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First of all there is no such thing on Beoworld as dumb question - only a dumb answer! Your first port of call should be to browse the product info we have on site for this turntable.
Nice turntable the 1600, the things to be aware of are:-
1. The belt may need replacing but that isn't a problem as member Dillen (Martin) can supply you with a brand new one which is guaranteed to be the right size.
2. The main problem though is likely to be the cartridge. It may well be fine at present but is likely to fail sooner rather than later. It is probably more than 20 years old and the stylus may well be perfect but the internal suspension will have hardened over time and could fail at any given time. It will be very expensive to replace.
Yes you can connect it to any amp by using a 5 pin DIN to RCA/phono converter lead. Don't be tempted to have the DIn plug changed to RCA as it will devalue it. Another pont to remeber is the BG1600 doesn't have a RIAA (phono preamp) installed so your amp will need to have this. You can work around this though by fitting an external preamp between the turntable and the amp input.
Chris.
The use of metaphors should be avoided like the plague. They're like a red rag to a bull to me.