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  3. 1186090158

Ground Hum

I need some suggestions eliminating ground hum from my VPI Scoutmaster.

Cart is a Shure V15Vmxr (or whatever it's called)
Tone arm is JMW9 with stock wiring
Preamp is Dynavector P75.

I have tried a few different cables ranging from monster cable to cheap stock audio cables you find with most electronics. Makes no difference. If I touch the tone arm wtih my finger, the hum gets louder. If I touch the gold connectors on the back of the turntable the hum goes away. Touching any other parts of the tonearm output block or the preamp causes hum to get louder. Any suggestions?

A_L
arnold_layne
rwwear
2,867 posts
 
Since the ground is connected, make sure the headshell wires are fully connected and going to the correct pins.
franks
151 posts
 
Is the cartridge new? Has the hum alway's been there with this cartridge? Have you used the turntable/arm with a different cart. or the cart. with a different turntable?
Can't help wondering if the cart. has an open loop(defective). If so, no amount of grounding will make the hum go away. See if you can try a different cart. or this cart. in a different setup. If it was purchased thru a dealer have them check the cartridge out.
Let us know what happens.
rwferr
5 posts
 
Try shielded interconnects that solved the problem for my Scout.
arnold_layne OP
141 posts
 
I've been wanting to upgrade the cart anyway, so I will give that a go. I have tried different cables, Monster Cable to inexpensive standard audio cables, no effect. I'm leaning towards the cartridge. I've had the cart on a previous table before I got the Scoutmaster but I did buy it new just as the Shure V15 series ceased production.

A_L
franks
151 posts
 
Did you have the hum like you do now when you used the cart. in a different system? If not, it's doubtful it's the cartridge.
I know you've tried lot's of different phono cables, but where any of them shielded? If your not using a shielded cable it can cause a lot of hum as your describing.
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