Question:
I need help hooking up my record player to some speakers.?
Travis
2015-06-24 12:19:53 UTC
I have a record player which has RCA cables in the form of red and white plugs. I recently bought Bose 161 speakers and they require speaker wire, red and black as an input. Is there any way to convert the RCA into the speakers, or am I better off finding new speakers
24 answers:
Regal
2015-07-02 11:42:38 UTC
I wonder if my psp still works
2015-06-24 14:26:43 UTC
I had the same problem once - in c1970. I was told by a kindly Radio Shack salesman that you can't run speakers with a turntable. So I saved up my money and bought a Marantz 1250 integrated amplifier.



It would have been nice if you had mentioned what kind of turntable you have. The trick here is that it needs a special preamplifier to work right. Some modern turntables have it, some don't.



If it doesn't you need to buy a receiver (or integrated amplifier) with a "phono" input. You will know if it has one because there will be a selection called "phono" on the input selector.



Also, those Bose speakers are a joke. Bose speakers in general are a big scam but they are too small and "plasticy" to really sound good enough to make using a turntable and buying vinyl worthwhile. But I digress:



Today people use turntables / record players for two reasons:

1. Sheer novelty. "Wow! Look! It spins around, that thing with the needle touches it and sound actually comes out of it! Without a computer or iPod too!"

2. Superior sound. Since everything went digital with CDs ion the mid 1980 some prople noticed that the old analog formats (vinyl LPs and tape) has a "certain something" that even the best digital media lacked. They use a lot of different terms for it and argued with each other and the digital proponents quite a bit. But you are never, ever going to hear the superior sound of analog vinyl LPs with teeny, weeny plastic box speakers and other cheap gear. You certainly are not going to heart it by plugging your turntable into a computer via a USB port. You need good, high fidelity gear -sizable speakers (made of wood) and a good amplification system.



If novelty in sound is what you want you might as well get one of those "retro" record players made by the likes of Crosley which will ruin your records in short order. Perhaps I'll look into making and selling Edison type cylinders and players. That would really be a novelty.
?
2015-06-24 13:02:16 UTC
What do you mean by "record player"? Back in the day we always called it a "turn table" unless it was a stand alone device with built in speakers in which case we called it a "record player".



Things have changed a lot over the years. Back before CD's most receivers had a "phono input" which is where you connected your turn table. This is a special pre-amplifier-EQ that amplifies the very very small signal from the phono cartridge and corrects a built in frequency response curve implemented to prevent the needle from jumping the track on low frequency. Modern receivers don't usually have a phono input so apparently a lot of new turn tables come with the phone preamp built in. You need to know what you have, both types are RCA connectors so that information alone is not enough. You need to know is it phono outputs or is it "line outputs". If it's phono outputs you need to either find a receiver with a phono input or you need to buy a separate phono preamp along with the receiver. If it's line output you can just buy any decent receiver and use the Aux input to connect it.



What's a decent receiver? That depends on your definition of what's adequate. The average non audiophile person will frequently be thrilled with a $300 HK, Onkyo, or any number of others. Contrary to popular belief among uninformed consumers, Bose is not so great so any receiver in the $200 ~ $300 range is more than good enough. You don't want a high-end $2500 receiver on those speakers any more than you would want the $300 receiver on high-end speakers.



mk
2015-07-03 22:45:46 UTC
Computers are wonderful, but they have screwed up the younger generations' notion of high fidelity reproduction. With this question, we have a person utterly perplexed when presented with speakers that do not have a built-in amplifier.



You gave a model number for the speakers, but why no identification of the record player?

The nomenclature "record player" is usually reserved for self-contained units which have all the necessary electronics and speaker(s) all built into the same chassis. Because your unit has RCA cables for the signal output, we can safely assume it is not a record player, but rather a turntable.



What kind of cartridge is the turntable equipped with? The phono cartridge is a transducer -- it's a tiny electrical generator. It converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. In a ceramic cartridge, this is accomplished by the piezoelectric effect: stress on a crystal produces an electrical signal. Such a cartridge is fine if you're a six year old playing used records that were bought for 25 cents each.

If you're serious about playing records, then you'll want a moving magnet (MM) cartridge (there are other types such as moving coil and moving iron, but you don't need to concern yourself with them). The output signal from a MM cartridge is much weaker than the output from a CD player (or even a ceramic cartridge). Thus it requires a phono preamplifier to boost its signal up to line level. Additionally, when records are cut, low frequencies are cut (to reduce the area of the groove) and high frequencies are boosted (to overcome some inherent noise issues), so the phono preamplifier must undo this and apply the opposite equalization (i.e. it must boost the lows and cut the highs; ceramic cartridges achieve ). Modern cheap turntables may include a built-in phono preamplifier, in which case those RCA cables can be plugged into any line level inputs, otherwise they must be plugged into the phono inputs of a receiver (includes AM/FM tuner; preamplifier which provides volume/tone controls and switching functions; and lastly the power amplifier which boosts the signal to drive the speakers to the desired loudness), or integrated amplifier (just has power amp and preamp, no tuner). Not all integrated amps or receivers include a phono preamp (record playback fell out of popularity with the ascendency of the compact disc, but they are returning -- you can tell by checking if any inputs on the back of a given unit are labeled as "phono"). Of course separate phono preamps are available.



With compact discs, you just pop the disc in the player and push the play button. With records, you need to know how to align your cartridge, set tracking force, and how to keep the records clean. With the price of new vinyl, it doesn't make sense to "get into vinyl" unless you're prepared to invest in good equipment (which it doesn't seem you're at the point).
Isaac
2015-06-24 16:33:52 UTC
RCA and speaker wires are two entirely different things. The RCA (white and red plugs) are simply meant to send the signal from your records (the music itself) to an amplifier/receiver that will actually give your speakers power to play the signal. What your speakers need is an amplifier as would any set of passive speakers (non-self amplified speakers). The majority of speakers are going to have this issue for you, but there are still options known as amplified/powered speakers. Basically these speakers have the amplifier/receiver built into them and you could just plug the signal cable (Your RCA's - the white and red plugs) into them and it would work. However, it would probably be cheaper to stick with the speakers you got, although I personally am not a huge Bose fan, and find a cheap used stereo receiver on Ebay or at a thrift shop. You can get a very good used receiver from the 90s for dirt cheap and are of good quality. Grab yourself an old Technics amplifier (preferably with the square power button as these are the better quality ones), or really any cheap receiver as long as its not a poor brand (I would do a little research regarding this as there are a bunch of poor brands out there). You could probably score one for around 40$. Hope this helped!
Grumpy Mac
2015-06-24 14:32:46 UTC
You have a very big concept problem.



Speakers are MOTORS. They convert electrical energy to mechanical motion.



Speaker wires - are power wires.



RCA wires can only carry "line level" signals. This is information-only, no power.



Have you ever heard of something called an "amplifier"?



The purpose of an amplifier is to take line-level signals as inputs and produce speaker-level (or powered signals) to speaker terminals as outputs. You run speaker wire from these outputs to the connectors on the speakers.



You basically need a Stereo receiver (with a volume control, bass control, multiple inputs, etc.) between your phonograph and your speakers.
bbt91945
2015-06-24 18:10:44 UTC
You can not connect any turntable to any speakers. The turntable has to be connected to a pre amplifier then to a [ower amplifer and then connecting the speakers to the power amplifier. Most consumers will connect a turntable to a receiver that has a phono line input, then connecting the speakers to the receiver. Hope this will help you out.
?
2015-06-27 16:05:39 UTC
Yes, you need a receiver or integrated amplifier between the TT and speakers, as others have mentioned. But you must be sure that the receiver or int amp has a

phono input---an aux or line-level input will not do.
Markey
2015-07-06 06:12:23 UTC
Work out how many 'watts per channel' you want, then buy an amplifier of that rating.40 watts per channel is plenty.



Add some speaker cables and some RCA ones to link your turntable to the amp and you are set.
ANDRE L
2015-06-24 12:39:52 UTC
The Bose speakers require a receiver, which includes an *amplifier* in order to run.



You would then plug the record player into the receiver.
?
2015-06-30 20:11:13 UTC
You can not connect any turntable to any speakers. The turntable has to be connected to a pre amplifier then to a [ower amplifer and then connecting the speakers to the power amplifier. Most consumers will connect a turntable to a receiver that has a phono line input, then connecting the speakers to the receiver. Hope this will help you out.
2015-07-01 23:58:47 UTC
Or you can buy an external soundcard for your laptop/computer and download FLAC audio and have quality greater than any record player/turn table/obsolete 70's junk out there.
?
2015-06-28 06:21:53 UTC
Yes
?
2015-06-29 00:40:48 UTC
you need an amplifer that can handle the very low voltage input of record players, or purchase a preamp designed for record players.
2015-06-27 19:36:31 UTC
you need an amplifer that can handle the very low voltage input of record players, or purchase a preamp designed for record players.
?
2015-06-28 13:22:59 UTC
people are make these answers so complicated. You need a reciever with the red and white input, the reciever will have outputs for speaker wire
Adriel
2015-07-01 14:05:38 UTC
You'll need an amplifier. The previous answers give you exactly what you need.
2015-07-06 10:47:40 UTC
But an ipod
?
2015-07-05 18:02:16 UTC
grab some string baby
tony c
2015-06-25 00:04:34 UTC
Is this a serious question ??
2015-06-24 12:21:47 UTC
yes
Steven
2015-07-06 06:19:38 UTC
ok bro
steward
2015-06-28 03:19:44 UTC
yes.
2015-07-03 09:31:07 UTC
não!


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
Loading...