What's a preamp? :)

[Sillyboy]

So, I have a mostly built gainclone via a mostly salvage operation (Silly's Salvage Operation :)). Now, I have new n00b questions...

So, I got this sony dvd player for $0.50 at a garage sale. I am using it to test my lm3875 gainclone. If i take the headphone output, and run it to my gainclone, it rocks away (kinda surprisingly loud for what I *think* is just 20w).

However, if I take the "raw" line level output from the dvd player, and run that to my gainclone... I get no sound.

So, apparently a pre-amp is like... required!? That is boggling my mind. Why did I hear (literally) nothing?

[Greg Erskine]

I think your 50 cent DVD player may be broken.

Does raw mean you used audio R and audio L out?

If you have some kind of volume control, you don't really need a pre-amp as you have all ready proven.

[Sillyboy]

An interesting theory

Ya, the back of the dvd player has Audio L/R. Using that seemed to do... nothing. While using the headphone jack works fine.

Hrm, i wonder if the dvd player has a volume for the audio L/R jack via a missing remote

[facundonu]

have you tried that output with another amp? or with the audio inputs of a TV?
if you get sound on the tv or other system => something wrong with your amp. i don't know what, since you can get sound with the headphones output...
if you get no sound either (chances are this is the case) => that's why you got that player so inexpensively. those outputs are dead.

of course, check the volume control first.