How To Set Up A Turntable: For Beginners

Just bought your first turntable, or upgraded to a new one? Setting it up properly takes about twenty minutes, and it's the best thing you can do for how your records sound and how long they last. 

Our step-by-step guide takes you from unboxing to playing your first record.

You need a flat, stable surface with room for the whole turntable, so nothing hangs over an edge. If it isn't level, the stylus won't sit evenly in the groove, which can wear your records and stylus unevenly over time. A spirit level (or a level app on your phone) placed on the platter will tell you.

If you've bought furniture to keep your records in, most pieces will have suitable space on top for a turntable. If you haven't yet, we'd recommend an IKEA KALLAX shelf: its cubes fit 12" records, and it can be customised to suit your space.

To get the most out of your growing collection, put your turntable in the room you spend the most time in, so your records are there to enjoy.

Most hi-fi turntables don't have built-in speakers, so you'll need to connect yours to a pair. Before plugging anything in, check one thing: whether your turntable has a built-in phono preamp.

The signal from a turntable is very quiet, so it needs boosting by a phono preamp (also called a phono stage) before it reaches your speakers. Many turntables have one built in. Look for a PHONO/LINE switch on the back, like the one below. If yours doesn't have one, you'll need a separate phono preamp, or an amplifier with a Phono input.

Powered, or "active", speakers have an amplifier built in, so they can plug straight into a turntable with a built-in preamp.

1. Set the switch on the back of your turntable to LINE.
2. Connect the turntable's outputs to the input on your main speaker (often labelled LINE or AUX IN) using an RCA cable. Match the colours: red is right, white is left.
3. Link the two speakers with speaker wire (the red and black wires below), red to red and black to black.
4. Plug the main speaker into the mains. Usually only one speaker in the pair needs power.

Passive speakers have no amp of their own. Connect them to an amplifier, then connect your turntable to the amp.

If the amp has a Phono input, use that and set your turntable's switch to PHONO. Otherwise, set the switch to LINE and use any other input. You only want one preamp boosting the signal, not two.

If your turntable has a GND terminal, run its ground wire to the GND terminal on your amp or preamp to stop any low hum.

Some turntables can stream wirelessly to Bluetooth speakers or headphones. It's convenient, though a wired connection will usually sound better.

Wherever possible, keep your speakers on a separate surface from your turntable. Vibrations travelling back through the stylus can muddy the sound, cause feedback hum at higher volumes, or even make the needle skip.

Most turntables need the tonearm balancing before you play anything, though a few come pre-set. Balancing sets the tracking force: the downward pressure the stylus (needle) puts on the record. Too light and it can jump or distort. Too heavy and it wears your records and stylus faster.

1. With the turntable switched off, remove the stylus guard if there is one, fit the counterweight to the back of the tonearm, and set the anti-skate dial to 0.
2. Hold the tonearm by the headshell, the part just above the needle, and release it from its rest. Keep holding, as it will swing up or drop until it's balanced.
3. Turn the counterweight until the tonearm floats level on its own, neither rising nor dipping. This usually takes a few small adjustments.
4. Return the tonearm to its rest. Holding the counterweight still, turn only the numbered ring on its front until 0 lines up with the marker on the tonearm.
5. Now turn the whole counterweight (the ring turns with it) to your cartridge's recommended tracking force in grams. You'll find this in the cartridge's manual or on the manufacturer's website. Learn more from Audio-Technica here.
6. If your turntable has an anti-skate dial, set it to match your tracking force as a starting point (for 2g, set it to 2). Anti-skate counteracts the tonearm's natural pull towards the centre of the record.

Choose the right speed: 33⅓ RPM for most LPs, 45 for most 7" singles and some 12" releases. Lower the needle with the cueing lever rather than by hand.

If it sounds very quiet and thin, check your PHONO/LINE switch. If it's loud and distorted, the signal may be getting boosted twice.

Now you have your turntable set up, you'll need records to play, and accessories to ensure the longest lifespan of your records. 

You can read more about building your record collection, and what we recommend you start with.

Or, if you already have records to play, think about how you can prolong the life of them. We recommend sleeving your records in anti-static inner sleeves, and polythene outer sleeves, to ensure the best protection of both the record and the sleeve, avoiding ring-wear to the sleeve, and dust build-up in the grooves of your records. 

To maintain your records, adding a slipmat to your turntable, and using a record cleaning brush every time you play your record are great steps to prolong their life.