Expert: Wayne Tapia - 1/5/2011

Question
Hi Wayne,

I have a Sanyo TP-1005 turntable from around the 70s or 80s. I am trying to hook it up to a a Harman/Kardon HK340 receiver. I've put the right and left cables in the phono jack and screwed ground wire in to the chassis screw. However, I still only get a very feint sound coming out of the speakers with a lot of buzzing. I've heard about using a preamp, but there is a phono jack on my machine. Could you advise on what the problem could be?

Thank you!

Answer
Do you get the buzzing in the phono channel with the turntable turned on?

have you tried replacing the needle / stylus cartridge?

There may also be an issue with the grounding on the turntable (wires might not be attached very well internally).

You may want to consult someone locally, as these types of issues are very difficult to troubleshoot via internet.  The type of "buzzing" would make a difference in how I'd approach it (motor buzz, ground loop buzz, piezo failure buzz, etc...)