Graphic Equalizer for Turntable

[Trayderji]

Hello everyone:

I have a cosmic TT which is without preamp, I am using an Yamaha AVR with phono input and the combination works great.
Now i wish to connect a graphic equalizer between amp and TT.
My question is since my TT dont have preamp can i connect an equalizer between TT and amp.?
Will it work??

 

[General_sound]

Hi Trayderji. While most audio-enthusiasts may not prefer an equaliser, there are some who do prefer one. In the old days there were a number of manufacturers who included an equaliser with their(mostly) all in one systems. Some companies manufactured stand alone equalisers also. So possibly this did fill a specific consumer requirement. I do own a Sonodyne Uranus and Loki equalisers and I will say that, at times, I do use them.
However it is reiterated that they were never used with CD players, as I felt it was not required. With turntables and cassettes(now stored!!),the equaliser was helpful.
With that rather long preamble, I come to your specific query: my tt is connected first to phono preamp then equaliser then amp. Connecting equaliser before the preamp gave rise to many problems, incl some distortion. So I immediately disconnected before my preamp got damaged. Do check with experts before making any connections and switch off all equipment before that.
If your present system is sounding excellent, then u have to weigh all the factors before adding additional equipment.
Hope this helps

 

[mbhangui]

My question is since my TT dont have preamp can i connect an equalizer between TT and amp.?
Will it work??

You cannot. The output of TT has to be corrected using RIAA equalization curve. This is done by a phono preamp. If you alter the sound before the pream, the RIAA equalization will no longer happen correctly and you will not get a proper sound.

 

[Trayderji]

You cannot. The output of TT has to be corrected using RIAA equalization curve. This is done by a phono preamp. If you alter the sound before the pream, the RIAA equalization will no longer happen correctly and you will not get a proper sound.

So in that case if i have to use equalizer then i have to buy a separate phono preamp and then connect the equalizer in between preamp and amplifier right??

 

[MaSh]

So in that case if i have to use equalizer then i have to buy a separate phono preamp and then connect the equalizer in between preamp and amplifier right??

Yes that's what needs to be done. Try an old nad stereo amp which has separate Pre and Power amp sections along with a phono input. Connect TT to phono input. Un-bridge the Pre and Power amp sections. Now connect the pre out to your equaliser. Connect the out on the equaliser to the Poweramp input on the nad. ( Any amp with these inputs will work. Used nad as an example as I tried s similar thing with my nad). If your avr has such connections,you can try out.

MaSh

 

[Trayderji]

Yes that's what needs to be done. Try an old nad stereo amp which has separate Pre and Power amp sections along with a phono input. Connect TT to phono input. Un-bridge the Pre and Power amp sections. Now connect the pre out to your equaliser. Connect the out on the equaliser to the Poweramp input on the nad. ( Any amp with these inputs will work. Used nad as an example as I tried s similar thing with my nad). If your avr has such connections,you can try out.

MaSh

Thanks Mash, my amp dont have preamp and amp as separate, ineed to try first option of a different preamp

 

[Fuse]

Attach your turntable to your amp's phono input, as normal.

Hopefully your amp has tape in and out jacks. Attach the tape out ("REC") to your graphic EQ input, and run the EQ's output to tape IN (PLAYBACK). You will have to press TAPE MONITOR to listen with the EQ. Listening without, will play your turntable without the EQ. You can do tests listening with and without EQ, by turning the tape monitor switch on and off. Have fun!

 

[ShantaramChari]

Hello everyone:

I have a cosmic TT which is without preamp, I am using an Yamaha AVR with phono input and the combination works great.
Now i wish to connect a graphic equalizer between amp and TT.
My question is since my TT dont have preamp can i connect an equalizer between TT and amp.?
Will it work??

Vintage equalizer has an option for phono in and out function, cosmic too had equalizer with phono function. Try to find one on olx, but as you are in mumbai there are plenty of dealers who has vintage gears so you can find one equalizer with them.

Regards

 

[suvrasengupta]

Hi Trayderji. While most audio-enthusiasts may not prefer an equaliser, there are some who do prefer one. In the old days there were a number of manufacturers who included an equaliser with their(mostly) all in one systems. Some companies manufactured stand alone equalisers also. So possibly this did fill a specific consumer requirement. I do own a Sonodyne Uranus and Loki equalisers and I will say that, at times, I do use them.
However it is reiterated that they were never used with CD players, as I felt it was not required. With turntables and cassettes(now stored!!),the equaliser was helpful.
With that rather long preamble, I come to your specific query: my tt is connected first to phono preamp then equaliser then amp. Connecting equaliser before the preamp gave rise to many problems, incl some distortion. So I immediately disconnected before my preamp got damaged. Do check with experts before making any connections and switch off all equipment before that.
If your present system is sounding excellent, then u have to weigh all the factors before adding additional equipment.
Hope this helps

So you are suggesting it should be connected at the output of Phono Preamp i.e MM Cartridge > Phono Pre amp > Graphic EQ> AV Rceiver CD IN

 

[General_sound]

Yes. I had connected the Loki equaliser after the phono pre amp. I found that the phono preamp got " overloaded" if the equaliser was before it in the chain.
Sometimes an equaliser may not sound good. So do experiment carefully

 

[reubensm]

So you are suggesting it should be connected at the output of Phono Preamp i.e MM Cartridge > Phono Pre amp > Graphic EQ> AV Rceiver CD IN

This is the best possible sequence. Admire your disruptive thinking (which is sort of Taboo in Hi-Fi). You will notice that you can actually accentuate the tonal quality, in accordance with your listening preferences. If adjusted carefully, you can actually figure out different settings for different record labels or perhaps even use the EQ to mask surface noise, etc. As it is a non standard approach, ensure that your EQ out is wired to the Aux or any generic input (and not the phono input) on the AVR.

 

[suvrasengupta]

This is the best possible sequence. Admire your disruptive thinking (which is sort of Taboo in Hi-Fi). You will notice that you can actually accentuate the tonal quality, in accordance with your listening preferences. If adjusted carefully, you can actually figure out different settings for different record labels or perhaps even use the EQ to mask surface noise, etc. As it is a non standard approach, ensure that your EQ out is wired to the Aux or any generic input (and not the phono input) on the AVR.

Mine in Onkyo SR503 , there is no PHONO IN. I have to cennect at CD IN

Yes. I had connected the Loki equaliser after the phono pre amp. I found that the phono preamp got " overloaded" if the equaliser was before it in the chain.
Sometimes an equaliser may not sound good. So do experiment carefully

Thank you for the time and opinion

This is the best possible sequence. Admire your disruptive thinking (which is sort of Taboo in Hi-Fi). You will notice that you can actually accentuate the tonal quality, in accordance with your listening preferences. If adjusted carefully, you can actually figure out different settings for different record labels or perhaps even use the EQ to mask surface noise, etc. As it is a non standard approach, ensure that your EQ out is wired to the Aux or any generic input (and not the phono input) on the AVR.

Thank you very much , I am going ahead

 

[rupy]

I have a query about how to connect a graphic equaliser to a tape monitor system in my Exposure 2010S2 integrated amp.The amp has tape out and tape in,but does NOT have a tape monitor switch.How do I do it?Please help.

 

[reubensm]

I have a query about how to connect a graphic equaliser to a tape monitor system in my Exposure 2010S2 integrated amp.The amp has tape out and tape in,but does NOT have a tape monitor switch.How do I do it?Please help.

You can still connect your eq and use the by-pass switch on the eq itself for the same functionality. If you dont have a by-pass switch either on your EQ or amp then you will have to can have a 'flat' setting on the EQ saved as one of the EQ memory presets and use that as the by-pass. If your EQ model does not have saved presets, then you will have to manually bring the EQ sliders down to 'flat' position, every time you want to mimic a by-pass situation.

 

[jenson]

good luck with the setup! Vinyl sounds best with eq one of my best times were running the lp12 via pulz pre amp onto the va1 to arista....the pulz had bass and treble controls...vintage albums like rumors an such sounded amazing with a lil bump in bass and treble!

 

[Hari Iyer]

Hello everyone:

I have a cosmic TT which is without preamp, I am using an Yamaha AVR with phono input and the combination works great.
Now i wish to connect a graphic equalizer between amp and TT.
My question is since my TT dont have preamp can i connect an equalizer between TT and amp.?
Will it work??

Though its a very old post - I shall still share my experience.

I have done this before to connect my TT output to my graphic EQ and then doing an RIAA curve using the slider controls looking at the graph. But for doing this you will require an 1/3rd octacve GE. I had the dbx 231s which is a 31 +31 band graphic EQ. With this i was able to get the -12dB/
+12dB control and an additional gain of +12dB. So the total gain of the setup was around 24dB along with the control which IME was quite low for a decent output. Though it can be a stop-gap arrangement until you find a decent RIAA phono preamplifier.