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New A/V Receiver - No Dedicated Phono Jack Input

Hi All. I have a series of questions if you'll bear with me, please.

First off, I have very bad hum coming from both of my turntables. They are both 20-25 feet away from my pre-amp and my current receiver so that is understandable. One combo is Signet TK7SU cartridge by Audio Technica on a HK-Rabco Straight Line Tracking Turntable. The other is a TK9E cartridge by Audio Technica on a Signet arm with a Thorens Turntable from the late 70s, early 80s, I believe.

First Questions: I have a vintage Mark Levinson phono preamp the JC-1. I long-ago left batteries in it and, of course, they leaked. I put two new D-Cell in after cleaning and scraping the contacts as best I could. The Test switch doesn't light up but I get a bit of a flicker of light when I switch to "on". Do you suppose that Mark Levinson might be able to get this operational after all this time? Should I spend the money or repairs, if available, or move on?

Second Questions: I have just ordered a new A/V receiver to replace my 10 year old Sony Audio Receiver. I noticed that there is no dedicate Phono Input and that shocked me! Now, if I buy a cartridge pre-amp, to solve my hum problem will that also allow me to use any of the RCA phono inputs on the new A/V receiver for the turntable? Or, do a need some type of dongle on a Left/Right phono input pair that connects to the cartridge pre-amp? I'd like to kill one bird with two stones.

Third Questions: Is there a cartridge pre-amp that can take inputs from two turntables and send one output to my pre-ampflier and the other output to my new A/V receiver? Should I just buy two cartridge pre-amps - one for each cartridge/turntable - and have them be dedicated?

Fourth Questions: I'd like the cost of the cartridge pre-amp to be around $100 per pre-amp and allow for clear, clean, natural sound if that is not impossible at this price range. Are most of these A/C powered? Battery operated (like my JC-1)? I'd prefer the later and being able to leave it "On" all the time but A/C powering is not a problem.

Fifth Questions: Given my challenges - the distance issue and the lack of dedicated phono jack on the new A/V Receiver, what might be some good cartridge pre-amp options and prices that you might suggest. I could, I suppose, pay more than $100 per cartridge pre-amp if I had to.

Thanks so much for any and all input!

Regards,
SNazz123
snazz123
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,677 posts
 
1. Any tech should be able to clean up and replace the battery contacts cheaply if that is the only problem with the JC-1. It is pretty dated, though.
2. Any stereo pair of RCA inputs will take the output of your phono preamp.
3. Why have more than one phono preamp? If you want to connect two TTs at the same time, get a switch or buy a phono preamp with two inputs.
4. I cannot help you with this research.
5. Consider moving the phono preamp to the TTs as its output can support a long cable better than can the direct cartridge output.
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
+1 on Kr4's answers. Some additional thoughts:
1. You may want to look for bulging/leaking capacitors on that JC-1 before you spend big $ on it. It may also have some value as a collector's item.
4. You will be at the bottom of the food chain w a $100 phono stage. The Signet carts you have are quite good and would likely benefit from spending more. Per Kr4, look for a phono stage w 2 inputs but spend as much as you can afford.
snazz123 OP
3 posts
 
Hello Kr4 and Swampwalker. Thanks for your, ahem, input!

I may well have a tech check out the JC-1 for salvageability but, on the other hand, maybe I should start anew. Kr4 - I will definitely connect the long cable to the phono preamp output then on to the A/V Receiver. Actually, as I think about it more, I wanted one turntable to hook up to my pre-amp (that feeds to my vintage McIntosh 2205 power amp), and the other would go to my new A/V Receiver (both AFTER the phono preamp(s) are in place.

Swampwalker - Good advice on checking the JC-1 out. I found out from Mark Levinson (HK tech) today that they do not service these units as they don't have the parts and the modules are sealed anyway. Again, maybe I should just start anew with a modern phone preamp or two and just be done with it.

Thanks for your help and great insights Kr4 and Swampwalker!

SNazz123
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