colinsguitaradventures Posted October 22, 2022 Share Posted October 22, 2022 So to preface - I am not an audiophile nor am I super knowledgeable about audio systems. My setup is relatively basic and budget friendly. I have an Audio Technica LPGO-BT turntable fed into a pair of R-41PM active speakers. Whenever I use Bluetooth, Auxiliary, or USB, these speakers get loud. Right where I want them in fact. Not so with the phono input. It is substantially quieter than the other inputs. I understand that vinyl by nature is a quieter format, but I feel as if I am missing out on some potential that these speakers have. My question is: is there anything I can do to optimize or add to my setup to access the volume I know these speakers are capable of? I really appreciate anyone’s thoughts, thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 Welcome! Guess your rca cables to both units being correct, is the speakers switch on phono and, does your turntable have a built-in Phono preamp? If so, there is likely a switch there also to disable. Unlikely a moving cool cartridge stylus. @colinsguitaradventures... It should be loud enough unless you like it loud. The forum. 75 db? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinsguitaradventures Posted October 29, 2022 Author Share Posted October 29, 2022 On 10/23/2022 at 9:05 AM, billybob said: Welcome! Guess your rca cables to both units being correct, is the speakers switch on phono and, does your turntable have a built-in Phono preamp? If so, there is likely a switch there also to disable. Unlikely a moving cool cartridge stylus. @colinsguitaradventures... It should be loud enough unless you like it loud. The forum. 75 db? Hi! Thank you for your prompt response, and my apologies for my lack of one! Here is a picture of the back of the right speaker. It is hard to make out, but the switch is set to phono. I believe that my turntable does have a built in preamp. It has a “phono/line” switch, which is set to phono. I have also attached a decibel reading from a vinyl at full volume, taken from the chair where I normally sit while listening to music. I feel like Gojira “From Mars to Sirius” should rate a little higher than “normal conversation” but maybe that’s just me haha! Thank you for your time man. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 14 minutes ago, colinsguitaradventures said: Hi! Thank you for your prompt response, and my apologies for my lack of one! Here is a picture of the back of the right speaker. It is hard to make out, but the switch is set to phono. I believe that my turntable does have a built in preamp. It has a “phono/line” switch, which is set to phono. I have also attached a decibel reading from a vinyl at full volume, taken from the chair where I normally sit while listening to music. I feel like Gojira “From Mars to Sirius” should rate a little higher than “normal conversation” but maybe that’s just me haha! Thank you for your time man. Yes, your choice... either the speaker or the turntable preamp, not both at the same time. Choose which sounds best for you. Guessing it sounds decent. @colinsguitaradventures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 23 hours ago, billybob said: Yes, your choice... either the speaker or the turntable preamp, not both at the same time. Choose which sounds best for you. Guessing it sounds decent. @colinsguitaradventures BTW, forgot to say, there is a vinyl thread here you can look at and contribute to. You are invited... @colinsguitaradventures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainbeefheart Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 He has the switch on his TT wrongly set to "phono", it should be set to "line". It's not a selector switch where you are selecting to listen to "phono". Instead it's asking you what you are plugging the TT into - a line stage or an actual phono stage? If you have the switch set to "phono" it thinks you are going into a preamp with enough gain and with the correct RIAA EQ and so takes the signal directly from the cartridge. Conversely if you have the switch set to "line" then it thinks you are connected to a preamp line stage input and so it sends the signal from the cartridge through it's own local on board amplification stage of +38db and the proper RIAA EQ. So it's no surprise that with the switch set to "phono" and plugged directly into an active speaker system intended for line stage signals that the output will both be very low due to insufficient gain, but also sound awful because the RIAA frequency correction network isn't present. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainbeefheart Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 Ooops my mistake. I looked closer at the picture and it's the back of the powered monitor, the fives have the same exact "line/phono" switch as the Audio Technica TT and so I thought I was looking at the turntable switch. I looked at the fives spec sheet for sensitivity specs but the don't disclose any. I then was curious what his AT cartridge produces for output and it's fairly low for a moving magnet type at 2.5mV output. The "line" option - where if you want to use the built in phono preamplifier on the turntable it only produces 150mV which is quite low for today's line level signal standards. I'd say flip both switches - on the TT and on the powered speaker to "line" and see if you like that better. I'm going to wager that since the TT puts out very low signal for both options it's not going to be much better. They spec the gain of the on board preamp at +38db, with a 2.5mV cart they should have far more gain, closer to +50db but I bet they didn't want to spend time on the design in regard to noise so they just went low gain to get around it. You could always upgrade your cartridge to something that puts out 5-6mV, some output 8-10mV and you'll get a lot more volume from phono setup. Again sorry for the confusion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 Yes, didn't want to confuse the issue with explanation beyond a new to audio new member. Anyway, thinking he sorted it out and came back to respond. IAC, thanks for your valuable input... ☕ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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