Hi fi info

[Koolkat]

Hello. Im looking for advice on hifi stereo stuff. First let me say I know zilch about hi fi stuff, so forgive my ignorance. Ive been given a turntable. A KAM ddx4000 direct drive. Its got usb function and phono outputs, these are red and white. Im not too bothred about the usb route. I just want to play vinyl like back in the day. Im led to believe cos its got usb it has a preamp built in. Is this correct? I have speakers. On the rear of the deck it has a switch that alternates between "line" and "phono". What is this switch and what are its functions? If I obtain an amp that has "aux" but not "phono" inputs will this turntable work if i plug into "aux" Or do I need an amp with "phono" I dont want to be paying more than £60 if I can help it. (Ive got other costly hobbies in salmon fishing serious cycling so wifey wont be too happy if I start playing the hi fi card. Is there any new gadget out there that will let me achieve my goals. (Ive got loads of hip hop, house vinyl that Ive not heard for ages and would love to hear) Any help, guidance etc would be much appreciated. Cheers in advance. Steve.Sorry if this is in the wrong place mods.

Edited December 20, 2015 by Koolkat

[Funky Si]

Line level is what you can feed into AUX input of an amp - phono level is raw output from the turntable and needs to go either into a pre-amp or a phono input on the amp.

So you can connect the red and white outputs to the inputs on the AUX channel,  put the switch on to line, and all will be good.  Or if you get an amp with a phono channel, connect to that and put the switch to phono (might be worth trying both options if you have a phono amp - if the turntable has a better pre-amp than the amp, then it would be better to use that).

 

 

[Koolkat]

Thats great info thanks. Ive had my eye on a couple of nice amps that had only AUX inputs. So has the deck got a built in preamp cos its usb? Thanks once again.

[Dunc]

If you have an old stack system that you can plug the deck into and the sound is good you do not need a pre amp. If the sound is not there when you use it there are small pre amps available on amazon. I got one for £15. It's just a small box that does the job nicely and plugs into the electric and has batteries in.

[Algsoul]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161718590786?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

if anybody only as aux on your hi fi and want to put a deck to it these are only £18.99 and work ok

[Koolkat]

10 hours ago, algsoul said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161718590786?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

if anybody only as aux on your hi fi and want to put a deck to it these are only £18.99 and work ok

 

11 hours ago, dunc said:

If you have an old stack system that you can plug the deck into and the sound is good you do not need a pre amp. If the sound is not there when you use it there are small pre amps available on amazon. I got one for £15. It's just a small box that does the job nicely and plugs into the electric and has batteries in.

Cheers. Thanks a lot. That should cover all options now.

[Funky Si]

It has got a pre-amp, but not because it has usb!  The latest version of this deck has usb and phono-only output.  

The usb is because it has an external sound-card built in for using with a computer - it can connect to a laptop or PC or mac or whatever that has appropriate software installed (plenty of free software out there) and you can then convert vinyl sounds to digital sounds.

[Koolkat]

14 hours ago, Funky Si said:

It has got a pre-amp, but not because it has usb!  The latest version of this deck has usb and phono-only output.  

The usb is because it has an external sound-card built in for using with a computer - it can connect to a laptop or PC or mac or whatever that has appropriate software installed (plenty of free software out there) and you can then convert vinyl sounds to digital sounds.

Thanks a lot.

[Okehdownsouth]

Hi

If your most expensive record is worth no more than £50 then go ahead but if you have rare valauable records please think again before you play them. I don't know if the turntable is new or second hand but either way before you use it please check the tracking force and alignment. It's a bit of a fiddle but will save you from trashing your records particularly if the tracking force is too high or even too low. In the old days we all put coins on the tonearm to stop the needle from jumping, I did it and those records are now unplayable, completely trashed.

I stated a thread on hear a while back about "looks good plays crap" where I was moaning about some records that I bought that looked really great but sounded terrible because they had been trashed on cheap poorly set up turntables. I got loads of great comments and a few who accused me of owning a hifi shop which I do not.

Take a look on youtube there are loads of simple tutorials on how to set up a turntable or take it to you local hifi shop and ask them for some help and advice. Most of the blokes in these shops have loads of knowledge and will help you because they want yo to come back and buy something