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Turntable issue

I haven't had much luck finding an answer to this question so hopefully it's not something that's been asked a thousand times.

Yesterday I turn my preamp on, place a record on the player and I can hear every touch of the tonearm I make. It clicks when lifting it out of its resting position and when I screw or unscrew the record clamp this at is also very audible through my speakers. Also I'm now hearing a hum that was never present before.

I understand that the cartridge picks up vibrations and turns them to sound but this has never been something that was clearly audible before. I'v never heard siuns coming from my speakers when screwing the clamp on our off.

Thanks for any responses.

MMF 5.1SE
Project Tube Box S
jsouth72
jsouth72 OP
7 posts
 
Thanks. I will try some of your suggestions. I was thinking it is a possible ground issue or a tube problem but wanted some others opinions. One of my tubes is looking rather black on the glass when I checked this morning. The other tube still clear. Sure would be easy if its a tube.

Only change I've made is running output to pc to transfer vinyl. Otherwise no other changes.problem wasn't there when I swapped output. Showed up later. Problem doesn't go away no matter the output either. I wouldn't think this has anything to with it.
davide256's avatar
davide256
399 posts
 
before starting make sure your pre is not set to phono
1. check the ground wire, make sure its attached and not broken. usually you get very bad hum if its not connected but it can be lesser symptoms
2. check your cartridge leads to make sure they are tight. what you are describing sounds more like microphonic pickup from loose connection
3. if the RCA cables are user swappable, swap them and see if the problem goes away. if they aren't swappable make sure they are connecting tightly
4. possible that its a tube but microphony isn't a usual sign of tube aging... they get dull sounding. If you have connected a new piece of gear to your preamp, it may be causing you electrical problems. See if the problem goes away with only the Project Tube Box S connected as a pre input.
jsouth72 OP
7 posts
 
Ground wire foing from the 5.1 to the tube box s is fine. No kinks and looks like it was taken straight from the box. RCA cables are signal cable silver ref phono cables. All connections are tight. All power cables are tight. I will try swapping cables first then try the ground wire from tonearm. Hopefully I have some time when I get home from work.

Thanks again fellas
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
If there are separate tubes for the two channels, checking that off the troubleshooting list is as easy as swapping the tubes. If the circuit uses one triode of each tube for each channel, you'll need to try replacing each tube w a known good. FWIW, it sounds to me like an intermittent electrical connection somewhere. Ground or signal.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
I know your phonostage has 3 different gain settings. Try the lowest one. Not sure if that's your problem, but it's very easy to check.
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