[Richard Crowley]

"JBones" wrote ...
Laurence Payne wrote:

Doubtless the output of the player is designed to drive a pair of
headphones. This is not a good match for Line In on an amplifier.
Sometimes you get away with it.

Actually, the headphone output of most modern equipment
is not a bad match for the average line-level input in terms
of levels and impedance. The major possible downside is
slightly higher noise and distortion but perhaps not noticable
to most regular MP3 users. (No offense to MP3 users, I do it
myself for casual listening)

But do check first that you're using the right cable. It's a stereo
connection.

Yes I'm going from 1/8" stereo to RCA stereo. Perhaps running the
signal through a preamp first would help?

Possibly, but likely not worth the effort to try.