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: 51,599
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: 110,447
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 & regulator mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat with Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight. Isonoe feet & boots. Ortofon RS-212D tonearm with Denon DL-103GL, in a Denon PCL-300 headshell, fitted with Funk Firm Houdini and Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.
Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp and 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.
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Location: Far Away
Posts: 1,373
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 & Administrator
Location: Essex
Posts: 37,689
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?
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