Buying a turntable to play my old LPs question?

Question

Hi, I want to get an inexpensive but reliable turntable to play my old LPs and the Sony LX-250H and LX-350H have caught my eye. With either of these, could I just use a phono cable to connect it to my hi-fi's speakers and play the turntable through them just like that? One of my friends mentioned that this wouldn't work without a Pre-amp, and the Sony website doesn't say that either of these turntables have a built-in pre-amp in the product specs. So I am wondering if that means that they DON'T have a pre-amp, and if that IS the case will I have to buy one seperately? In this case, would it be better to just buy a different turntable with a built-in pre-amp (suggestions?) rather than get either of those Sony ones? Thanks a lot in advance for any help!!

Ok, r.e. the first two answers: My hi-fi does have a phono jack, so do I just buy the turntable and plug it right in there? No need for a phono pre-amp?

Also bare in mind that nowhere in the specs of the turntable does it say that it has a built-in preamp. Does this matter? Thanks a lot for all the help so far!

Answer 1

I think you need to buy an amplifier. I have a Teac Turntable and tried hooking it up to speakers and that didn't work. I had to buy the amp hookup!

Try talking to an old school salesperson. Not the young twits who don't know what LPs are but rather somebody who knows their backsides from their elbows. My favorite sales guy is at a Jo Di's sound in Connecticut can really talk music and equipment. He blows me out of the water with what he knows. Try finding somebody like that where you are at and you may get the final hook up!

Answer 2

No, it won't work - you'll have to run the output from the turntable into the PHONO input into your hi-fi in order to hear the signal for the turntable - using the AUX or TAPE inputs won't work either as the output from a turntable is at a different level than the standard outputs from equipment like CD players, Tape decks etc. - if your hi-fi does not have a PHONO input, you will need a Phono Pre-Amp, which you should be able to buy at an electronics store like Radio Shack.