I have the Pioneer PL-600 turntable and recall never having a problem with it. However, when I plug the red/white audio wires into the receiver I have to crank the volume way up to get a decent sound output. There is one extra wire which I have no idea what to do. It's a skinny wire that has a flat u-shaped ending. Could this be causing the sound issue or is it something else? The turntable was in the basement for a few years but other than dust no dammage.
Yes. It is a newer receiver with all the HD hookups. I was thinking that more recent technology boosts sound to the receiver whereas the record player may not interact with new technology creating the sound issue. No idea really though.
Your new receiver probably doesn't have a built in phono pre amp. Place "phono pre amplifier" to find one that suits your budget. If you still have your old receiver, you can run the table into its phono section and then connect the tape outputs of the old receiver to the tape inputs of the new receiver. Switch the old receiver to "phono" and the new receiver to "tape".