I recently recieved an old Sony turntable and realized it needed a preamp. Installed the preamp, but the only input into the stereo is "MD input". Does anyone know if a turntable can even be used in an MD input? If so, why isn't this working? The needle makes music but it doesn't come out of stereo.
"MD" stands for MiniDisc and cannot function as a phono input without the addition of an outboard pre amp. Look through the archives of this section for suggestions on reasonably priced phono pre amps.
Jan Vigne, i bought and hooked up a stereo/phono pre amp and can still only here sounds from the needle. I'm doing this to get my girlfriend's cheap sony stereo to play her uncles old turntable. Do you have any suggestions besides getting a stereo with more than just and MD input?
What kind of pre amp? Something you know works OK? If so, ...
Old turntables often don't have a stylus left on the cantilever. Remove the stylus assembly and look for a diamond tip. The shank that holds the stylus in place is not enough; there must be a real stylus tip. It sounds as if that might be what you're missing. If this doesn't solve the problem, take the table to a shop that sells equipment to DJ's. They'll be able to inspect the table and give a solution after seeing what's there and what isn't.