Please help a newbie w a Garrard Type A output low sound

Mpduff4

New Member
Good evening...I recently bought a Garrard Type A turntable and cleaned it up according to advice I had found on here and by looking at the original service manual. Everything works fine and it appears that it still has the original Shure cartridge (M3D). Not sure about the stylus.

I hooked this up to the phono inputs on an old kenwood receiver (model KR-5600) and the sound was extremely low. I then tried the tape inputs with the same results. I have been told that I need a pre-amp or to buy a ceramic cartridge to work with this receiver.

What is the best solution? I really want to be able to play my LPs!

In addition, I balanced the tone arm according to the service manual but the stylus wants to skate across the record some times. Any advice? Is it possible that the cartridge is fine and the only thing I need to improve the sound quality is a new stylus?

Thanks for taking the time to offer a newbie some advice. I'm in plymouth ma if anyone can recommend a good repair shop nearby.
 
Welcome to the AK turn table forum.

According to the specifications on the Kenwood KR-5600, you should not need an additional pre amp.
http://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/kenwood/kr-5600.shtml

Check and make sure the "mute" button if there is one is not engaged. :scratch2:

Generally, the turn table sound level is approximately 20% lower than the sound on a CD player.

Next check the cartridge and make sure the needle/stylus is in good shape.
 
Does this Kenwood have both a magnetic and ceramic phono input connection? Make sure you have it connected to the magnetic input. Ceramic and tape input would be about the same level, magnetic input should be a lot louder.
 
You should definitely plug into the phono inputs- they have the most gain and an equalization circuit optimized for vinyl playback. Balancing the tonearm is 1/2 of the equation- did you set the tracking weight? These old cartridges typically want to track at higher forces than we use today; 3-4 grams would not be unusual.

I would start with a new stylus. You'll want to start fresh so you don't damage your records. Keep the original though- never hurts to have complete original stuff if you need to sell it even if the stylus is toast.
 
A type A needs to track at 3 grams or more, to operate the trip mechanism. a Shure M3 should track at 4-6 grams if i recall right. Make sure you have a good stylus first, and you really need a force gauge to be sure of the tracking force.
 
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