My inlaws are entering retirment and are looking forward to traveling. In preparation, they have been getting rid of a number of items. I was lucky enough to inherit a Realistic Lab 450 Direct Drive Automatic Turntable. It appears to be in great condition (and the records that came along with the table ranged from hip...to groovy...to psychadelic. I was extremely excited to get my listening on. I am old enough to have actually used a record player before, but I have always used "record players" with built in amplifier/speaker system. I have an old Magnavox sound system (that has stereo component input and a variety of sound setting options) hooked up to the table, but have to max out the volume on the sound system to hear the record even minimally. If the room is very quiet, you can comfortably "hear" the "music"...but it didn't seem to have the richness I tend to associate with records. I was disappointed to say the least (and most of the groovy records are still sheathed in their wax paper protectors). The system and the speakers seem to work fine (when my daughter accidentally brushed in the input selector, FM radio came blaring out at a piercing volume as would be expected given that I had the volume all the way up). I do not assume it is necessarily a sound system problem per se. The turnable and assoicated hardware appears to be in great condition...there are no obvious signs of a short that I can tell.
Aside from the obvious point (i.e., I need more signal amplification between the table and the sound system), is there something else I might not be considering? If it is simply a matter of getting an amplifier (or a different soundsystem alltogether), what might you recommend? I know that there are a lot of engineers, old nerds and geeks, and general awesome musicians on this forum and I am hoping that someone who has some experience with these turntables might help me to really be able to enjoy the records!
After CDs became popular stereo manufacturers gradually stopped including phono inputs in their systems. Although your Magnavox is "old" it still could have been made after phono inputs were begin phased out. So the first question is, is your turntable plugged into a phono input or an aux input? Aux would account for low volume and also the lack of richness you complain of because an aux input is not properly equalized for the output of a phono cartridge (the bass would be very deficient).
That is precisely what I did. Thanks for helping me with first part of my issue. Any recommendations for what to look for at the garage sales, swap meets, e-bay, etc. (I.e., beyond "phono" input)?
I'll venture a guess that your phone cartridge is a magnetic type. Switch to a ceramic pickup or use a pre-amp between the turntable and the amp.
Dan Schultz
"The Village Tinker" http://www.thevillagetinker.com" target="_blank
Current 'stable'... Rudolf Meinl 5/4, Marzan (by Willson) euph, King 2341, Alphorn, and other strange stuff.
iiipopes wrote:While ceramic might put out a slightly stronger signal, would it still need the RIAA equalization?
Dunno. I DO know that I replaced a ceramic pickup with a magnetic one once and had to 'step up' the signal.
Dan Schultz
"The Village Tinker" http://www.thevillagetinker.com" target="_blank
Current 'stable'... Rudolf Meinl 5/4, Marzan (by Willson) euph, King 2341, Alphorn, and other strange stuff.
You know, I have the same problem.I have the thing all the way up and it's like at half volume.It's even worst with headphones.This might be the thing I'm looking for rather than going out and buying another stereo.Thanks alot!
Re; old amps etc. There is a LOT of discussion about vintage audio on the many audiophile forums.
The best amps tended to be made in the seventies - the whole thing went into decline a bit in the eighties.
Top of the line Pioneer, Sansui, Marantz are pretty good. Harman Kardon is not bad and Luxman can be really good.
There is a guy in Melbourne who specialises in restoring this sort of gear. He resolders every joint on the board by hand and the result is incredible, the amp sounds live and new, nothing like an old piece repaired.
Most old amps will need this sort of treatment - pretty much every joint will be working but not quite one hundred percent. A lot will work much better with just a pot clean and maybe new capacitors.
The best seventies amps are not just good for their age, they are good by any standard and have much bigger, beefier power supplies than current offerings.
It's getting much harder to find vintage audio equipment as the word has got around and there are a lot of people looking for it.
If you find something for sale, Google it's make and model number with the word forum after it to find out what audiophiles think of it and whether it's a good model or not. If something looks like a top of the line model and is heavy to pick up and is cheap enough just grab it.
Speakers have probably progressed more than amps. I was told years ago to look for speakers that are not that wide accross the front but are deep and heavy to pick up. Yeah, I know the weight thing sounds like the sort of urban myth stuff that old guys who don't know much believe but the more I learn about audio (a recent obsession) the more the weight test stands up.
I'd better stop now or I might be here for a while and I don't really know much about this stuff anyway - I just like it.
