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Rega Planar 10/Aria MC Phono Stage HUM

Hey all. I recently took delivery of a Rega Planar 10 and Aria Phono Stage. Hooked it up yesterday. Result: pretty significant MC hum. I’ve done some interwebbing on the matter and have seen the P8/Aria post at this forum, and see that the Aria seems to hum quite a bit. Most of the suggestions about fixing the issue are directed towards checking for grounding issues, etc. The rest of my system is fairly straightforward (Hegel H160 integrated; Hegel CDP4A; top shelf Supra wire) so after hooking it all up, I unhooked everything except the Aria to the amp and the speakers. Same hum, same volume. I did typical ground checks and that doesn’t seem to be the issue. I took the Aria and put it one more shelf away from the amp (as far away as the cable allows) and lo and behold the hum volume was cut in half. While at the new position, the hum would be "tolerable" at any particular music volume, it’s annoying when there’s no music signal going to the speakers. Standard light background white noise is somewhat expected, extraneous signal hum doesn’t work for me. So, if, indeed, this is a simple proximity issue (I don’t feel like buying more wire and putting the Aria across the room), is there an elegant shielding solution for the Aria? Is this an issue of Aria design (possibly an engineering "compromise" as Roy Gandy might suggest)? What are other phono stages at a similar price point ($1500ish) which perform musically as well as the Aria? I see I see the Parasound JC3 Jr might be an option. Looking forward to suggestions. Thanks!
sumadoggie

Showing 11 responses by sumadoggie

sumadoggie's avatar
sumadoggie OP
62 posts
 
By the way, there is a "grounding post" on the back of the Aria.  Is this just there if the Aria is used with a different TT to prevent a ground loop, or can this post be used to help ground the Aria itself?
sumadoggie's avatar
sumadoggie OP
62 posts
 
lewm that was smatsui a different poster.  Last TT setup I had was a VPI and Audible Illusions back in the ealry 2000s.  
sumadoggie's avatar
sumadoggie OP
62 posts
 
OK.  Aria wrapped in isolating cloth - no change in hum.  Switching Aria and integrated positions - no change in hum (Aria originally two shelves below, I switched them (and all cable routing) and them switched them back (and all cable routing)).  For kicks, I put the isolating cloth under the integrated (no change):I think I'll just leave it there.  

So the only thing that decreased the volume on the original hum level was to move the Aria from directly below the integrated to two shelves below the integrated.  Is it possible I got crap isolating cloth from Amazon?  The Aria was wrapped at least twice in the cloth on five sides and the back, while open for the cables, has a lot of extra cloth draped over the back.  
sumadoggie's avatar
sumadoggie OP
62 posts
 
Yah, I'm kinda leaning in that direction already.  I think we all deserve no hum.  The question is, how much does no hum cost?  I would like no hum to cost about as much as an Aria.  A bit of a cost benefit analysis as always. 
sumadoggie's avatar
sumadoggie OP
62 posts
 
If everything else is unplugged/unconnected except the Aria to the integrated amp, the only thing left as the source of the hum would be the wall, yes? I turn off the Aria with everything else disconnected and the hum vanishes. Turn the Aria MC back on, viola, hum reappears (no hum with MM even with the volume cranked, just a bit of white noise). Is the Aria is picking up some stray signal (wall outlet; WiFi router)? Or is the Aria is the source of the signal? As mentioned it got quieter when moved a shelf away from the integrated? Having had a decent amount of experience with Hegels, I’d be quite surprised if it was causing a problem with another piece of equipment... but I’ve been unhappily surprised before.

millercarbon posted just before I wrote this follow-up. It does seem, even though I wish it no to be, that the Hegels emissions are inappropriately stimulating the Aria. As I mention: further the Aria from the energized Hegel, the Aria is quieter. I am interested in this Faraday experiment, and will likely do that. That said, are there other-than-Aria phonos in that price range which are "properly" shielded?
sumadoggie's avatar
sumadoggie OP
62 posts
 
While I don't have a frequency meter, and don't know if it's 60 or 120, it's certainly a hum tone.  

Should the wall outlet screw be grounded?  There are Faraday cages on Amazon in which the Aria would fit and when slightly modified the cables could be accommodated.  While cutting a hole for cables isn't ideal, perhaps that's a way to go.  

I did order some isolating fabric which arrives today.  I'll update the thread with my findings.  
sumadoggie's avatar
sumadoggie OP
62 posts
 
The isolating fabric came a short while ago and when I have a few extra minutes I'll wrap the Aria and see what happens.  Then I'll wrap the Hegel.  Then I'll do a little jig...
sumadoggie's avatar
sumadoggie OP
62 posts
 
Not ERS.  "Faraday": EMF, EMI, RF blocking fabric.  

OK, cheater plug next.

Any love for Aria RCA out/Hegel XLR input balanced cables?
sumadoggie's avatar
sumadoggie OP
62 posts
 
Yah, I'm going to try the cheater plug and call it a day.  The return box is on deck and ready to shout it out.  

I've seen that the Parasound JC3+ (a bit more) and Jr (similar price to Aria) are well thought of phono stages.  Any other SS phonos I should look at in the 1500-2k price range (with all the performance of stages costing 10x as much, of course).  
sumadoggie's avatar
sumadoggie OP
62 posts
 
Interesting update: to further the notion that the Aria's hum is an issue of stray capacitance from my Hegel integrated and not a grounding issue, I took a longer set of RCAs (not high quality), and put the Aria on the floor blow my rack, maybe an extra five inches away, but also with another shelf in between it and the Hegel.  The hum got quieter again to the point where it was barely audible with my ear next to the speaker with the Hegel turned up proper loud.  

So, is a good-enough solution just longer interconnects and put the Aria on the floor?  
sumadoggie's avatar
sumadoggie OP
62 posts
 
Yah, I strayed from this forum and read an article from which I took that "stray capacitance" was an issue.  I now understand better that EMF from the Hegel's transformer is the problem.  The P10's RCA out would need a short extender to get the Aria to its current lowest noise position.  Since the interconnects I used to move the Aria to its current position are of the Radio Shack variety, I suspect an 6" extender on the Rega cord wouldn't degrade the signal.  

The Aria does only have two pins and the P10/RB3000 has no separate grounding wire to the Aria.  The Aria does have its own grounding post, though.  

At this point my plan is to distance the Aria from the Hegel as much as practical (under my component rack on the floor), which virtually eliminates the hum. Perhaps not an aesthetically perfect solution, but if it gets the job done without handing out more cash for a better shielded phono stage; or a "better" pre/amp set-up (god forbid.  I love my Hegel), then I'll be happy with the result.  It's the music that matters.  
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