LP Player Connect Workaround

  • 3 September 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 804 views

After working my whole summer break I treated myself to a Beam with leftover money earnt. I play it through a Samsung mu6400 tv and absolutely love it, and wanted to connect up a vinyl player, most likely the Audio-Technica LP120. However, as a student my funds don't really cover purchasing a Connect box to work alongside it as well - and if I'm honest, despite knowing that their brand model depends on ensnaring customers into only buying their products, and despite my love for all the Sonos speakers, the somewhat extortionate price of the Connect leaves me with a very bad taste in my mouth for the company.
I was wondering therefore if anyone has managed to devise any workarounds for inputting just a record player into my beloved Beam that doesn't cost nearly double what the vinyl player does - whether through adaptors to the optical input or through my television first.

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2 replies

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Theoretically, you could use an analog to digital converter to take the output from the phone preamp, or if the turntable has a built in amp from the turntable itself, into the ADC, then into the optical adapter for the Beam. Of course, this would require swapping the cabling between the TV and the ADC every time you played a record, or getting an optical switch. Monoprice has a cheap ADC:

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=104&cp_id=10423&cs_id=1042302&p_id=8127

An unlikely solution, but worth at least testing, is seeing if your TV has analog inputs, and if something played through the analog inputs gets played out through optical or ARC. I doubt this would work, but assuming you already have a turntable with preamp, all it costs is time. I imagine buried deep in your TV manual will be a note saying that only originally digital signals will be passed through the digital outputs.

Another option is to look on eBay for a used Connect.
Check your local Craigslist for a used Connect. I see a Connect near me right now for $160.

Also, note that the Beam supports AirPlay, so an iPhone or Mac with some software will work, if a bit clunky.

https://davidbo.livejournal.com/795.html