I also unplug the turntable & the noise is still there so I know it isn't my Grado cart. The noise is actually similar to a hum that everyone mentions but the turntable has no affect & my other table has the same noise, it sure seems like the Bellari. |
I have one and I have a bit of hum like as if the table needs to be grounded. In my case, however, I find I can reduce the hum by moving Bellari further from my integrated. I suspect my problem just has to do with magnetic fields. Have you tried moving the Bellari around at all? |
I had a Bellari and this exact problem. After calling Bellari tech support, sending the unit back to them twice I determined it was a grounding issue between the Bellari and the Preamp. Try this:
Make a jumper using a cheap interconnect cable such that you connect the ground post on the Bellari to an un-used RCA input jack (outer ground only) on your preamp. The hum should go away, but if it doesn't, go RCA jack to RCA jack. |
Macrojack, I have completely removed the Bellari from my system & only plugged in the power. With the headphone amp turned half way up it is a very loud hum. I think the tube or the pre-amp is defective. If you wouldn't mind or if it is even possible please hook a pair of headphones up & turn the headphone amp up half way, let me know if you can hear a loud hum noise. |
Bdgregory, I have the Bellari completely disconnected. I used a interconnect cable to touch the outer nut of the ground on the Bellari to the outer portion of the jack on pre-amp, it made no difference. I could hear the cable make a scratching noise when I move it around on the jack but no reduction of hum. I do not understand exactly what you mean by RCA jack to RCA jack? |
Hi Fishwater, I plugged my son's Grado SR 60 headphones into the rear jack with no input and turned the volume up half way and then all the way. No hum. No sound at all. Seems like you might have a bum unit.
I was not able to mess around with it much tonight but I'll take another shot tomorrow and let you know if I can offer any better suggestions. |
by RCA to RCA, I mean connect an RCA Cable from one to one of the outer ground sleeves of the Belari, to one on the preamp. I don't recall if the Belari has any extra RCA's that are unused when your table is connected - but if not use an aligator clip or other means to connect to the Belari. On the preamp end I cut the center + post out of an RCA connector - leaving only the outer cuff.
I recommend you try this multiple ways - RCA-RCA, Ground Post on the Belari to RCA on the Pre, and RCA on the Belari to Ground post on the Pre. During one of my first calls to Belari the guy told me to connect a jumper from the outer RCA on the Belari to the ground post (on the Belari). I did this and it made no difference. This whole idea seemed illogical to me at the time, so I didn't go further with it. I ended up sending mine back to the factory where they changed the tube and returned it to me - same exact issue. I sent it back and they sent me a new one - same issue. Then I worked out a jumper to give me a ** good solid ground **. My recollection is that mine went from the Belari Ground post to an un-used RCA on my Exposure RC21 Pre. The result was total silence. By the way - I also had a Music Hall MMF Phono pack at the time, and had experienced a similar buzz, though not as bad. The same jumper eliminated that problem too.
My point is don't give up after one try. Fiddling with a ground is much easier than sending the unit back. |
I have removed the cover of the Bellari to inspect the ground, it is secure. I used a jumper to connect the ground of the Bellari to various grounds on my power conditioner, still noisy. Whenever the Bellari is plugged in it is noisy, even with the mute on. As soon as I unplug the power the noise goes away. I thought at one point while connecting an external ground the noise went away but every other time I have tried it the noise is still there? I will call Bellari & see what they have to say or this has to be sent back. |
How about trying to float the ground with one of those two pronged adapters from Home Depot. If this is a ground loop, that should take care of it. |
I had enough, I went out and bought a new Cambridge Audio 640p. I can finally sit down & listen vs. try to fix. Should be a great weekend. Thanks for all your help guys, I appreciate it. |
you're a man of action. Excellent. was the Cambridge plug n play (ie w/o noise)? As I mentioned, I had the issue with 2 different outboard phonos. |
Plug & play for sure! It is a little noisy when I turn my vollume way up on the pre-amp but at normal levels with music playing it sounds fine. I can't wait to sit down tomorrow & start spinning!
My Bellari is obviously defective. I called tech support & they didn't even bother trying to walk me through anything else, they suggested I send it in or return it. |
Fishwater, I'm sorry I wasn't able to provide more help. Mine seems to work just fine. At least it isn't going to tie up a lot of money while being repaired. I would certainly be looking for an explanation (or a refund) from the person who sold that to me. |
It's OK, I am over it now. Products break, products are defective. It happens, I just move on. I am sure it is a great pre-amp but it just didn't work out for me. |
Just to let you know, Fishwater, I recently bought a Bellari and have had the same problem. Very frustrating, indeed, especially after the glowing Stereophile review. |
Bellari recommends bypassing the ground altogether on the Bellari and going directly to amp or preamp. I will try this and see what happens. |
Mine hummed too, seemed like 60Hz.
I tried a single wire from the Bellari ground to the ground post on
my Monster power line conditioner. This made it worse.
Then I unplugged the Bellari from it's AC wall outlet and plugged it
into the Monster conditioner, and the hum is MUCH lower now.
choppi |
