Excited about PHILIPS AF 834

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RMCWS

RMCWS

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This forum is becoming very expensive for me. Its not been a year I have joined, and I am getting addicted to AV more and more.

I have bought PHILIPS AF 834 from Shafic. It will be hand delivered to me in the first week of December.

This is my first step (at least directly) in the TT world. I don't really have much idea about TT and think starting with this TT is a good idea.

I want to use this TT with my existing set up of AVR and speakers. How do I connect the TT to the avr. Shafic said to use the aux in of the avr to connect. The TT is coming with ceramic cart and stylus.

Now my question is what should I use to connect the TT to the aux in of the avr. My AVR is Yamaha 373.

I was also told that if I upgrade to 'mag' one, I will be needing a phono amp or a vintage amp. What is the purpose of upgrading to mag?

Please suggest as I am new to it.

And though this is my first TT, I used to listen to my dad's TT almost 20-25 years back. I have recently found an very old rusted record player of Philips. I will soon post about it in some other thread.
 
Congrats! Though I have not been fortunate enough to communicate with Shafic, but forum members hold high regards to the deserving gentleman.
As the TT currently has a ceramic cart.,the output will be line level, hence you can connect it directly to the aux. input of your amp. You may have to play a little with your amp settings.
Regarding magnetic carts that you have been suggested about; the difference will be like night and day in terms of sound quality-in general. However, since the output of mag. Carts are low, you will need a pre-amp or phono stage between your tt and current amp. If you plan for a vintage amp, then most of them will have an in-built phono to them.
And yes, the forum is addictive and has been responsible for multiple bank a/c dents in recent times for me. But I am glad that I am here in the company of not only knowledgeable, but fine gentlemen too, to whom I owe a lot.

Regards,
Saket
 
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Congrats and Welcome to the world of vinyl. I am sure that you too have joined the delighted customer list of shafic.

As Saket has mentioned above, anything related to hi-fi tends to get expensive especially if one catches upgraditis. On a lighter note, upgraditis is like an advanced stage of cancer. There's no going back once it hits you. The key is to be cautious and make calculated moves. An easy way to catch this illness is to keep envying other's rigs. When you start feeling that owning something is more important than how it sounds, then you've reached an advanced stage of upgraditis :)

Ceramic carts are not a bad way to start. If you go back in time, many have listened to enjoyable music, listening to them. What is very important is that you have the right equalization for your ceramic cartridge. What shafic told you is absolutely correct. Ceramic cartridges have a high gain output, hence they will work with any input on your amp. Magnetic carts are low-gain carts and hence you'll need a phonostage between your turntable and amp.

Connecting your ceramic cart directly to your amp's aux input would allow you to hear your turntable sing but you won't get the best of quality out of it. Your music will tend to sound screechy, with very less or no bass. This is not a problem with the ceramic cart or your amp. Its because of the lack of equalization. Records are pressed using something known as equalization standards laid down by the RIAA. This means, while pressing, the bass is cut and highs increased in order to maximise the playing time on the record (pressing with heavy bass reproduction would broaden the grooves and reduce the playing time, to put it in very simple terms). So when you play back, your amplifier has to reverse the process wherein the highs are cut and the bass boosted. This process is called RIAA equalization. For a ceramic cart, gain increase would not be required, just equalization. However for a magnetic cart, both gain increase and equalization are required. You can easily build a equalization stage for your ceramic cart for about Rs.50/- if you are into DIY. The sound quality on from ceramic cart will increase tremendously if you do this. Sorry for the long post but these are things that any newbie must understand to get things right :)

A more detailed and technical write-up on RIAA equalization can be had from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIAA_equalization
 
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Welcome to Vinyl world. When you connect TT with ceramic cart to aux, you may not get the desired gain as the signal strength of ceramic cart may not match the signal of aux. If it does not, you may have to use an amplifier with ceramic phono input selector found in some vintage amps like Hi Q international Philips amplifiers or Philips Stereo Valve radios. The other option will be changing the cartridge to magnetic and hooking it to a amplifier with magnetic phono input.
 
I think Reuben and myself posted our comments exactly at the same time. If I had seen Rubens post, I may not have made the posting. Anyway, I had recently tried ceramic players on my old Normande Radiogram and the results are amazing especially to listen to old Malayalam records and Hindi records. I would even go the extend of saying that those who prefer to listen to only old used records of Indian languages, should try ceramic cart with matching phono stage and systems to go with it?
 
peace_sells said:
Congratulations RMCWS! :) On a side note, I have to say that this is one of the best forums I've ever seen. Glad to be a part of it. People here are really enthusiastic about helping others. Very helpful and friendly :clapping:
Click to expand...

That is very true. It's a very closely knit forum with very helpful Gentlemen around.
 
koushik said:
Congratulations! Being an audiophile or ardent music lover, ek TT to banta hai ...

Just waiting for my "turn" to the Turntable :)
Click to expand...

Check with Shafic if he has any and you can also get a hand delivery as you are also from Kolkata along with RMCWS's TT ;).
 
Saket said:
As the TT currently has a ceramic cart.,the output will be line level, hence you can connect it directly to the aux. input of your amp. You may have to play a little with your amp settings.
Click to expand...

I just want to know whether any cable will be provided with the TT to connect it to the aux in of the avr or do I need to buy it separately? If I have to buy, what kind of cable is required?

Saket said:
Regarding magnetic carts that you have been suggested about; the difference will be like night and day in terms of sound quality-in general. However, since the output of mag. Carts are low, you will need a pre-amp or phono stage between your tt and current amp. If you plan for a vintage amp, then most of them will have an in-built phono to them.
Click to expand...
If I decide to go for a mag cart and a photo amp between the TT and avr (even at a later stage), can these phono amps will be sufficient enough:
Buy Online | Lowest Price | Free Shipping| Behringer Microphono PP400 Ultra-Compact Phono Preamp - Buy online at the guaranteed lowest price in India - BAJAAO - Buy online and Review Musical Instruments, Pro Audio, Studio, P.A. Audio Equipment in Ind
Bellari VP 530 USB Tube Phono Preamp Price - Buy Bellari VP 530 USB Tube Phono Preamp Online at Best Price In India

reubensm said:
Connecting your ceramic cart directly to your amp's aux input would allow you to hear your turntable sing but you won't get the best of quality out of it. Your music will tend to sound screechy, with very less or no bass. This is not a problem with the ceramic cart or your amp. Its because of the lack of equalization. Records are pressed using something known as equalization standards laid down by the RIAA. This means, while pressing, the bass is cut and highs increased in order to maximise the playing time on the record (pressing with heavy bass reproduction would broaden the grooves and reduce the playing time, to put it in very simple terms). So when you play back, your amplifier has to reverse the process wherein the highs are cut and the bass boosted. This process is called RIAA equalization. For a ceramic cart, gain increase would not be required, just equalization. However for a magnetic cart, both gain increase and equalization are required. You can easily build a equalization stage for your ceramic cart for about Rs.50/- if you are into DIY. The sound quality on from ceramic cart will increase tremendously if you do this. Sorry for the long post but these are things that any newbie must understand to get things right :)
Click to expand...
I am a person who loves bass. So if the cart does not provide me satisfactory bass, I will have no other alternative but to shift to mag one and a phone amp. Because, I can't really tolerate music without good bass. Mostly I listen to classic rock/ metal and some old hindi music and bengali stuff.

peace_sells said:
Congratulations RMCWS! :) On a side note, I have to say that this is one of the best forums I've ever seen. Glad to be a part of it. People here are really enthusiastic about helping others. Very helpful and friendly :clapping:
Click to expand...

I absolutely agree with you. :yahoo:
 
Hi RMCWS,

You are also getting the 'ORIGINAL PHILIPS MAG CART EG 1400' with the TT as a spare. You can look out for a matching stylus.If you find one, you don't need to invest in another mag cart.

For 'PHONO STAGE' you can contact our FM "sachu888", even i am buying one.
 
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