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The Daily Insight

Why is my turntable making noise?

Author

John Thompson

Published May 05, 2026

Why is my turntable making noise?

When it comes to turntables, there are two main causes of humming: ground loops and feedback. Humming caused by grounding issues can be very easy to correct. The cables included with your turntable include a ground cable.

Can a turntable be plugged into a speaker?

You can also plug your turntable directly into powered/active speakers which feature a built-in amplifier. Do note that some powered speakers have a built-in amp and pre-amp, while some have just a built-in amp. This is the most compact turntable setup.

How do you hook up a vintage turntable to a phono amplifier?

First things first – the simple setup: If you’re hooking your vintage turntable to a stereo receiver or amplifier that has jacks on the back marked “PHONO,” it’s easy: Plug the matching cables coming from your turntable in the phono jacks. Most likely (but not always) there’s also a skinny single wire coming from the turntable.

What kind of amplifier do you need for a turntable?

Here we look at a traditional stereo setup that consists of a turntable, preamp, amplifier and speakers. The PHONO signal from a turntable is only 1-10mV, while the power amplified signal that drives the speakers are 10-30V.

How are passive speakers connected to a turntable?

Passive speakers do not have their own built-in amplifier and are powered by a separate amp such as an A/V receiver. These speakers are connected via speaker wire to the amplifier. You can also plug your turntable directly into powered/active speakers which feature a built-in amplifier.

You can also plug your turntable directly into powered/active speakers which feature a built-in amplifier. Do note that some powered speakers have a built-in amp and pre-amp, while some have just a built-in amp. This is the most compact turntable setup.

Here we look at a traditional stereo setup that consists of a turntable, preamp, amplifier and speakers. The PHONO signal from a turntable is only 1-10mV, while the power amplified signal that drives the speakers are 10-30V.

First things first – the simple setup: If you’re hooking your vintage turntable to a stereo receiver or amplifier that has jacks on the back marked “PHONO,” it’s easy: Plug the matching cables coming from your turntable in the phono jacks. Most likely (but not always) there’s also a skinny single wire coming from the turntable.

How do you connect a turntable to a receiver?

All you have to do is plug your turntable’s audio signal cable into the receiver’s phono input. Just below the phono input is a metal post labeled “GND”, for ground. Connect your turntable’s ground wire (if it has one) to this post.