Audio Systems: Hooking a turntable to a Yamaha amp, scratchy sound, phono preamplifier

Question
Hi, I am trying to hook up my turntable (Technics SL-3200 direct drive) to my Yamaha RX-V630 AV Receiver so I can transfer my vinyl albums to mp3 files on my computer. I can't make heads or tales out of the book. I tried hooking it up via the front RCA Aux jacks but have to crank the volume up to maximum to barely hear the record. Does my turntable have to have its own amplifier?  :-(    Here is the website for my receiver. http://www.yamaha.com/cgi-win/webcgi.exe/Features/?gAVR00010RX-V630

Thanks for any help you might offer.

Aloha,
Jim Day
Honolulu, HI

Answer
Dear Jim,

Aloha!

Turntables have a very low signal output, unlike other components, tuners, DVD players, and the like. Unless your receiver has a PHONO input, you'll hear very faint, scratchy sound from your turntable. Thank you for providing the link to the Yamaha web site. I don't see a PHONO input mentioned.

What you need then is a "phono preamplifier". I've found some affordable ones at www.phonopreamps.com. They have good models anywhere from $30-50. Conncect the preamp between the output of your turntable to any audio input on your receiver, and you're in business. BTW, don't forget to connect the ground wire from the turntable to the grounding screw on the preamp. Otherwise you'll hear a loud HUM along with everything else.

Good luck. And thanks for choosing allexperts.com!

Kindest regards,

Kevin