Stereo Turntable

Stereo Turntable

Bad buzzing with my Technics stereo receiver/turntable?

Im getting a really bad buzzing sound with my technics stereo receiver when i am using my turntable. I am rather technically illiterate so this may be a dumb question, however, I have the turntable plugged in using phono cable but when i turn the sound to one quarter or half i get a really loud buzzing.. I think my stereo speakers can handle at least 50w each, maybe 100w...

Could it be too much power to speakers, or maybe bad cables or possibly something wrong with my hardware?

Has nothing to do with power output.

You have to make sure you're plugged into the proper jacks. A turntable with a magnetic cartridge needs to be plugged into jacks marked "phono" or a separate phono preamp must be used. A turntable with a ceramic cartridge would overload "phono" jacks and needs to be pluged into any regular line-level jacks (tape, CD, AUX, etc...).

If you have that right, there must be an open connection somewhere. Many turntables have a separate ground wire that must be connected to a screw on the chassis of your receiver or phono preamp. Could it be missing or disconnected? It could also be a bad connection somewhere. The delicate connections between the tiny tonearm wires and the cartridge connectors may have been damaged. Could be a damaged connection at the RCA plugs or corroded RCA plugs. Could be a dirty or corroded connection at the headshell if you have a removable one. Could be a dirty or corroded connection at the cartridge connectors. Those need to be handled carefully with tweezers or gently with needle-nosed pliars. Many automatic turntables have an internal automatic switch that cuts off the sound while the table performs it's automatic functions. Sometimes these switches can become problematic. A shot of plastic-safe contact cleaner in the switch would usually solve that or fix any other dirty or corroded connection.

Good luck!!! Hope you find the problem and get it going right!