do I need a preamp?
 

Howdy. Bought my lady a pioneer pl117d turntable yesterday. Replaced the broken ortofon cartridge with a cheap and sturdy Stanton 500 alII (hey, the table was $5 - I'm trying to get her into it) and hooked it up to her Bose surround system.
I got half decent but very 'light' sound - i.e. very little bass, very, very low volume. I searched around a bit and all I could come up with is that she needs a preamp? Does this sound right? could it be THIS SIMPLE? The mind boggles........
Thanks in advance for helping out!

Did you plug her into a regular line in, or a "phono in"?

Turntables don't put out line-level signals; they put out a lower signal which is also EQd way differently.

http://stereos.about.com/od/gtgtturn.../a/riaa_eq.htm

If she doesn't have a proper phono input, then yes, you'll need a preamp. With a phono input. :)

Wes

Hi,
if the existing amp has no "phono input" then you could buy a phono only pre that plugs between the deck and line input.
They are available from very cheap, both new or secondhand upto very expensive.