There is no reason to believe that an SS phono stage would be less sensitive to RFI. In fact, an SS stage is more likely to be MORE sensitive to RFI, because an SS stage will likely have a wider bandwidth, not that that extra bandwidth, for example above 100kHz, is necessarily vital for audio. Also, in this case, the RFI is likely to be airborne from the nearby tower. Thus adding filters across AC and audio inputs is not likely to completely eliminate the problem, although there is no reason not to try it. In the worst case, you may have to consider placing your phono stage inside a Faraday cage type of shield.
Phono cartridge noises
Hi All,
I finally after many years built a new home with a dedicated music room and was quite happy with it until I connected my turntables. I've never run across this and looking for advice as I'm truly lost on what I’m experiencing.
I have two phono preamps, the Jolida JD-9 II / Grado Gold G2+2 High Output cartridge / Project RM 1.3 and a Black Ice Fusion F159 / Grado Reference Low Output cartridge / VPI Scout. Without the cartridges connected I have a slight bit of air noise when I turn up the volume which I kind of expect. As soon as I plug in the cartridges I pick up what I think is internet noise and not in a small way. The high output masks it to a point, the low output can't be used at all. It sounds like I'm on a spaceship! It's a high pitched noise with a morse code like beeping sound, a lot of background kinda rumble/flutter and distortion. The room is wired for ethernet but as yet not connected I only have WiFi in use. When I switch to any other source input on the main preamp all noise goes to silence. I have connected the phonos with different cables from Transparent Audio, Morrow, Original phono cables that came with the tables and even tried an old set of Monster Cables; all produce the same result as soon as the cartridge is introduced into the loop.
Has anyone come across this I'm truly stumped?
K
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Do you use or have any LED lighting? I use LED lighting for mood at night but I found that it gave me noticeable static and electronic noise. When I turn the LED lighting off the noise goes away. Just a thought. Only affects the phono stage and none of the other gear hooked up. It is a strange thing and I have not found a way to eliminate besides turning it off. Just one more thing to check and may not have any affect at all. |
Noromance, Airborne RFI can enter via the cables or any piece of equipment, in this case the phono stage. Once it gets in, it can be propagated by cabling anywhere. so why is the observation that phono needs to be plugged in contrary to the airborne hypothesis? Or are you only wondering whether the Faraday cage would help? I assume cables are shielded, although maybe not adequately. |
@lewm As the interference is only occurring when the cartridge is plugged in, the issue is not with the phono amp itself, and therefore, the Faraday cage wouldn’t make a difference. The noise is being injected. That's why I suggested common RFI solutions above. |
- 28 posts total