Summer Fun: S.D. Curlee Restoration

ramone57 · September 06, 2011, 04:05:58 PM

I have a Presonus Firebox interface. tried using with a turntable and couldn't get rid of a ground hum. it's quiet as a church mouse in normal usage.

Dave W · September 06, 2011, 05:08:40 PM

Quote from: BUFF on September 06, 2011, 10:34:44 AM
This is part of the reason I have thought about the USB option as they roll in at around the £50 mark... I've never been what you would call a "buff" when it comes to hifi, hence my love of the MP3 format - the portability and the convenience far outweighs any other issues...

Those interfaces are USB devices. If you already have a decent turntable with a magnetic cartridge and diamond stylus, you'll get audibly better results by using that with an interface.

If you do get a USB turntable, be sure to buy a diamond stylus right away to replace the sapphire stylus most of them come with.

dadagoboi · September 06, 2011, 06:21:22 PM

the Behringer interface will handle a line out from a tape deck or receiver and also a direct box signal, I know that for certain. They're $30 in the US, probably half that on Ebay used.

Dave W · September 06, 2011, 10:38:07 PM

Yes, because they use a line level input. You can't connect a turntable directly without going through a phono preamp at some point.

Psycho Bass Guy · September 07, 2011, 02:02:09 AM

Quote from: BUFF on September 06, 2011, 03:03:34 PM

(70mph in a Merc Vito is my sound environment, with aircon - aka "wind the window down and drive faster")

Philips makes some VERY nice inexpensive in-ear earbuds that do a great job of blocking out noise. I have them for Pandora on my phone and I must say, they sound nicer than the $6k Genelec studio monitors in the control room at work.

dadagoboi · September 07, 2011, 04:02:44 AM

Quote from: Dave W on September 06, 2011, 10:38:07 PM
Yes, because they use a line level input. You can't connect a turntable directly without going through a phono preamp at some point.

A Thriftshop 70s Sansui 661 receiver does that for me. One of the last with a wood veneer on plywood case, sounds great with AR-2 speakers.

SKATE RAT · September 07, 2011, 06:22:53 AM

i really need to get one of these USB turntables.

Highlander · September 07, 2011, 11:50:31 AM

Quote from: Dave W on September 06, 2011, 05:08:40 PM
... be sure to buy a diamond stylus right away to replace the sapphire stylus most of them come with.

Noted ta...

Psycho Bass Guy · September 07, 2011, 01:45:10 PM

Quote from: ramone57 on September 06, 2011, 04:05:58 PM
I have a Presonus Firebox interface. tried using with a turntable and couldn't get rid of a ground hum. it's quiet as a church mouse in normal usage.

Didn't see this before. The problem is that your phono preamp and turntable need to have a physical ground connection to either the case of the Presonus or the ground post on your computer's power supply.

Psycho Bass Guy · September 07, 2011, 01:47:06 PM

Quote from: dadagoboi on September 07, 2011, 04:02:44 AM
A Thriftshop 70s Sansui 661 receiver does that for me. One of the last with a wood veneer on plywood case, sounds great with AR-2 speakers.

You lucked out. That Sansui is a hi-fi collector's item.

dadagoboi · September 07, 2011, 02:08:44 PM

Quote from: Psycho Bass Guy on September 07, 2011, 01:47:06 PM
You lucked out. That Sansui is a hi-fi collector's item.

Major purchase for me...$7. It's a great sounding amp, even makes CDs sound good.

ramone57 · September 07, 2011, 04:08:39 PM

Quote from: Psycho Bass Guy on September 07, 2011, 01:45:10 PM
Didn't see this before. The problem is that your phono preamp and turntable need to have a physical ground connection to either the case of the Presonus or the ground post on your computer's power supply.

yeah, I tried grounding the turntable to the Presonus but didn't try grounding to the pc. I'll give it a shot. thanks

Psycho Bass Guy · September 07, 2011, 07:54:47 PM

If your computer is plugged into a power strip, make sure your plug the preamp into either the strip or the same outlet. You can also just run the preamp/turntable ground to the ground pin on an unused plug on the strip.

ramone57 · September 08, 2011, 04:09:40 AM

yup, they're both running off the same power strip. when I had the turntable hooked up, it was only to get one song from vinyl to the digital domain, so it wasn't that big of a deal. if it was more of a long term thing, I would've tried different ground connections. time was short and I just decided to live with it. I've got a bunch of stuff I can't find on cd or itunes to convert but no time to do. when I get around to it I'll try grounding to the power strip. thanks, PBG!