Cosmo Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 I have a Realistic LAB-420 (just got it - love it), that I have hooked up to my receiver and all is well as far as that goes (grounded properly with no issues). I like to record my records via my laptop - but the 420's volume output, running to my laptop, is quite low and needs to be EQ'd something fierce. So, I attempted to serial it through a tube-pre-amp I had on hand, but am now having issues with even worse sound and humming. I tried running another ground wire, from the turntable, into a screw on the pre-amp's chassis. This causes humming like nothing is grounded at all. Grrrrr... The turntable I was using previously had no need of grounding, as it seemed to have a built-in pre-amp, so I did not run into this issue (but this table was about as lame as one could possibly get). As you can probably tell, I am an amateur when it comes to more complex sound setups and I could really use some suggestions. My pre-amp is a ZhilaiAudio DZ (tube driven) Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 does your receiver have a Tape Out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Posted April 6, 2019 Author Share Posted April 6, 2019 Yes it does. I tried running a line from that to my laptop, but no sound is present. Sorry to be such a sound noob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 be sure the tape out is selected. Usually you have to select the input and then tape1/2 to get sound output for recording. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Posted April 7, 2019 Author Share Posted April 7, 2019 I really feel that something is not working, i.e something's burned out. The "tape out" makes sense, but am getting no sound. Sooooo, since I am the semi-king of audio adapters, for now I am running sound to my lappy via the headphone jack. I really juts need t break down and buy a new receiver so I know everything is fresh and working. Mind you - I am a DJ with good knowledge in setting up sound. But PA systems and home audio are two different, silly beasts 😜 I really appreciate you giving advice on this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluethumb Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 My first guess would actually be the preamp - have you tested this in any other setup? It is 1000x more likely the new piece of equipment is causing the issue rather than the receiver that worked fine before adding the preamp. Now when you mentioned running "another" ground wire, was this in addition to the ground wire on your RCA connects (or however your table handles grounding)? If so you're most likely creating some sort of ground loop and amplifying the rogue signal - and as a follow-up, do both of these pieces have grounded wall plugs (i.e. 3-prong)? Laugh if you will but it can make a difference in older homes. Last question - are you running directly from the preamp to the laptop? In most cases, you can't really treat the preamp output as a true line level source and you may be getting distortion due to cranking up the sound level to get to an appropriate recording volume. I went through something similar with my setup (Debut III, a tube pre (Budgie), to a receiver) and tracking down rogue noise was a whole thing. In the end, an extremely specific series of ground wires helped solve the issue so just experiment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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