Connecting an MP3 Player to an older Receiver

[Bruce Amacker]

I'm sorry guys, I've searched repeatedly with different terms and can't find any newer info about this, most of what I find is 3+ years old and I know that's not current.

Anyway, I'm currently running a nice older receiver/amp from the 80's through some vintage speakers in the shop and it sounds great. I have an old laptop with a comm cable from the headphone output to the RCA input on the receiver, the laptop has thousands of MP3s running and it works well, except it wants to lock up after running a while and need to be rebooted. This is annoying. I tried another laptop and it does the same thing, even with a different MP3 software player! Both of these laptops are older and have 2 gigs of ram which I thought should be enough. I set the power settings so the HD would not shut off ever and it still happens.

For some reason, the receiver won't recognize a cellphone output but will recognize a laptop output, so I'm kind of stumped on that. I know someone in the past recommended using an old cellphone as an MP3 player.

I guess what I need is a little box of some sort that plays MP3s on a jump drive and feeds a signal to the RCA input on my receiver. I've searched Google and Ebay until I'm blue and somehow can't find what I need. I don't have internet in the shop so Pandora type stuff wouldn't work.

Can anyone help me?

Thank You!

 

[Bighead38]

This is what your currently using?

 

[Bruce Amacker]

Yes, except the 1/8" (?) is male and not female.

 

[Specracer]

Is the volume turned down on the phone? I headphone jack is basically a variable line out.

Not sure how you are not finding MP3 players on ebay, I searched for mp3 players under $100 and got 37,*** results. Most look like they are iPods. They may not have a USB to connect a "jump drive", just push your collection to the MP3 player.

Or put the effort into getting Internet in the garage.

For some reason, the receiver won't recognize a cellphone output but will recognize a laptop output,

 

[MBfreak]

There is a risk that the MP3 headphone jack requires a certail load impedance for the output to function.
I learned this the hard way like this. I worked with MegasquirtExtra a lot and when dryrunning the system ( simulating inputs) I had recorded a EDIS 36-1 loop on a small noname MP3 pocket playert ( cheap, like me)
I then used a cable to connect the headphone output to the EDIS. No rpm signal??. Nothing came out. Plugged in a pair of earbuds, no problem, got the 600-6000 rpm EDIS sound .
Solution was to connect a 56 ohm load resistor in // with the output to the EDIS module, worked perfectly.

Ola

 

[Millwrong]

What are the specs on the laptop? I play MP3's on a stone-age laptop with QMMP without any issues, whatsoever.

 

[bwringer]

I have a Bluetooth receiver hooked up to my shop speakers.

Fire up Bluetooth on my phone, turn on the receiver, and it connects. Stream Pandora or Spotify via wifi. Enjoy. I can still use the phone to answer a call or take pictures; the Bluetooth has a 30 foot+ range. The phone automatically pauses the music when I get a call.

It doesn't use much battery at all, but if I'm going to be out there for a while I'll plug the phone into a charger.

 

[DFB]

I use a BT receiver for my old M12 Milwaukee radio so I can play all my MP3 music. The only limitation with the BT receiver I have is run time maybe 4 hours or so. Don't know if your wanting BT transmission. Probably need a transmitter for your comp depending on the age too.

On the other hand my tiny Riuzo Mp3 player easily runs all day. I have my music on a SD card I like it that way now (lost plenty of stuff on computer file without back up) the Mp3 player though BT can be directly line jacked too

 

[Citation]

It does sound like the high impedance of the receiver input keeps the MP3 player from recognizing the output. I agree that adding a pair of resistors from R to gnd and L to gnd could solve this. A simple in line volume control should also do the same thing.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008DJTB32/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Lots of examples of this sort of thing so don't assume this is a good one. It was the first to show up on my search.

If your MP3 player had Bluetooth or you can play from a phone, something like this might work. I do have this unit and it works nicely
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016NUTG5K/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Edit: this one is wall powered so no worry about barriers on the receiver end

 

[Aaron_W]

It just happens youtube recommended this how to add blue tooth video to me last night

 

[Hondafreak08]

Treat yourself , ditch the old 1970s headache receiver.
Buy a high quality Bluetooth speaker (UE mega boom).
Portable, loud, connects directly to your phone, loud, sounds better , less headache

 

[Bigbandguy]

I use one of these to feed a transmitter for several antique radios. It should work exactly the same way in your use. It takes jump drives, SD cards and also has an FM radio on board . It works perfectly and actually sounds decent through its own speaker.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-Porta...h=item567daea65f:g:IuYAAOSwo0JWKiHZ:rk:2:pf:0

 

[PWC Repair]

You can pick up a cheap dvd player with USB input brand new for $30. Put your tunes on a stick. The remote should have a "source" button to switch to usb. It will have the correct audio output to hook directly up to your receiver.

Bonus: you can break out your old Guns N Roses cd and play it too!!

 

[BonzoHansen]

If your MP3 player had Bluetooth or you can play from a phone, something like this might work. I do have this unit and it works nicely
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016NUTG5K/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Edit: this one is wall powered so no worry about barriers on the receiver end

I have 2 of those, they work well. 1 is in my garage

 

[Dumber than lumber]

Treat yourself , ditch the old 1970s headache receiver.
Buy a high quality Bluetooth speaker (UE mega boom).
Portable, loud, connects directly to your phone, loud, sounds better , less headache

Some of us don't like to throw out old stuff that is still functional. The satisfaction of keeping last century's technology in service is a point of pride to some people.

 

[DRP6833]

OP, is it possible your laptop, not the HD, is going into sleep mode? Maybe you just need to over-ride that in the settings.

 

[Damon L.]

Is it possible that the male end is not getting into the MP3 player quite all the way? I have had this issue with cell phones in the past, where the molded plastic around the male end interfered with my phone case. It looked like it was in all the way, but it needed to be in just a little farther.