Hi there, I've just bought a intergarted stereo ROTEL 820 amp and would like to connect my mp3 player to it, the amp has CD, PHONO and TAPE inputs, tried connecting mp3 source to all inputs but a very soft distorted sound, I think i need to connect this to an aux input but amp does not have ? PLEASE HELP, any suggestions ???
hmmm... try turning the volume up on the headphone out of your mp3 player.
i'm pretty sure headphone level is higher than line level.
CD, tape & AUX inputs are all exactly the same... namely line level.
if you still can't get proper volume by turning your MP3 player up, try using your higher gain phono input. it will DEFINATELY sound louder... TURN YOUR MP3 PLAYER DOWN SUPER LOW TO START!!! but if you DO get it to work, your EQ will be off as phono inputs have the RIAA curve designed to compensate for the frequency response of phono cartridges.
have you tried OTHER line source gear on the amp? VCRs also operate at line level. if the amp is used... IT could be at fault.
need more info for a better answer. heck... your cables could be bad... your mp3 player could be. you need to test EVERYTHING to find out what works and what doesn't.
What kind of output does your mp#player have? Are you just using the headphone outputs? If you are you need to step it down to line levels, visit your local radio shack and let them know what you are trying to do. They usually have those convertors or transfomrers (I forgot what they are called).
i'd only go to radio shack as a LAST RESORT. around HALF of the items (not counting cheap cables and adapters) that i've bought there have been junk. cassettes that jam condenser microphones with windscreens that simply fall off and that eventually short circuit and quit working splicing blocks that don't actually hold the tape "woofers" that roll off over 100Hz relabled gear that is twice as expensive as "optimus" and so on.
the last time i went there looking for either a 1/8" male to RCA stereo male cable or a 1/8" to RCA female adapter to hook my boombox amp up to the $20 soundcard i just bought... the commission straved salesperson tried and tried VERY aggressively tried to sell me a $25 monster cable!
$25 cable and a $20 soundcard... what's wrong with this picture? besides... i don't need a Nth degree state of the art cable to hear the cards flop at a poker site!
i ONLY bought the $5 adapter that REALLY seemed to frost the salesperson because best buy, circuit city, musical instrument stores and wal mart didn't carry them and i didn't want to wait 2 weeks for mail order.
the dollar store RCA cable that i used with it works fine for my PC.
LOL C'mon budget minded. You know that Radio Shack has answers?!? It's just a step down, I'm sure they would have something like that. It is nothing high end
DO NOT hook anything up to the phono input other than a turntable. I've done it once before, and my phono input was never the same. It's either an impedence or voltage mismatch. All inputs are not the same. The phono section boosts the signal and eq's it. This is made specifically for the phono signal, and is incompatible with anything else.
You can use any other input. The sound being low could be due to the volume on the mp3 player being low like others have mentioned. In my experience, the volume will always be slightly lower than other sources and never sound as good.
