Why does my turntable need a preamp but my tiny MP3 player doesn't?

Question

Why does my turntable need a preamp but my tiny MP3 player doesn't?

Answer 1

Simply because that pickup (stylus) generate very very small current as it glide through the record groove, that's why it need a phono pre amp. where else a MP3 player is design differently just with a headphone amplifier.  

Answer 2

The mp3 player has an amplifier built in because it is designed to drive a set of headphones. Headphone level signals are equivalent to pre-amp output so an mp3 player can drive the input of a set of pc speakers.

A turntable could be made with a built in amp to generate such a signal, but they are designed under the assumption that they will always be connected to a pre-amp/amp (in modern home theaters these two components are combined in a receiver). Putting an extra amp in the turntable would just add extra cost, and no one uses turntables that way.

Answer 3

What everyone else says, but there's another BIG issue here too involving the physics of a needle:

Modern phonographic records are cut to a RIAA equalization curve, which basically constitutes a massive treble boost and massive bass cut. To reproduce such a record properly, the opposite EQing must be performed by the record owner. Records are cut this way because normal bass sounds aren't possible for most styli to track, and depending on the amount of bass, the passage would break up, or the needle would jump. This is the only way to get full-range sound onto a record, and it's been going on since well back in the 78 era.

To hear this yourself, just connect a turntable to a AUX/CD line in. It will work, albeit quietly, but you'll notice shimmering treble and virtually no bottom end frequencies.

As an aside, ceramic cartridges will play at full volume through any stereo. The EQ issues still stand.

Answer 4

your mp3 player has a mini amp in it so you can here audio trough your headphones.

Answer 5

The signal coming from your turntable is generated by a tiny piece of metal vibrating between two tiny magnets.  In other words, not much.

Your MP3 player is basically a preamp, and nothing more.