary cable.

I don't know if that's oversimplification or implies that it has a phono stage in it somehow.

[52-80 19128]

9 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

That's a fairly high-end turntable.  You should keep your wife.  A $100 preamp is probably not going to do it justice, although I have to admit I'm not at all familiar with the rest of your Sonos gear, so the limitation might be at the amp and beyond.  Personally, I would probably start looking into Cambridge Audio, Rega, Pro-Ject in the $300-$400 range to be a decent fit for that extremely nice 'table.

Sonos setup is Arc bar and a bunch of Ones. Its pedestrian in the audio-philic world (but ultra convenient). 

Have a headphone setup thats a bit more demanding for critical listening. 

Pretty empty on the research front. Eg some preamp describes theyre matched for “moving magnet” cartridge? No idea on this stuff…just that the phono comes with Ortofon red. 

For now I think the vinyl playback is more a novelty than practicality, given I’ll need to first build up a vinyl library. 

[52-80 19128]

8 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

What does Sonos do about stereo?  I know a lot of their setups are single-speaker and I assume mono or some kind of synthetic surround or something for convenience.  Do they do some L/R setups?

Answering my own question, yes it appears they have L/R setups.

Oddly, on the "Port," it says it has a "line in"

Analog RCA inputs allow you to connect an audio device, such as a turntable or CD player, using an auxiliary cable.

I don't know if that's oversimplification or implies that it has a phono stage in it somehow.

The smaller speakers are mono, but can be setup as stereo pairs. Control software drives the channel separation. 

Larger speakers (like the Five) have multiple drivers so can playback stereo in-unit, or also paired for even better imaging. 

None of them have phono stage, so require phono w/ built-in or external preamp (says their Blog). 

The Port/Amp takes RCA in. The Five has 1/8th mini in. Dont know if the cable format degrades the quality of the signal?
 

[TwiceHorn 31356]

7 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

 Dont know if the cable format degrades the quality of the signal?

 

In my experience, yes.  But I think you'd have to go to extra lengths to input a phono stage via a phone plug.  I think that's mostly for plugging in an ipod or mp3 player or phone.

[52-80 19128]

6 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

In my experience, yes.  But I think you'd have to go to extra lengths to input a phono stage via a phone plug.  I think that's mostly for plugging in an ipod or mp3 player or phone.

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3548?language=en_US
 

It feels gratuitous to spend $ on a Port/Amp (and equal $ on preamp), where the only function it provides is to broadcast the signal, from the 1 single record I currently own. 

Sonos itself sells a package with the Pro-ject T1 that already has a built-in preamp.  Probably a better starting point  if building from scratch

https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/vinyl-set-five-pro-ject-t1-turntable

[jimmyjazz 45630]

The Ortofon Red is moving magnet, which basically means it has a high enough output to drive most phono preamps.

The RCA input is surely a line in that will come directly off the phono preamp.  Your Thorens is twice the turntable than the Pro-Ject T1, I'd just start with a basic, even inexpensive phono preamp and move up at some point down the road.

[TwiceHorn 31356]

Jimmyjazz,

Anymore, is there a real advantage to having separate pre-amp and power amp?  And, going even further, having a separate phono stage? To some extent, that has always struck me as sort of a relic of tube amplifiers.  It would seem that with solid-state, having the various elements in separate boxes doesn't achieve what it might once have.

But I suppose you can design separates more optimally, but for a more incremental gain?

[jimmyjazz 45630]

There's probably some advantage in fully independent power supplies.  And, preamps can have a more distinct sonic character, so some like to mix and match there.  For instance, it's fairly common to see massive solid state power amps paired with tube preamps.

That said, I downsized a long time ago and now use a reasonably hi-end Yamaha integrated amp, and I don't miss multiple separates one bit.

I've always thought the mechanical devices -- loudspeakers, turntables & cartridges -- have a far bigger impact on sound than the purely electronic devices.  I'm sure there are exceptions to that rule.

[52-80 19128]

i get that there's a world of tube amp where people can swap the tubes and get a warm tone and such.  but apparently there's tube phono pre-amps as well?

 

This is the Pro-ject Tube Box S2.  Curious how it will sound in the demo room.  Will target tho the Phono Box S2 or S2 Ultra..whichever makes sense with the setup.

 

What accessories do you recommend for a starter kit? wipers and cleaners and weights and etc?

 

[TwiceHorn 31356]

10 hours ago, 52-80 said:

i get that there's a world of tube amp where people can swap the tubes and get a warm tone and such.  but apparently there's tube phono pre-amps as well?

 

This is the Pro-ject Tube Box S2.  Curious how it will sound in the demo room.  Will target tho the Phono Box S2 or S2 Ultra..whichever makes sense with the setup.

 

What accessories do you recommend for a starter kit? wipers and cleaners and weights and etc?

 

I'm going to guess a little bit that a tube phono stage with a primarily digital system like Sonos would lose a lot of the character of the tube amp.

Vinyl, turntables, and tubes are kind of the pinnacle of analog sound reproduction, and that's why they're so popular in segments:  it's a reaction to digital audio reproduction, which tends to have a different character.  In the case of streaming audio, it may not only have the "digital character," but sound like absolute shit because sound information is lost in the process of recording it, streaming it, and playing it.

And just as a technical matter, anything that amplifies generally does it with one of two electrical components, a tube or a transistor, they are, broadly speaking, interchangeable.  I guess tubes could even be used to amplify digital signals, but that seems like a waste of effort. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tube_sound

So, yeah, preamps, "amplifiers" -- either power or integrated, and phono stages all perform amplification and are, broadly speaking, amplfiers.  The "gain" of each type is what differs, although preamps and phono stages are similar in that respect.

Edited December 27, 2021 by TwiceHorn

[VABuckeye 2472]

9 hours ago, 52-80 said:

i get that there's a world of tube amp where people can swap the tubes and get a warm tone and such.  but apparently there's tube phono pre-amps as well?

 

This is the Pro-ject Tube Box S2.  Curious how it will sound in the demo room.  Will target tho the Phono Box S2 or S2 Ultra..whichever makes sense with the setup.

 

What accessories do you recommend for a starter kit? wipers and cleaners and weights and etc?

 

No offense but your biggest limitation is the SONOS speakers.  No matter how hard they’re marketed as Hi-Fi they simply aren’t.  I’d look to slowly build a two channel system for music listening. SONOS is great for background/party music.  For critical listening they are subpar.  
 

Note: I have a couple of SONOS speakers for music just around the house. I would never use them for anything resembling critical listening. 

[GhostOfTomJoad 9321]

Bose is kicking themselves for not buying SONOS before they got big. It was the same model. Ok sound thats easy to play by anyone, especially old people.

[TwiceHorn 31356]

51 minutes ago, VABuckeye said:

No offense but your biggest limitation is the SONOS speakers.  No matter how hard they’re marketed as Hi-Fi they simply aren’t.  I’d look to slowly build a two channel system for music listening. SONOS is great for background/party music.  For critical listening they are subpar.  
 

Note: I have a couple of SONOS speakers for music just around the house. I would never use them for anything resembling critical listening. 

Having no direct experience with SONOS, that is certainly my impression.

The only reason to use a turntable and vinyl is that a) you are at least a budding audiophile or b) you really used to like the sound of vinyl on a turntable and disliked the sound of CDs and subsequent digital developments.  And a) and b) probably are different ways of saying the same thing, especially with respect to "budding audiophile."

Compared to digital music, vinyl and turntables are a pain in the ass.  But if you like that sound, there's no substitute.

So, yeah, if you want to listen to records as something other than a fad, a solid 2-channel system is needed.  This Sony receiver gets astoundingly good reviews from mid-fi audiophile and consumer sites alike.  https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-2-0-ch-stereo-receiver-with-bluetooth-black/6187501.p?acampID=0&cmp=RMX&irclickid=3AIVW73G6xyIWov1y2z3fUBDUkGw4f192Wq0QU0&irgwc=1&loc=Narrativ&mpid=376373&ref=198&skuId=6187501

It's dirt cheap and has its own phono stage/input and it has bluetooth so you can still pipe your lofi digital streams or mp3s to it from your phone.

It's outclassed by the Thorens turntable, but is a hell of a decent start.

I'll let someone more currently knowledgeable recommend some good budget bookshelf speakers for it.

You're going to have to put that turntable somewhere, so it might as well be a "listening room," with a 2-channel receiver and some regular decent speakers.  You can evacuate the Sonos in that room to somewhere else.

Edited December 27, 2021 by TwiceHorn

[jimmyjazz 45630]

I've been out of the high-end audio realm for years, but I've owned some pretty impressive speaker sets, well above $5K per pair.  Thiel, Magnepan, Vienna Acoustics, etc.

I will say this:  as a guy who has recorded a bazillion bands, there is nothing that compares to a great tweeter like that in the Heil AMT heirarchy.  I've downsized from the Golden Ear Triton 2 to the 7, but the meat of the music (200 Hz and above) is still pristine.  It's just night and day.  Spend your money where the music lives, and fill in the rest with a subwoofer.  They're cheap and super easy to design and execute.

[hobbes2702 12969]

10 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I've been out of the high-end audio realm for years, but I've owned some pretty impressive speaker sets, well above $5K per pair.  Thiel, Magnepan, Vienna Acoustics, etc.

I will say this:  as a guy who has recorded a bazillion bands, there is nothing that compares to a great tweeter like that in the Heil AMT heirarchy.  I've downsized from the Golden Ear Triton 2 to the 7, but the meat of the music (200 Hz and above) is still pristine.  It's just night and day.  Spend your money where the music lives, and fill in the rest with a subwoofer.  They're cheap and super easy to design and execute.

Tell me your thoughts on the GoldenEar. I think I’ve basically settled on the ST-L as my permanent speakers but I’ve always been intrigued by Sandy’s work on GoldenEar.

[jimmyjazz 45630]

2 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

Tell me your thoughts on the GoldenEar. I think I’ve basically settled on the ST-L as my permanent speakers but I’ve always been intrigued by Sandy’s work on GoldenEar.

I think they're fantastic, but again, I think it's mostly in the tweeter.  The first thing I noticed was the sound of fiddles I had recorded -- Champ Hood (Toni Price) and Amy Farris (Kelly Willis).  It was the very first time I ever heard the high end reproduced correctly.  It's an astonishing shift in technology.  I doubt I will ever again purchase a speaker without that type of tweeter.

[hobbes2702 12969]

3 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I think they're fantastic, but again, I think it's mostly in the tweeter.  The first thing I noticed was the sound of fiddles I had recorded -- Champ Hood (Toni Price) and Amy Farris (Kelly Willis).  It was the very first time I ever heard the high end reproduced correctly.  It's an astonishing shift in technology.  I doubt I will ever again purchase a speaker without that type of tweeter.

It’s a ribbon right? I think MartinLogan went to those a few years back on the non electrostatic speakers. 

[jimmyjazz 45630]

12 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

It’s a ribbon right? I think MartinLogan went to those a few years back on the non electrostatic speakers. 

Yes, but I'm not about to say all ribbon tweeters sound alike.  Those derived from the Heil AMT concept have a special magic, in my experience.  I'm not sure what Martin Logan implemented.

[TwiceHorn 31356]

41 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Yes, but I'm not about to say all ribbon tweeters sound alike.  Those derived from the Heil AMT concept have a special magic, in my experience.  I'm not sure what Martin Logan implemented.

I think you have mentioned those before, because I looked it up.  Pretty interesting technology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Motion_Transformer

And while it relies on a thin membrane, it's pretty different from standard ribbon technology.  Pretty sure most "ribbons" "hang"  up and down, while this uses a bellows or folded arrangement.

Edited December 27, 2021 by TwiceHorn

[tbone_ 14042]

Why does eq not seem to play a role in home audio anymore? Seems no one makes them these days and none of the streaming systems really employ any.

It makes such a difference to my ear. Even on my Bluetooth streaming system I run the Bluetooth receiver through an old cheap Technics 7 band I bought off Reverb for $89. Night and day difference with just a little adjustment.

[CooterBrown 17951]

Is it because albums are already engineered how they are supposed to sound?

[TwiceHorn 31356]

6 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

Is it because albums are already engineered how they are supposed to sound?

Yeah in an audiophilish set up, an equalizer just introduces basically distortion.

But if you have crummy sources or are in a suboptimal environment like a car, they have their place.  So liking an EQ when bluetoothing streams makes perfect sense.  Other artificial things like Dolby ATMOS can be useful there, too.

I utterly lack musical talent.  I don't think I have a very discerning ear.  But I can hear the difference between good gear and mediocre gear.  Ultimately, I think anything beyond mid-fi is probably lost on me, for the most part.

I am one of those that didn't like CD-audio at the beginning, but had to admit that it was convenient as hell compared to LPs, with the small size and the ability to change tracks easily, or shuffle, etc.  Now, I think I am inured to it and am mostly OK with crummy digital sources, if played through a decent DAC.  But still, the business of making music is almost a 100% analog endeavor and digitizing it is just bound to do something to it that "ain't right," even though sampling rates, etc. should be mostly beyond the ability of the human ear to hear.

If I went and got a turntable, I would probably go down a complete rabbit hole.

But, like almost anything technical, the engineer in me geeked out on audio gear in my teens and that persists.

Edited December 27, 2021 by TwiceHorn

[tbone_ 14042]

Granted, I have next to zero experience with real high end audio stuff. But pretty much anytime I hear music my ear hears something I’d want to at least fiddle with in the eq.

[52-80 19128]

19 hours ago, VABuckeye said:

No offense but your biggest limitation is the SONOS speakers.  No matter how hard they’re marketed as Hi-Fi they simply aren’t.  I’d look to slowly build a two channel system for music listening. SONOS is great for background/party music.  For critical listening they are subpar.  
 

Note: I have a couple of SONOS speakers for music just around the house. I would never use them for anything resembling critical listening. 

I gave up my wired B&W system and don't wish to go back.  I want to capture the proper tonality and "characteristic" of vinyl, without mismatching the equipment so that it introduces noise floor or other oddities.  Don't really need absolute resolution and fidelity - speakers in this house aren't even allowed above 33%, so critical listening is on my headphone setup with lossless Apple streaming and external DAC

[TwiceHorn 31356]

6 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

I gave up my wired B&W system and don't wish to go back.  I want to capture the proper tonality and "characteristic" of vinyl, without mismatching the equipment so that it introduces noise floor or other oddities.  Don't really need absolute resolution and fidelity - speakers in this house aren't even allowed above 33%, so critical listening is on my headphone setup with lossless Apple streaming and external DAC

Then a headphone amp that may not even need a phone stage a phone stage my huckleberry.

[52-80 19128]

3 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Then a headphone amp that may not even need a phone stage a phone stage my huckleberry.

sheeeeit... my headphone amp is integrated DAC-amp, so here I was thinking it only had (digital) USB input, and no line-in.

this might work!

 

[TwiceHorn 31356]

8 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

sheeeeit... my headphone amp is integrated DAC-amp, so here I was thinking it only had (digital) USB input, and no line-in.

this might work!

 

Just might.

[jimmyjazz 45630]

37 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

sheeeeit... my headphone amp is integrated DAC-amp, so here I was thinking it only had (digital) USB input, and no line-in.

this might work!

 

Wait . . . you're thinking it might have a phono preamp?  HIGHLY unlikely.  It would have to be switchable, for one.

Maybe I misunderstood your post.

[52-80 19128]

13 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Wait . . . you're thinking it might have a phono preamp?  HIGHLY unlikely.  It would have to be switchable, for one.

Maybe I misunderstood your post.

definitely does not have phono specific preamp...but possibly its amplification is strong enough to pump the ortofon cartridge's 5mV to listenable level?  it drives 300ohm headphones pretty loud.  no idea if preamp is needed for other sound shaping function?

[jimmyjazz 45630]

I'd be shocked.

EDIT:  besides, a phono preamp is necessary because it imposes a very specific EQ curve on the signal (RIAA curve).  Running a phono into a "sufficiently" powerful preamp w/o RIAA EQ would end up with a sound that most closely resembles ass.

Edited December 27, 2021 by jimmyjazz

[Bogeywon 2518]

System in! Holy shit this is awesome. Center speaker will be in Wednesday can’t wait!