People collect vinyl for a number of reasons. Some aficionados believe that it sounds better than modern music storage systems; the digitisation process can result in music sounding too ‘clean’, whereas the analogue method used by LPs is more genuine. Others may have a large record collection left over from the time before tapes, CDs and mp3s took off. Either way, if you want to hear your record collection – and get good sound quality out of it – then you will require some specialist equipment. A phono stage (also known as a phono preamp or a phono amp) is the missing link that you can use to join a turntable to modern stereo equipment. If you’re a music lover, then you will appreciate that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link; you can’t expect to play good music on a bad stereo set and appreciate the result.
This can present problems if you’ve paid a lot of money on cutting-edge equipment. Mostly, modern stereo sets are designed to play CDs and mp3s, and maybe tapes. What they are not designed to do is play LPs. There may be a plug in the back for you to connect your turntable, but that in itself doesn’t ensure a good listening experience. The problem is that the signal that comes off a turntable is much lower than the signal that you get from a CD player.
You can get around this by turning the volume up high, but you will soon realise that this doesn’t sound good. As well as amplifying the low-level signal of the music, you will also amplify all the hiss and crackle. The result will be your favourite records, wrecked by static. Old amplifiers, intended to be used with turntables, took this into account. Modern stereos do not – and most won’t have a built-in adaptor, since it’s not economically viable. Why bother, when comparatively few people listen to vinyl any more?
The solution is a phono stage – an extra component that plugs in between your turntable and stereo amplifier and speakers. This phono amp boosts the signal from the record deck and makes it usable to the stereo – meaning that you don’t get the hiss that occurs when you turn the volume up high. It is therefore crucial for rehabilitating your old LP collection, and if you have a good stereo then it’s worth investing in a decent phono amp, too.
Please visit http://www.whestaudio.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.
http://www.whestaudio.co.uk/
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