Amplifying the turntable signal
A turntable signal is too weak for a PC soundcard line-in unless its
preamplified. Most modern turntables have preamplifiers built in - this
will certainly be the case with USB turntables intended specifically
for vinyl rips (although most of the ones currently available are cheap
and don't produce a very good sound).
If you have an older turntable you'll either need to buy a separate
pre-amp or else route the sound through an hifi amplifier. Although its
a little more trouble to set up, routing through a good hi-fi amp
produces the best sound quality. You can do
this by connecting as follows;
- Connect the turntable to the amplifier 'phono' sockets.
- Connect the 'tape out' or 'record' sockets to the PC line in,
which is
the blue 3.5mm jack socket on the back of your computer - of even on
the front of some models.
To do this you'll need a phono to 3.5mm jack adaptor (radio shack /
maplin) like this;
The 'tape out sockets should look something like those on the
amplifiers pictured below.
