Member
Location: Stockholm
Posts: 42
I'm Richard.
RCA double adapters
Just how bad is an RCA double adapter on sound quality?
I have two turntables and only one input in the phono stage.
An adapter like this allows me to use both turntables without plugging and unplugging. I think it reduces the strength of the input signal - but hard to measure. Will it reduce audio quality?
Is it rare for a phono stage to have more than one RCA input?
Moderator & Terminator!
Location: N E Kent
Posts: 51,625
I'm Geoff.
It will have some effect (everything does), but I have occasionally used those and can't honestly say I heard anything detrimental. Perhaps a good quality input switching box might be better.
It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!
Site Owner/Administrator
Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK
Posts: 110,012
I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.
Shocking, been there, done that... Seriously, Richard, if you value good sound quality, I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole!
Marco.
Main System
Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.
Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.
Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.
CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.
Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.
Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.
Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.
Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.
Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.
Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!
Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!
Trade: The Right One
Location: Far Away
Posts: 1,396
I'm Gone.
The problem with using these, quite apart from the general quality loss,is that you would have the two cartridges wired in parallel. This would do weird things to the loading and the non playing one would, quite literally be singing along. Get a good quality switch box.
Fount Master & Moderator
Location: Essex
Posts: 31,965
I'm openingabottleofwine.
What Paul said - not a good idea at all. The cartridge that was playing would be the generator and the cartidge that was not playing would act as a motor and be driven by the playing cartridge.
Get a good quality switch box.
(I have used 'Y' adapters on the phono input of a preamp, because I wanted to experiment with cartridge loading. But the adapters I used were very high quality (and expensive) Lemo CAMAC type on my Mark Levinson preamp.)
Barry
Member
Location: Stockholm
Posts: 42
I'm Richard.
Cheers team. I knew it was bad but thanks for explaining why.
Senior Member
Location: Middlesex, UK
Posts: 4,481
I'm Alex.
A Quad 44 may be a good solution, choose your inputs by changing the input modules.
Spendorman
Member
Location: Stockholm
Posts: 42
I'm Richard.
Is there a decent analogue rotary dial that would allow you to mix the output from two phono stages?
Reply With Quote
