Phono input what is

During playback, the exact opposite function is performed through an RIAA preamp, resulting in the reproduction of the original audio. When the original audio is pressed into the record, it is altered according to a specific code RIAA Emphasis added to save space on the record. Accessing our website tells us you agree to our use of cookies.

However you can change your cookie settings at any time. Unless the turntable you have just bought has a phono pre-amp built in. Some do. If that's the case plug the turntable into a spare input, like the auxiliary or "aux" ports. Don't plug it into a "phono'' input or you may blow your speakers up.

A turntable gathers its signal from an extraordinarily delicate and tiny piece of equipment, a stylus that follows the contours inside the walls of a record's groove.

As the stylus moves, a magnet attached to the other end, inside the cartridge, also moves and induces current in two coils of wire in there, creating electrical signals that are fed to the amplifier. These signals are exceedingly weak, far weaker than the signals from other sources. A CD player may have an output of a couple of volts, a cartridge's output is more like four or five millivolts; that's 0.

This means these signals need a mighty whack of extra amplification. If your amplifier has a "phono'' plug this happens automatically. If it doesn't then you need a phono pre-amp between the turntable and the amplifier to bring the signal up to sufficient strength to be heard properly. Plug a turntable into an "aux" input and you may not hear anything even with the volume maxed.

The reverse is also true — plug something that isn't a turntable into the "phono'' input and the signal will be so strong it may well blow your speakers. Traditionally, turntables did not include built-in preamps, but this has become more common on affordable modern turntables.

Modern higher quality turntables still come without a preamp built-in though. A problem new vinyl enthusiasts often run into is trying to play records on a stereo that does not include a preamp at all. Playing records on a stereo without a preamp result in very low music volume due to the low signal level of the PHONO signal and a very strange sound as well due to the reduced bass and boosted treble. If you have run into that situation, the solution is usually to buy a standalone preamp and hook it up to the stereo.

Or you can buy a new turntable with a built-in preamp. Feel free to have a look at our recommended turntables page to see which turntables we think are the best buys on the market today. Both with and without built-in preamps. Standard mainstream lower-end turntables almost always come with a Moving Magnet cartridge. So if you are not a hardcore vinyl and stereo enthusiast with a very expensive turntable and stereo, you likely have a turntable with a Moving Magnet cartridge.

The main reason why vinyl enthusiasts often prefer the more expensive Moving Coil cartridges is that MC cartridges have a lower moving mass which enables them to read the grooves in the records with more accuracy, speed and precision. Resulting in a better and more accurate reproduction of the recorded sound.

As you can see in the table below. To solve this, preamps and phono stages often have a switch to choose between MC and MM cartridge. When the switch is set to MC the built-in phono stage will boost the signal more than when the switch is set to MM.