What stereo amplifier should I buy?

October 12, 2016 11:00 AM

I have hundreds of records (translation for those under 32: "vinyl"). I have stereo speakers. And somebody just sold me her turntable for twenty bucks. Now all I need is an amp. I don't want to spend a lot of money. What should I buy?
posted by DMelanogaster to Media & Arts (21 answers total)

Does the turntable have its own preamp? Is it phono out or line-level out?
posted by GuyZero at 11:03 AM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

How old is the turntable? You will possibly need a phono preamp as well, an older turntable won't have one built in and a newer amp will also no longer have one.

If I were you I would go used, craigslist, lots of stereo amps on there for $150.
posted by Cosine at 11:04 AM on October 12, 2016

Here's a list of the best budget phono preamps if you need a preamp.
posted by GuyZero at 11:06 AM on October 12, 2016

If you want something groovy and retro, I'd go for one of these tube amps from Monoprice.
posted by spilon at 11:07 AM on October 12, 2016

I can personally vouch for this preamp. Affordable, clean and quiet. Fourth on GuyZero's list.
posted by erebora at 11:09 AM on October 12, 2016

Response by poster: Jesus, from 1950 to 1995 I had ONE amp. Now you need TWO?
posted by DMelanogaster at 11:10 AM on October 12, 2016

If you get something older and used from Craigslist it will likely have the phono preamp built in still, ONE amp!
posted by Cosine at 11:13 AM on October 12, 2016 [2 favorites]

You only need a separate pre-amp if 1) the record player does not give a "line level" out AND 2) the amp you buy does not have a "phono in".

If you can tell us the make/ model of the record player, we can probably help you figure out what its output is, and how to get away with one amp if that's your desire. This page covers some of the terminology.
posted by SaltySalticid at 11:17 AM on October 12, 2016 [2 favorites]

You can also get amps with preamps built in if you want. In ye olden days that was actually the norm but these days not every amp has phono inputs. Lots do though.
posted by GuyZero at 11:18 AM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

Be careful of buying older receivers. The capacitors in them are probably degraded and will likely need to be replaced. It's generally much less expensive to buy a brand new one.

The "one amp" thing is a bit of a canard. Your old receiver had at least three amps in it: a phono preamp, a left channel amp, and a right channel amp. (More than three amps if it had surround capability.) Now you need a separate box for the phono preamp because so few people use turntables anymore, and there are only two amps in your "amp."
posted by kindall at 11:19 AM on October 12, 2016 [2 favorites]

Decent home theater receiver makers are all over the map on including phono stages these days; my last one (a Yamaha) had one, but when it died I found the Denon I got a great deal on omitted it, and had to get an outboard one from Crutchfield, It's fine (I think I had an AskMefi thread about this, actually).
posted by uberchet at 11:24 AM on October 12, 2016

If it's a cheap turntable and you care about your records, make sure that it's not going to damage them. You want a quality, balanced cartridge, anti-skating, etc.

If you just want something cheap and are not that picky about the sound, there's probably something in reasonably good condition that will do the job at thrift stores near you that will do the job for around $5-10. Drying capacitors is an issue, but mostly that will degrade audio in small ways that many people won't care about, rather than an absolute failure. I've had old solid state amps last close to 20 years without failing catastrophically.
posted by Candleman at 11:31 AM on October 12, 2016

Where are you located?
posted by Slinga at 11:33 AM on October 12, 2016

Check to see if there are any shops in your area specializing in selling old, quality, used stereo equipment. In Seattle, that's Hawthorne Stereo, for one. Any good shop of that type will be more than happy to help you out.
posted by dbmcd at 11:48 AM on October 12, 2016

What's 'a lot' of money? If your budget is under 200, I just saw this on ebay. It has a phono preamp.
posted by destructive cactus at 12:12 PM on October 12, 2016

You don't need two amps, you just need an amp with a phono channel (on board pre amp), just like your previous amp.
posted by humboldt32 at 12:30 PM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

to clarify, you have one of these cases:
- a record player with a line-level output (ie a built in-phono preamp) and a standard amp with line inputs;
- a record player with a standard phono output and an amp with a phono in (ie a built-in phono preamp);
- a record player with a standard phono output, a standalone phono preamp, and a standard amp with line inputs

The most likely case is your record player does not have a built-in preamp, so you need either case 2 or 3.
posted by a halcyon day at 12:46 PM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

If you can afford to spring for a new amplifier, Onkyo makes solid stuff and you can get their basic stereo receiver for on amazon for $150.
posted by thebigdeadwaltz at 9:08 PM on October 12, 2016

The question you're asking here is "Which amplifier works best with a turntable and speakers?" If we can identify the turntable/cartridge and the speakers, we could give you a more useful answer.
posted by in278s at 5:20 AM on October 13, 2016

Response by poster: The turntable is a Technics SL-QD33 with line out to phono on an amplifier. So my question remains, What would be a decent CHEAP amplifier to use with this turntable? I already have decent stereo speakers. Thanks
posted by DMelanogaster at 9:02 AM on October 18, 2016

Response by poster: Like, how's about this one? http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/ele/5831541049.html
posted by DMelanogaster at 9:11 AM on October 18, 2016