Stereo To Mono Y-Cable Before Or After Phono Stage?

But the sound is always going to the REC jacks. So when you use the "Y" cables it feeds the sound from the REC jacks then into the Play jacks. So you hear what ever source is playing.

 

Hey, you are right. I just found a manual online... It says there: "The output to the tape rec sockets will be the signal of whichever one of the three inputs is selected, i.e. Phono, Tuner or Aux." I get it now, it should work as you say. Thank you!

 

I also did this with Y cables and the tape loop in my amp. Tried it after reading your post in this thread and it seems to work fine. I confirmed it with a stereo record, and an old mono record that allowed me to toggle back and forth with the switch to hear the difference(s) Thanks for the tip!

 

Hello, this is my first post on SH. Thank you all for your help. This website is a wonderful resource.

I am trying to create one of these tape loops on a planned stereo system, and I am a little unsure of what to do. This is my future amp, a Pioneer A-20. It has a phono and recorder function. Here is the listing on Amazon with pictures: http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-2-Channel-Integrated-Amplifier-Direct/dp/B00LIQ3NM2. If I connect a double-y cable from the "Recorder out" and loop it back to the "Recorder in," will I be creating a mono tape loop? Then to play a record in mono, I just select the "Recorder" input instead of "Phono"?

Thank you.

 

Bingo! Enjoy.

 

Joel, welcome.

I'm not sure this trick will work with that amp. I don't think it has tape monitoring which is what you need to use the tape loop trick.

EDIT: I see Pancat's response. This is the best, true first impression of SH.tv: Two opposing pieces of advice.

The idea is you take the sound out of your amp, combine the left and right channels together through a Y cable to create mono, and then bring it back into the amp. That's why it's called a loop. The sound goes out of the amp and then comes back in.

I downloaded the A-20's owner's manual

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/StaticFiles/Manuals/Home/A-20_OperatingInstructions070913.pdf

and while it has the right jacks on the back, it doesn't seem you can activate the loop. In the NAD amp shown in pictures earlier in this thread, it worked because you pressed Phono on the front panel, and then Tape after that. It played the Phono, which went to the Tape Output jacks, which went into the Y, which came back into the amp. The sound from the Phono went through the loop and you listened to it by pressing Tape.

With the Pioneer, it looks like if you press Recorder on the remote, it would play what is on that recorder but it would also stop the signal coming from the Phono. The loop would be broken. If you could find one of these in a store to see if you can create a loop, it would be worth the effort. You could try this out by just connecting a regular RCA cable to Record Out and In. Have the signal go out through the RCA cable and back into the amp. Select your source first and then Recorder. Maybe it would work but there is nothing in the manual that says that it would. I think you wouldn't have any sound. Normally, a company like Pioneer crows about their features and here they are silent, which makes me think it doesn't have a tape loop.

To answer the other question, these are the two Y cables you need to do the job.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...age_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=viglink20252-20

http://www.amazon.com/C2G-Cables-03...d_sim_e_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=02C6SKTPEE2JEZ9G19YE

 

Thank you for your speedy replies. GG, I also noticed there was no way to simultaneously select phono and record, which had me worried. The problem is, without a tape loop, I'll have to buy a phono pre-amp so I can do my mono conversion after the preamp. I was hoping to use the amp's phono stage, but that doesn't look possible now for listening in mono.

 

I was looking at the manual just now myself, and was coming to the same conclusion - a constant record out that will go to a recorder based on what source is playing, and no way to loop it back in.

 

That's how my Sony receiver from the mid-90s is. There's no tape monitor, just a source selector for the tape out. Thankfully, my new Outlaw Audio RR2150 has an external processor loop that works perfectly for it.

 

Are there any suggestions for which y cables to buy in Europe/the UK? I'm not a cable snob but I'm a bit concerned that these cheap cables will degrade or colour the sound quality. Or do they have no impact?

 

I'm not in Europe, so I can't help you there, but I can say that any additional connection can affect the sound. If your system is of high enough resolution, find the best cabling you can afford.