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RCA vs Phono cable

I have a 30+ year old Pioneer PL-560 turntable in perfect working condition (Shure M97XE cartridge/stylus) My Primare preamp has no TT connections so I just bought the Graham Slee Gram Amp2 SE phono stage with a PSU1 (should arrive Thursday). I will need a pair of interconnects to connect the phono stage to the preamp so I bought a used pair of Synergistic Research Level 1 UEF Atmosphere (RCA) 5ft/1.5m Interconnect cables. Then I saw info on "phono cables." Is there a difference? If yes, what? Should I have bought a phono cable instead of an RCA or a shorter RCA ?
mewsickbuff
marktomaras
535 posts
 
A Phono cable is generally referring to the cable that will connect the turntable to the phonostage.  Often times a turntable will have a hardwired cable, in which case you do not need (and cannot even use) a detachable Phono cable.
mewsickbuff OP
124 posts
 
My turntable has a hardwired (L & R) cable with ground wire to attach to the Graham Slee’s input. But the "output" cable from the Graham Slee to the preamp is the one I’m asking about. So I'm assuming the "Synergistic Research RCA.interconnect" I bought is okay.
nandric's avatar
nandric
3,263 posts
 

A phono cable has the so called Din 5 connector on the arm side

and RCA (or XLR) connectors for the amp. connection.

chakster's avatar
chakster
2,482 posts
 
The PHONO CABLE must be a very well shielded cable for very low signal, particulary with LOMC cartridge. It is not just about the collectors (DIN to RCA, or RCA to RCA for some tonearms). It’s all about the quality and shielding for 0.2mV (or even 0.05mV) singal from MC cartridges. If the cable is not designed to use with phono signal then you can catch a radio sirnal in your area or some noice. That’s it!

Little bit less critical for MM cartridges, but anyway ... To use with MM you should know the capacitance of the cable for optimal performance.

Also there must be a separate ground cable in a calssic aplication. 
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