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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!
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yeti42's avatar
yeti42
287 posts
 
If you look at the power socket on the back of the Aria you may find it only has two pins, the one pictured on Regas web site does.
I don’t know recent Rega arms, my RB300 had a ground cable which grounded the mounting pillar but the actual ground for the arm is through one of the RCA outers, I forget which channel, there’s a soldered link inside the pillar. A rather odd arrangement and one I’ll revise if I ever use the arm again but with a Rega phonostage it should work with this setup. Ae you connecting a ground wire from from the deck to the ground post on the aria? Try removing it. Another test is to ground that post, if the amp has a ground post too that might be the best bet for that, assuming the amp isn’t double insulated too.
sumadoggie's avatar
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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.  
jimkiely's avatar
jimkiely
9 posts
 
Brother/Sister - Sorry to read about your Planar/Aria hum. I have a Planar 10 as well, which feeds an Aura phono stage. It not only hummed but also picked up a radio signal and broadcasted it when my volume setting was slightly higher than a casual-listening level. I had already grounded the Aura, so I tried something else to cancel out the noise. Shutting down the system, I disconnected the two turntable cables and continuously wrapped them around each other to form a double helix. I then plugged them back into the Aura, powered up and - bam - no noise. The silence startled me. Be well. Jim
williewonka
3,075 posts
 
@sumadoggie - The Aria has a two pin plug, so it is not "grounded"

Many amps have an issue with ungrounded source components - i.e. HUM
- my Bryston has this issue
- my Bluesound Node 2i causes hum if it is the only connected component
- However, my Simmaudio Moon phono stage IS grounded
- So when the phono stage IS connected - the hum goes away

So try this ...
- using a piece of wire
- connect one end to the Aria ground terminal
- touch the other end to a mains ground point

The hum should STOP - if it stops
- attach the free end of the wire to the ground pin ONLY on a mains plug
- plug it into any mains outlet
leave the other end connected to the phono ground terminal

If this DOES NOT stop the hum - you have a more serious issue

Regards - Steve
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