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Technics 1200 Ortofon and Mcintosh

Recently purchased one of the last Japanese made Technics 1200G. 
Paired it with Ortofon Cadenza blue and Mcintosh C2600 Phono preamp. 
Rest of equipment: SF Elipsa Se, Mcintosh MC

I am hearing a loud buzzing noise coming from both speakers when I connect TT to phono. 

This happens even when the music is off. I hear it at 40% volume up. The needle on my MC452 shows 20-30 watts at 50% volume on Preamp. Keep in mind, music is off. When I listen to music it is less perceptible but I sure its still there. 

I grounded TT to C2600 as directed. I'm using a separate sounding wire. 

I tried changing cables, using Shunyata, Nordost blue haven, and cheapest Audioquest cables. The noise was highest with shunyata, less with nordost and surprisingly less with cheap AQ. Regardless, the noise still very severe and distrurbing at 50% volume when the music is not playing. 

Is this  a normal phenomenon? Where could the problem be?  I replicated these findings with my second amp, mastersound 845. Otherwise my set up runs perfectly silent with digital sources. 
ei001h

Showing 1 response by clearthinker

clearthinker's avatar
clearthinker
1,582 posts
 
An earth loop certainly.

But if the buzz is equal on both channels, this exonerates cartridge connections and indeed all connections affecting a single channel.

The buzz is 'loud'.  So the fault is something gross.

If there is no buzz on other inputs then the issue will be somewhere in the turntable.  Check its power supply.  Is the buzz there when the volume is up but the TT not running?
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