[ichiboy]

I'm looking to get into vinyl hopefully without breaking the bank. I've bought a bunch of LP's in the past few years that I haven't really had the chance to listen to, so I figure I should get this set up. I currently have a Vector Research VT-155 belt drive auto return turntable in great condition that my dad let me have. I'm guessing it isn't the world's highest end record player but it does have an Audio Technica SS315E/U cartridge, which I'm guessing is probably ok?

Anyways, my main question is if whether or not I need a preamp. I'm about to buy a Little Dot III or something similar, could that just connect without one? If I can, what do you recommend I do with the ground? I saw in some other threads that $75 decent preamps could be found, so I might look into that too. I'd love to hear any recommendations for preamps though, remember cheap is better here. I really just want to get this thing going for a reasonable price. EDIT: Does this Audio Technica look decent?- http://www.needledoctor.com/Needle-D...&category=-112.

The other equipment I have is a Denon D2000 and a go-vibe V6, which I'm guessing is terribly inadequate to do anything here.

Anyways, thanks for the help. I'm very new with vinyl and looking forward to hearing my Pavement and Joanna Newsom records in a new way

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[Uncle Erik]

First, you absolutely need a phono preamp. They're not like other preamps. A record is attenuated with the RIAA Curve, so you need a phono preamp to restore the missing information. It's more like an equalizer than simply a preamp.

There are any number of inexpensive ones out there. Last I checked, you could find them for about $30 at Garage-A-Records. You could also use an older receiver, because many of them have built-in phono preamps.

I don't know much about budget turntables, but you should read through the budget turntable thread in the Source Forum. There's lots of experience and good advice in it.

 

[ichiboy]

Hmm... I didn't see a $30 one on the site. However, I have read some good things about this one- Phonopreamps.com TCC TC-750 Details and Hookup. So far everyone seems to be saying it is a good get for the price.

Thanks for your opinion though! I just needed to confirm all of this since, like I said, I really don't know anything about what I'm doing.