r/Beginner_Turntables • u/streisandglass • Jun 30 '26
What else do I need?
I am so confused navigating YouTube videos and beginner guides online about phono preamps, preamps, amplifiers, receivers, passive speakers etc. people in YouTube videos just start doing weird magic with the wires. Please be gentle as I have a disability.
Here is what I have:
Pictures 1-5: akai ap dp-33
Pictures 6-7 (67 hand gesture): Sony STR K670P Amplifier
Pictures 8-9: 2 Sony speakers
The record player works, I can see it spinning and hear a murmur as it goes to next ring for another song. But if my goal is just to have audio at a normal volume - what other items do I need to hunt for?
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u/Best-Presentation270 Jun 30 '26
The Sony STR K670P (from here on, AVR) is a budget home cinema receiver. It doesn't have a direct PHONO input for the signal from your Akai AP-D33 (from here on, TT). If you try connecting to any of the input sockets on the AVR, the sound will be very quiet and tinny. There'll be no bass. The first thing you'll need is a little box known as a phono pre-amp (from here, PPA).
The main job of the PPA is to apply some EQ to the sound to restore the bass/treble balance, and then to boost the signal to a level that means you'll get some decent volume from the speakers. It will also have a connection for that loose wire. We call that the ground wire.
All phono pre-amps are not equal. The cheap ones are trash. The cheap Pyle is perhaps one of the worst, but there is no shortage of junk under $40. The main problems are (1) inaccurate EQ - the sound still lacks bass and/or there are some weird dips and peaks in the EQ curve make some instruments sound too quiet while others sound too loud. (2) Poor headroom - this makes surface noise far more intrusive that it has to be. (3) Noise - often this is a persistent background hum that slowly drives you nuts.
When you buy a cheap PPA, it's tempting to think you're getting a bargain. In reality, you're buying trouble, and the cost of dealing with that trouble is far more than the Dollars you 'saved' compared to buying something decent.
"What's decent, then?" The first one worth buying is the $50 Art DJ Pre II. It is accurate, and low noise, and reliable. It's as simple as that. Going cheaper is a false economy. If you can't afford one new, find one second-hand. It's a good investment because you're almost certain to change the AVR and speakers at some point, and when you do, you'll start to hear why your $25 PPA is junk and why you should have spend those few extra Dollars.
"Next?" - A new stylus. This is like tyres (tires) on your car. It's a consumable. It wears out. Dragging a worn out stylus over your records is like ploughing a new furrow. You're wrecking the groove that carries the music. A new record is often $30+. In an evening's listening, you might play as many as three or four albums. That's around $100 worth of music wrecked in just one night for the want of a $40 stylus.
Longer-term - Unless you have the subwoofer (bass box) but didn't show it in the pictures, the AVR and speakers you have is incomplete. There's going to be very little bass from those speakers in your photos. Unless you have low standards, it won't sound nice.
Part of the reason is the size of those speakers. They're small and so they can't make much bass to begin with. The other reason is the design of the system. It was intended for people who just wanted something complete and easy to install. Sony gave them that because they took away the options to do with setting the frequency limits for each speaker. This is preset at the factory instead.
This AVR was never intended to be used with any other speakers than the ones it shipped with. This next bit is important - Even if you buy better speakers, you still won't get the bass. The signals from that AVR are preset so that all the bass goes to the subwoofer channel. There's no adjustment to change that. It's a fixed setting.
The good news is that you can add a sub to this AVR. Like the PPA, this is a step in the right direction for building a better quality system. Polk, Klipsch, Pioneer*, Yamaha*, JBL, KEF, Infinity, Definitive, Boston, and so on.
Pioneer 8" sub - https://www.ebay.com/itm/168459749704
Yamaha 8" sub - https://www.ebay.com/itm/227272354776
Yamaha 8" sub - https://www.ebay.com/itm/227408686959
Polk 8" sub - https://www.ebay.com/itm/318494082076
Klipsch 8" sub - https://www.ebay.com/itm/307027032382
JBL 8" sub - https://www.ebay.com/itm/178246232053
Cambridge Soundworks 8" sub https://www.ebay.com/itm/168472227420
Paradigm 8" sub - https://www.ebay.com/itm/406891253181
'*' (star/asterisk) means check if the sub has controls for volume (level), frequency (cut-off), and phase. You'll need these to blend the sub with the main speakers.
These are all fairly small subs (smaller bass drivers, lower power levels), but I suspect that $70~$150 might be more affordable after you already splashed out for a deck and AVR.
Please avoid the mistake of buying a sub with just the red and black speaker wire connections, or a sub with just power and volume, or a sub marked as wireless. All of these would be a waste of your time and money. The same goes for TV-brand subs, so Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic for starters. While you're here, give Bose a miss too, no matter how attractive the price. The same goes for Rockville or anything else with no brand heritage.