Guys,
I need to connect a turntable with a MM cartridge to a receiver with a cat5 cable. The distance is about 60 feet. I was wondering which baluns to buy to reduce my chances of hum.

[Link: keydigital.com]

You will need to put the Phono Preamp prior to the Cat/5 cable.
Phono Cartridges have very LOW outputs and will not (with any level of HiFi) make the distance without help.

Yes, you must use a phono preamp, and you must connect it correctly. There are several issues.

Phono cartridges are designed to feed a particular input impedance. Even using a four foot male-female RCA extender between the turntable and the phono preamp can reduce the high frequency playback response. Don't spend half a moment thinking of connecting the output of a turntable to a balun or other device to extend the cable length. Connect the cable attached to the turntable to the phono preamp and do not extend it at all.

Records are not recorded with a flat audio signal, but with a signal where the highs are brought up in level and the lows are reduced in level per the RIAA curve. With this recording curve, 10 Hz is 40 dB down from 20 kHz! Playback of that will sound even worse than an iPhone's speaker! Any device named "phono preamp" compensates for this and both brings the very low cartridge output up to the line voltage and brings its frequency response back to normal. You can extend the output of the phono preamp.

Turntables have ground cables. If you hook them up wrong there WILL be hum all the time. This ground is not to be connected to the cartridge signal ground on the cable, but to the chassis of the phono preamp. I've seen some small phono preamps over the years that don't have a screw for connecting the ground wire; I've pried the case open and worked out a means of making a connection to the chassis.

The output of the phono preamp is standard consumer line level. Use that as your signal and you're good to go.

Great explanation Ernie

+1

I would explain that there's a good chance of noise with the signal traveling that distance from a turntable.

What model of turntable and cartridge? If it's high end, expect the client to be less than thrilled.

Once a phono preamp is installed at the turntable, before the CAT5 lash up, the noise, distortion, and loss risks are no worse than with any other line level source.

If the turntable is remote with respect to the speakers, due to lack of acoustic feedback between speakers and turntable, the result might sound better than the traditional arrangement with turntable and speakers in the same room.

What Buzz said.

Use the Parasound ZPHONO ([Link: parasound.com]) at the turntable and then go into your Cat/x cable.

What they all said. The most thoroughly sure recipe for disaster is to not have the phono preamp connected directly to the wires that come out of the turntable. And yes, after that the signal is just like any other consumer line level source.

Sorry to piggy back on this thread. I have a customer that wants us to provide a turntable, Then connect it to a sonos amp connect. the Turntable will sit with the equipment in the closet. What modern turn tables would you guys recommend?

Always wanted to do this. Now is my chance.

Looking at this one [Link: store.uturnaudio.com]

Basic requirements:
33 & 45
A full-sized platter, such as with the orbit. The response describing problems with undersize platters is too long for this.
I'd go with direct drive. The Orbit looks cool, but belts do go slack over the years. Will orbit be in business to supply a replacement?
Antiskate, of course.
It's nice to have auto shutoff, but not necessary.
It's even nicer to be able to select the record size, then hit PLAY and have the needle gently set into the lead-in groove. Beginner record collectors will not be dropping the needle well at first.
Re dropping the needle: "Cue" or "Lift." Lowers the needle instead of dropping it.

(Don't bother with 78 rpm unless the client is ready to get a different cartridge for 78s and accommodate a different playback response curve. The cartridge isn't such a big deal, but the playback curve is. Most 78s sound tubby and scratchy when played back using the RIAA curve. Ask for more if it matters.)

My preference, to make it simple, would be a Technics that meets the requirements.

I've been looking at this.

The basic model has an MDF platter. I'm sure it's sealed, but I can't help but wonder if the tracking angle changes when the weather gets humid, making the MDF swell. That platter should have a low resonance, indeed, knock wood!

Wow & Flutter are 0.175% with the MDF platter, 0.125% with the acrylic... plexiglas... plastic platter.

No cue on any model. Not for me. That was an unwelcome discovery at the last moment.

(Has a dustcover, though!)


edit:
Among scads of product for the record spinnger, Turntable Labs has an Audio/Technica scale-down at $299, the AT-LP120, which has a built-in phono preamp and USB output. The downside is that the body is plastice, though the platter is metal as in the more expensive 1200.

I am going to give orbit plus a call and see what they say. These are good questions. We Live in one of the most humid states. Humidity is a huge issue here.

Thanks for your input.

Contact U-Turn for dealer pricing they discount the upper models but not the base model. No cartridge delete options, either.

Rega, ProJect and others have used MDF for a long time, without problems. Particle board was used for the base of turntables since the '70s and they didn't have problems unless in an extremely damp environment. MDF is more stable, anyway. Well, good MDF is, anyway.

I haven't seen a table from U-Turn, but they look decent, for the price. I have sold a ProJect Debut and that's definitely a nice table. Not impressed by the AT/Numark/Gemini tables and I have read that the models with phono preamp are less than great, sonically. I would much rather use an outboard preamp, even as much as I don't like little boxes laying around.

The Wow & flutter isn't great- I would like these companies to use a wider belt.

They offer a cuing arm as an option.