Pre-amp to connect Yamaha R-N602 to Sony PS-HX500 turntable

oldschooly

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I have:

Yamaha R-N602
Sony PS-HX500
Cambridge Audio SX-50

I was hoping the Yamaha would get the best volume and punch from the Sony PS-HX500. I tried to connect both by using the phono stage from the Yamaha which was very quiet. I then turned the pre-amp off on the Sony PS-HX500 and connected to the Yamaha via the RCA and the sound was pretty much the same as using the built in phono stage.

I considered upgrading the cartridge. So I spoke to the shop technician and he stated upgrading the cartridge won't improve the volume. Instead he suggested purchasing a separate pre-amp such as Pro-Ject Phono Box MM .

Can anyone advise which is the best value pre-amp to get the best out of the Sony PS-HX500. I do not want to spend too much money as I originally envisaged the phono stage from the Yamaha to be suffice.

Any advice or tips?

Thanks
 
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So, just to clarify you have two options, no reason why either of these should not work fine -

1) Sony rear switch to "Line", connect the Sony L/R outputs to the RN602 In1 or CD terminals - this uses the phono stage/preamp in the Sony.
2) Sony rear switch to "Phono", connect the Sony L/R outputs to the RN602 Phono terminals - this uses the phono stage/preamp in the RN602.

Note the phono stage take the very small voltage signal (2-4mV) from the cartridge, amplifies it a bit (to approx 0.5-1V) and also applies a filter to correct the treble/bass filter that is applied in the record making process.

If you do get a spearate phono stage/preamp then the Sony needs to be set to "Phono", the sony L/R outputs connect to the input on the separate phono stage/preamp, the outputs on the separate phono stage/pramp connect to the In1 or CD terminals on the RN602.

I would make sure that the two options above are working OK before setting out on finding a separate phono stage/preamp. Both of these should work fine it is then it is for you to listen and see if there is a difference and which you prefer.

Not sure what cartridge this comes with but it may be a Audio Technical VM95e with a black casing (as opposed to the usual green), if you can confirm this, then you can just change the stylus to get different (may be better) sounds, in order of price there is the EN (eliptical nude), ML (microline) and SH (Shibata).
 
1) Sony rear switch to "Line", connect the Sony L/R outputs to the RN602 In1 or CD terminals - this uses the phono stage/preamp in the Sony.
2) Sony rear switch to "Phono", connect the Sony L/R outputs to the RN602 Phono terminals - this uses the phono stage/preamp in the RN602.

Yes, I have tried both these methods and I'm dissatisfied with the sound quality and volume.

Prior to the Yamaha R-N602 I had a small Denon DM-40. I use to connect the Denon to the Sony Turntable just using the Line out. The sound was slighter better and warmer than what I'm receiving from the Yamaha. So, this is my rationale for being dissatisfied with the Yamaha's phono stage compatability with the Sony turntable.

I did some research and it appears the standard cartridge that comes with the Sony turntable is AT3600L.

Do you or anyone else think its worth purchasing a separate pre amp (under £100)?
 
I use one of these with my R-N602 as I also found the phono stage a bit quiet when compared to the other channels.


It's got adjustable gain, so it can basically make your turntable's output louder. It works a treat and sounds good too.

One other thing to try before you do that is you can set the amp to boost individual inputs. Press "Option" on the remote and go to "Volume Trim". You could boost the phono input by up to 10dB and see if that helps.
 
I use one of these with my R-N602 as I also found the phono stage a bit quiet when compared to the other channels.


It's got adjustable gain, so it can basically make your turntable's output louder. It works a treat and sounds good too.

One other thing to try before you do that is you can set the amp to boost individual inputs. Press "Option" on the remote and go to "Volume Trim". You could boost the phono input by up to 10dB and see if that helps.
Thanks @robotron , I'll look into the ART Preamp.

Regarding volume trim, yes it's a neat function but even by boosting the volume by 10db on the phono tage, it didn't match the volume from the sources of CD, Net Radio, USB etc.
 

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