Can you hook a turntable up to a surround sound system?

Question

I recently acquired a turntable and am wondering if I can set it up with surround sound. I'm guessing that records are only capable of playing left and right channels, but if I hooked it up to a receiver with phono inputs and surround sound capabilities, would it work? Or would all the speakers just be playing the same thing depending on which side they were on? Also, if I can't hook it up to surround sound, then I'm looking for a simple audio receiver that has a little more to it than just L/R channels (maybe a bass specific output, etc.)... but I also heard that bass can cause some problems with the turntable, so any advice or suggestions on what to get (or what I should do) are more than welcome. Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Yes, and since most decent surround sound systems

have simulated or "derived" surround modes

(Dolby Pro Logic II, for example),

you can get some surround effects from the records you play.



Each record will produce its own specific effects

depending on how the master tape was recorded.







If the receiver has a "phono" input,

the turntable can be connected directly to that.

Otherwise, you will need a separate phono preamp.



Some turntables have built-in preamps,

but they are Not known for being of good quality,

so if your 'table has one, you should switch it to Phono Output mode

and use an external preamp anyway.





It is a good idea to find a local expert

(but Not a "salesgeek" at a store)

to help you in person.

Answer 2

Some hi end AV receivers have phono input or else you could use a phono preamp....it would be a similar effect to playing a music CD on a Blu ray player or DVD player hooked up to the AV receiver ...On some recordings it works well on others not so much....There are records from the 70's that have quadraphonic matrix ques imbedded into the recording (Doors;:The Who; Pink Floyd etc)...and so a Dolby Pro logic processor will be able to read those ques to some extent as the theory is similar...May not be the most conservative approach but you will get something with Dolby pro logic.......Also if you get a true quadraphonic CD-4 vinyl disk and you use a shibata needle on your cartridge and then experiment with your surround processor you should be able to get something pretty close to quadrophonic output....The problem with quadraphonic is that there were about 5 or 6 different formats and they all required different equipment....but if the idea is just to get something and not necessarily what was originally intended then you can do it....

Also some recordings from the 90's also have Dolby Prologic ques(.Rolling Stones; Mannheim Steam Roller: Pink Floyd etc) even though these recordings were intended for CD playback the ques are still there in the Vinyl pressing most of the time.......Some AV receivers that have phono are Onkyo TX-NR656 also Yamaha RX V681BL....

Answer 3

You can only do this if your receiver has a "phono" input. You can not connect it to an "Aux" or "CD" input. The turntable will require a phono preamp which most receivers today don't have. The only other possibility would be that if newer turntables have the preamp built in. I haven't messed with a turntable for at least 25 years so it is possible it's built in now. If not however and if your receiver does not have a phono preamp then you need to get an external one.



mk

Answer 4

sure,might need a preamp,

Answer 5

yup. It would play. what it plays will depend on eh, what you play. usually stereo or a synth surround mode output.