Can I use this cartridge?

[bschaefer]

could I use this with my Technic SL-Q3? if so, would i need a headshell or does it go directly in the tonearm?
http://www.lpgear.com/product/OROM03E.html

[dlaloum]

Yes you can, and it would mount on your existing headshell - alternatively some vendors will sell you a headshell with the cartridge and mount it on the headshell for you...

The OM3 is pretty much identical to the ortofon Omega... which might be more economical...

[Alec124c41]

http://www.lpgear.com/product/LPGPROHEADSHELLS.html
You need a headshell.

[bschaefer]

Okay....so I got the Omega OM3 and a general purpose headshell. now what do i use to hear it? whats the cheapest, easiest place to look for a speaker that works with this? would my receiver for my tv downstairs work? or do i need something like a pre-amp or a direct box to connect it to an amp or speaker?

[Alec124c41]

Your AV amp probably does not have a phono stage built in. Therefore you will need a phono pre-amp, which will both rebalance the tones (modified to fit the signal in the groove) and boost the signal to line-level, which you can plug into any audio input in your amp.
Phono pre-amps can be had for $20 up to !

Cheers,
Alec

[raphaelmabo]

Here is a selection of phono pre-amps for reading your cartridge.
http://www.needledoctor.com/Online-Stor ... no-Preamps
http://www.lpgear.com/category/PP.html

I've heard good things about the Bellari phono pre-amp for 76 USD. Also the Behringer for 25 USD (ok 24.99) at LP-Gear is a nice buy. Myself, I'm using the Thorens MM01.

There's no need for special speakers for turntables, any hi-fi speaker will do that you connect to your amplifier or receiver. (a receiver is an amplifier with built in tuner to receive radio signals).

[dlaloum]

90% of the difference between the $20 phono stages and the $500 phono stages is all in the power supply...

Powering some of the cheapies from a battery can frequently provide remarkable transformations!

Standard upgrade for most of the cheapies is to replace the wall wart power supply with something that is decently filtered and regulated... (or a battery)

[bschaefer]

can i just use this? or would i still need one of the phono stages? thanks...sorry for my stupidity.

[bschaefer]

whoops, forgot the link....http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/ele/3084146648.html

[Alec124c41]

That has a phono stage built in. You should be good to go.
BTW, the 125 watts is most likely the power consumption, not the output.

Cheers,
Alec

[bschaefer]

Sorry, I promise this should be the last question....at least for a while haha. Well, I bought a pyle-pp999 phono pre-amp. it came with just a power adaptor and the pre-amp itself. My brother is looking to give me his speaker set (they're like 40$, very nice set). What cables/hardware do i need to connect the vinyl, to the pre-amp, to the set of speakers and subwoofer? Do I need a receiver without a phono stage built in, or can I just the RL cables and plug them into the set of speakers? thanks!!!

[pierce]

you need a stereo preamp plus power amplifier, or an integrated amp (which is those two functions combined), or a receiver (which is an integrated amplifier with a built in FM tuner). the phono preamp just outputs line level, this has to be sent to a regular pre-amp input (aux or whatever), the regular preamp gives you the volume control, source selector, and usually tone controls. the power amp takes the higher level line output from the preamp and drives the speakers.

The turntable probably already has a captive cable with RCA jacks to plug into the phono preamp/equalizer. you'll need RCA stereo patch cables to connect the phono preamp to the stereo preamp/integrated amp/reciever. if you have a seperate power amp, you'll need another stereo RCA patch cable to connect the preamp to the power amp. then you'll need a pair of speaker cables to connect the power amp output to the speakers (I use 'zipcord' lamp cord most of the time, it works just fine, expensive speciality speaker wires are a sucker play. If your amp is over 100 watts per channel, and you're driving large speakers, use heavier gauge lamp cord, like 14 gauge(2mm^2). ditto if you're running longer runs (say, 20 feet (6m) to each speaker), use heavier gauge wire. Otherwise lightweight 18 or 20 ga. (0.8 or 0.5mm^2) is just fine for short runs (say, under 6 feet (2m))

[bschaefer]

http://www.amazon.com/Technical-Pro-Int ... B004NQD26G So if I got this, I would just need the RCA cables to connect the output of my pre-amp to this? and then the computer speakers would connect to the integrated amp?

[Ottermel]

No, don't get that one. It's junk!!!!!
There are millions of better integrated amps (used). Your budget will dictate which ones.
Stick with well known names and brands.