How to Use a Yamaha Home Theater Amp for Stereo Turntables

Connect a turntable to a preamp before hooking up to a Yamaha home theater amp or receiver.

Yamaha home theater receivers contain a series of amplifiers for powering up to seven speakers. Modern stereo components, such as CD and DVD players, deliver a signal to the Yamaha receiver that is sufficiently powerful for the receiver to process and produce an audible sound. However, older components, such as turntables, require a signal boost to work with modern home theater receivers. The solution is a preamplifier that connects in between the Yamaha and your turntable.

Things You'll Need

• 2 sets of RCA-type stereo cables
• Preamplifier

Instructions

1. Shut off power to all components.

2. Connect the red and white plugs on each end of a stereo cable from the two jacks on the turntable to a pair of stereo inputs on the preamplifier. The white plug goes to the left channel. Red connects to the right.

3. Hook up the second cable from the outputs on the preamp to any unused set of stereo input on the back of the Yamaha home theater amp. Note the name of the jacks used for this connection, such as "AUX 1."

4. Turn on the power for the turntable, preamp and Yamaha amp.

5. Dial the input knob on the front of the Yamaha to the name of the jacks you used to connect the preamp. The name displays on the LED screen on the front of the Yamaha.

References

• Phono Preamps: What Does a Preamp Do and Why Would I Need One?
• Yamaha: Home Theater Receivers by Model