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EF2a with vinyl?

post #1 of 7
1/28/12 at 9:39pm
Thread Starter 

So I'm looking for an amp to listen to my vinyl through Grado 225i's.

(secondary use is with Macbook Pro and HD600 & DT770 to introduce myself to tubes)

 

Would the HiFi-Man EF2a work well (connecting the turntable's red&white RCA into the EF2a input), or does the DAC mess things up?

Any other suggestions for a (<$200) budget tube amp?

 

 

edit: the sound isn't great out of my old Sony receiver (muddy bass).


Edited by Bee inthe Attic - 1/28/12 at 9:41pm
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post #2 of 7
1/28/12 at 10:05pm

No, you would need a phono stage in between those. Also, why are you set on tubes? Tube amps in the "budget" price range aren't that great. Stick with good solid state.

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post #3 of 7
1/28/12 at 10:13pm
Thread Starter 

I'm real new to all this, but what's a 'phono stage'? Would my receiver do well between them?

 

I've been reading tons about tubes, and would like to try them out.

I already have a Fiio e9+e10.

 

My old Sony receiver was good back in the day (and might still be), but the bass when listening to vinyl is muddy.

Aside from upgrading my solid state amp (which I don't care to do right now), is there anything else I could do?

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post #4 of 7
1/28/12 at 10:31pm

The cartridge picks up a low level signal from the groove. Think of a phono stage as a (mini) amplifier for bringing up the level so it can be fed into an amplifier. A phono stage can be integrated into a receiver (like the Sony you are using) or it can be a standalone device, sometimes called a "phono pre-amp". 

 

If the Sony is dying on you, maybe you should invest in a better vintage receiver. I bet you could find a silver-faced Marantz, Pioneer, Yamaha, etc. on your local Craigslist for under $200. You should be able to run your headphones right from the receiver, and it also leaves you room to add loudspeakers eventually (I'm assuming you don't have any yet).

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post #5 of 7
1/28/12 at 10:54pm

Also when cutting the master for printing the vinyl record the bass is taken almost all the way out of the signal. The phono stage adds the bass back in still with-out adding the suface noise and keeping ground hum at a low point. That is why even if you amp the direct signal from a turntable there is never any low tone, no matter how loud you turn it up. 

 

Getting an old tuner from Craigs list is totally the best way to go.

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post #6 of 7
1/29/12 at 12:42am
Thread Starter 

Thanks OJ & Red for the reponses,

 

I thought a headphone amp would work well, but I'll just stick with the receiver.

I think my old Sony one is pretty good. The CD player sounds fine. It was just the bass on vinyl that lacked, and the receiver bass boost added a muddy bass, but Red's comment makes sense.

 

Also, I do have speakers. They're pretty good too. I listen to a lot of music late at night; hence, the headphone route,

The only think I've noticed is that the left speaker isn't as loud as the right. Not sure why. I need to get new speaker cables/wires so I can place them further in my room, so I was hoping that would fix the issue. Could the receiver be dying?? (the speakers and receiver take cables with wires on the end, not plugs like modern equipment).

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post #7 of 7
1/29/12 at 10:37am

It might be faulty cables, but I would guess it's a bad pot (short for potentiometer, which allows you to change the volume, bass, treble, left/right), or it could be the caps (capacitors) giving out. Clean out the pots with some Deoxit, and then see if the muddiness is still there. If it is, you might want to have a technician give it a look. Then weigh the cost of restoring against the cost of finding a different vintage receiver. Like I mentioned before, those receivers from the 70's are excellent values and should last you a long time if it's already been restored by a hi-fi enthusiast. 

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