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Grounding problem: I'm clueless

Hi folks,

I'm getting a serious buzz/hum through my speakers when listening to vinyl.

Equipment:
-Kenwood KD500 w/Rega RB300 arm and Grado Gold MM cartridge
-Antique Sound Lab Mini Phono tubed phono stage
-Audio Aero Prima hybrid integrated
-Silverline SR15 monitors

The previous owner of the phono stage attached a ground plug to the outboard power supply, he said it got rid of the hum for him. No such luck here. I've tried running a ground cable from the turntable to the preamp, and from the turntable to the power supply. It's quieter when attached to the power supply, but still not really acceptable.

Some more info: power is being filtered through a Shunyata Guardian. Once in a while I'll heard a very faint radio signal through on of the speakers. Not sure if any of that matters, but there it is.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
lousyreeds1

Showing 1 response by rar1

rar1's avatar
rar1
1,811 posts
 
On the face of it, it sounds like you have a ground loop somewhere. Was the hum introduced into your system when you introduced the turntable? Also, by a ground plug, do you mean a "cheater" plug (converts 3 prongs to 2 prongs)? If not, then a cheater plug for either the phono stage and/or turntable could be the $1 solution.

You can also try plugging either the phono stage and/or turntable directly into the wall socket (bypass your Shunyata Guardian) and see if that takes away the hum.

If you have your cable TV hooked up into your system, that could be the culprit as well. The $100 solution then, would be a product from Tributaries called a "Ground Loop Eliminator." It is available from Audio Advisor .

Regards, Rich
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