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How To Connect Your Turntable to An External Unit?

by Arnold Zhang on October 26, 2021

 

If you are thrilled with the current vinyl turntable, you may be a former lover of large, heavy discs, and your collection is sprawling with cobwebs in the attic. Conversely, you may be a curious newcomer living in a strict digital music age and dreaming of diluting your musical experience with analog systems.

But what if you don't have a traditional hi-fi system that you can easily plug in your new turntable to? Or if your equipment is aimed at playing soundtracks of TV programs and movies or creating background music in several rooms using a multi-room kit of components?

In almost all of these cases, embedding a bluetooth vinyl record player will not be difficult. Of course, if you already know what type of model you are targeting. To help you figure it out, here we have a step-by-step procedure of connecting your turntable to an audio system using Bluetooth technology.

 

How turntables are traditionally connected

Turntables are often connected to external speakers, such as a soundbar, through an amplifier between the turntable and the speaker system. An amplifier is an essential component when connecting these two devices if you want the best possible sound quality.

What is a phono stage?

A phono stage is an electronic circuit that adds the correct amplification to the signal received from the cartridge. It sends a signal to an audio system or the input of a power amplifier of the appropriate level.

Without a phono stage, the audio signal received from the stylus tends to be shallow, and an amplifier is often required to bring it up to the standard line level. This is also known as AUX, which modern speakers often require.

It makes the connection between the amplifier and the turntable and then converts the phono stage to line level.

Active speakers

As an alternative to the traditional amplifier between external speakers and the turntable, you can opt for external amplified speakers. Active speakers have a built-in amplifier, which is usually powered by an external charger. On the same note, you can get your favorite turntables as well as other accessories in 1byoneaudio.com.

How to connect a turntable with a built-in phono stage to your soundbar

  • If your turntable has a built-in phono stage, you must connect the phono stage to one of the receiver's analog inputs; otherwise, the sound will be distorted. A distorted sound is the result of the simultaneous operation of two phono stages.
  • If your soundbar has phono input, you can connect it directly to a turntable that does not have a phono stage.
  • In most cases, sound panels require a turntable with a built-in phono preamp, and you can also connect an external phono stage between the soundbar and the player.

If you only have a soundbar connected to your TV, you may be afraid that you will not be able to add a player to them; however, that's not the case. In fact, in most cases, this is simple, and you only need to choose a compatible choice for the existing soundbar.

Take, for example, your soundbar is equipped with analog stereo inputs in the form of a pair of standard RCA connectors, you can connect any player with a built-in phono stage or without it via an external module.

If you are not even ready to consider the prospect of burdening the system with at least one more cable, then you can opt for a player with a Bluetooth technology connection, which is supported by most soundbars.

High-quality Bluetooth turntables with good sound are not expected. As well, their quality drops dramatically when you abandon the use of cable. However, if you are determined to take that route, you can consider the high-end options.

Pairing with an AV receiver

One of the greatest strengths of any AV receiver is its extensive battery of inputs for all kinds of audio and video devices, so plugging in a turntable is no problem. What's more, many of them have a built-in phono stage, to which any standard turntable can be connected directly. 

However, the phono stage of AV receivers is often inferior in quality to component models and even the corresponding built-in player circuits. If sound quality is important to you, then you should pay attention to this aspect.

If you choose a turntable with a built-in phono stage or use a separate component of this type, connect them not to the phono input of the AV receiver but one of the line-level RCA connectors.

 

Connecting to a wireless speaker

If your music system consists of a single wireless speaker, you still have a chance to connect to your turntable. To ensure everything runs smoothly, your speaker must be equipped with an analog stereo input. It can be a pair of RCA connectors or a 3.5 mm jack. In the latter case, you will need an inexpensive adapter to connect.

 But even if your speaker doesn't have any physical inputs, you can connect a Bluetooth-enabled player with external wireless speakers. Thus, virtually any wireless speaker can be connected to a turntable.

Conclusion

If you are a recording enthusiast who also has a soundbar, you might be wondering if you can connect your turntable to it. The turntable and soundbar are ultimately very different from each other, but they can be connected. If you're wondering how to connect them, we hope that the useful tips in this guide will come in handy.

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