The industry of vinyl music has had quite the comeback for those who are into vintage aesthetics and especially when it comes to the world of audio although being in a digital world where a million distinct tunes are just a touch of a button away. Every vinyl-playing stereo setup includes a preamp, turntable, amplifier, and speaker. It can be connected to an extra amplifier or a pair of speakers. In today’s blog, I will lay down a few simple steps as to how to connect a turntable with a space-saving compact speaker absolutely hassle-free.
In This Article:
Key takeaways:
- Turntables with built-in preamps are the easiest to set up
- It is necessary for the majority of speakers to be paired with a stereo amplifier that has a phono preamp built-in
- To connect your turntable to your speaker, plug in the RCA input side of your cable in the turntable and the 3.5mm in the Bluetooth speaker.
Let’s get into the important components:
Turntable– This is a circular rotating platform that plays sound recordings.
Preamp– This serves as a bridge between your stereo and turntable that amplifies the signal in your sound system. This takes the faint electrical signal produced by your turntable and boosts it up to the line level.
Amplifier– To avoid having not enough bass and low sound levels in the turntable, a phono preamp is necessary.
Speaker– This takes the audio signal and pushes the music out into the air.
Almost all Audio Technica turntables have an RCA connection which enables you to connect the device to powered speakers directly which is embedded with volume control, power connection, and an internal power amplifier.
The following are needed to connect a turntable directly to speakers:
- Powered speakers
- Phono preamp built into the turntable/ speakers
The easiest way to connect turntables to the powered speakers:
The R-15PM powered monitors generally have a built-in phono preamp which automatically eliminates the necessity of a receiver and a discrete phono pre-amp and sometimes they even require a separate phono preamp. Below are a few steps you can follow to connect your R-15PM powered monitors to your turntable:
- Connect the ground cables and RCA to the R-15PM
- Make sure the switch is set to phone’s
- Plug in both the R-15PM and turntable to power outlets
- Now you’re all set to put on the record and have a nice time
Following a few simple steps, you can connect your turntable with a passive speaker. Passive speakers won’t connect to an external power source and require a standard speaker wire only.
- Connect the RCA cables to the preamp (line up red with red and white with white)
- Connect the preamp to the amp with RCA cables
- Connect the amp to the speakers
- You’re all set!!
Connect your turntable to Bluetooth speakers, this is how:
Not every turntable is equipped with Bluetooth wireless transmitters for eg, Sony’s PS-LX310BT and Audio Technica AT-LP60XBT. With models as such your turntables can be easily connected to your audio device.
Simply connect the RCA input side of the cable from the turntable to the 3.5mm side of the Bluetooth speaker.
For those who lack an in-built preamp, with the help of an RCA cable connect the turntable to the preamp. Followed by that, insert the RCA input into the preamp and the 3.5mm into your Bluetooth speaker.
Final thoughts
One of the pros of connecting turntables directly to speakers is that it is said to be the cost-effective option for a vinyl-playing stereo setup and hardly one cable is needed to connect the two units together which makes the entire process less messy, so what are you waiting for? Go ahead and follow the simple steps given in my guide and sit back and enjoy the vintage vibe.
FAQs
Do I need an amplifier for my turntable?
An amplifier is necessary to connect to the preamplifier once your turntable and preamp are all set.
How do I connect my turntable to an external speaker?
For this, first, connect the RCA front turntable cable to an RCA to 3.5 mm mini plug.
What is the difference between an amplifier and a stereo receiver?
An amplifier is such a component that amplifies a low-level signal from an input source to the output side while a receiver consists of a few extra built-ins like a built-in radio or a Dolby surround decoder.
What’s the difference between a belt drive table and a direct drive table?
Those who plan on DJing would definitely need a direct drive turntable which allows you to change the track of the music via the pitch control belt.
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