Pyle, 1, Color, No Size (PP444)

Read in entirety: I purchased a Technic turntable, old-school, have a complete zone home ent. system, using sonos as well as wired speakers with the HTD control module and amp. I hooked up this system myself, I am very tech savvy, takes alot to stump me...Now that that's out of the way.The turntable I purchased used is a mid to high grade Technic, came with a Pyle preamp that had no ground, turntable did not come with ground wire either, this is important, noted later.I initially connected the turntable to the preamp "in" that I had, not this new one, with no ground, then connected the preamp "out" to my receiver "in", then receiver "out" to my controller "in", no sound and loud annoying hum. I then tried to connect the preamp "out" to my sonos connect "line in" bypassing the receiver, same results, then tried connecting directly to my controller, same results.Researched, completely baffled, did I lose my techi touch? Scratching head, discouraged, defeated? Not on your life!I ordered a factory ground wire for my turntable and this preamp with the ground connection, then...I started all over again preforming the same connections as before but with the turntable ground wire connected, initial loud hum happened, then went away and had dead silence. Scratching head again.NOTE TO THOSE CONNECTING TO RECEIVER OR OTHER THAN AN IN WALL HOME SYSTEM... the most important thing to know, if you connect this preamp and put it too close to an amplifier or other high electric output it will still hum, this needs to be seperated a little bit, keep reading.My final setup is removing my receiver altogether, turntable to "in" on preamp, preamp "out" to sonos connect "in", sonos is connected to controller, ground wire connected to turntable and preamp. Placed preamp next to turntable on shelf above controller and amplifier, only about 6 to 8 inches apart but shelf appears to add a buffer. Everything on, no hum, but no sound. Tilting head questioning again, more googling.For my system, my controller controls the volume up and down not the music source, I had to put the sonos sound level for the line in to 10, auto delay to medium, autoplay on to include grouped rooms but turned off autoplay volume, this makes it so music will start once the needle hits the vinyl, line out level is pass through because I have a controller, and wala, sound. Now it will play on my sonos without me using my HTD controller but it won't hit my wired speakers in group until I turn that on but when I do it all works.IMPORTANT GROUND WIRE and PREAMP NOTE... If you have a turntable that has a built in preamp you should not need this, read up on your system as some newer ones have one built in and it's a matter of flipping a switch on the turntable. If you have an old school turntable you are trying to connect to newer technology you most likely will need this AND the ground wire, the ground wire helps to disperse the bad waves to a non audible source and keeps the good sound going where it should, to simplify the why, if you do not ground your turntable you could still have a hum.Some turntables have a ground screw or plug in connection located where the red and white are plugged in, some ground points are on the under bottom of the turntable, I've seen some where you have to open the turntable to get to it, research your turntable if it has a ground point, if it does anywhere and you still have a hum, connect a ground and place the preamp away from high electric output sources.Enjoy your tunes.Good luck!

I purchased my Yamaha stereo during that period in the 90's when few amps and receivers had phono capabilities. For awhile now, I've had to listen to my records in my basement on an old Pioneer, which is nice, but I've always wanted to hear my music in my living room. While replacing my stylus at a well reputed stereo shop here in Seattle, I saw the PP444 on the shelf. After doing some research and reading reviews, I decided to give this unit a try. I couldn't be happier.My turntable now works with all my other components... everything, including my HDTV, comes out of the Yamaha stereo. I'm in audio heaven. Time to invite some friends over for music night.The unit is well built with a small metal case and solid connectors; even the ground is a sturdy brass screw. There is an unobtrusive green indicator light to let you know the unit is operating. The compact size of the unit allows me to put it conveniently out of the way. From my perspective, the sound is great (though I don't much care for the sound quality of MP3s, I'm not much of an audiophile).Amazon's price was great, too: More than half of the price charged by the stereo shop. I wanted to buy local but hey, Amazon is local for me. I ordered this Saturday night. With the two day shipping for Prime customers, this was on my doorstep at Noon on Tuesday. With Amazon's return policy, this was a no-brainer, worry free investment. So glad to have stumbled across this in the first place!!NOTE: You will need separate (not included) RCA cables to connect this unit to your stereo. If your turntable doesn't have cables, you'll need a second set to connect it to the preamp.

I bought this as a gift for my fiancée's parents to hook up their old turntable to a newish A/V receiver which did not have a phono input. This preamp is a great value and works well. The connectors are clearly labeled and couldn't be easier to set up. The sound quality is very good to untrained ears and acceptable to an audiophile -- for most people, this unit will not be the limiting fidelity factor in their home audio setup.The build quality seems high overall. The metal case and the connectors are very sturdy. I connected the unit with some Monster RCA cables that were lying around and had to use an uncomfortable amount of force to seat the connectors fully, but the unit handled the stress without trouble.I had to add some rubber bumper feet on the underside of the preamp to prevent it from scratching the furniture piece it sits on. Given the sharp edges of the metal case the preamp is built into, I would expect it to come with felt or rubber bumpers for this purpose.A green light indicates that the unit is powered, but there is no on/off switch. For people who are energy-conscious and those who would be distracted by the bright green light in a dark room, this means physically unplugging the wall wart or disconnecting it from the back of the preamp when it's not in use. A physical switch to turn the preamp on and off would have been better.Despite the overall sound quality being good, I can hear a distinct 60Hz hum even with the ground connected to the lead from the turntable and all of the A/V components connected to the same AC circuit. There is no difference between connecting the ground and leaving it disconnected from the turntable ground lead. I am going to investigate other possible sources of the hum in the system, but the fact that it can't be heard from any of the other sources connected to the A/V receiver suggests to me that it is either a problem with the turntable or the preamp.

Easy set-up, works fine