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Please help with phono hum

I've been in audio for more than 7 years now and had many different systems (all tubes). Finally, around couple months ago, I decide to try phono.
After reading many post here about how wonderful phono sound, I was so exciting and thought that I will experience something amazing. But the only thing I experience with phono is bad sound, hum and noise through the whole system.
Let me start with the system. I have a Muse 8/926 DAC -> Emotive Audio Sira LE (just upgraded all new tubes) -> Art Audio Jota -> SAP J2001 speakers (horn). Last month, I bought a Sota Saphire turntable with a Grado cardrige, connected it through a Musical Surroundings Phonomena and to my Emotive. I got major hum from the speakers and the music was terrible. I then heard about the Grado noise, so I got rid of the turntable and get a VPI with a Benz cardrige. Same thing happen, LOUD HUM even when the motor is not on.
Again, I traded in all the equipments and this time, I got the Clearaudio CHAMPION LEVEL II w/unify arm, clear audio balance pre-amp, Transfiguration Spirit from a dealer. The package arrive today and after hours and hours setting them up, here come the LOUD HUM in my system once again.
I've been trying to switch cable, lift the ground (also, prior to this, I got my dedicate power line installed), hook them up to the Hydra Conditioner... still HUM and HUM.
After 2 months with turntable and 3 different equipments, I'm really wonder if this turn table thing is real or just an imagination?
Please, if someone has been successful with TT, please give some good advice.
I'm in Orange County, California. If there's any expert with TT, please contact me at 714-623-5099. If there's a professional installation around my area, I'm willing to pay for the service.

Thanks
linkoping
loontoon
301 posts
 
Hmm, where to start, first, shoulda kept the Sota.
1st the obvious, I assume this only happens in phono, and not in other inputs????

If so: Look first to the cables, and ROUTING, if they are within a foot at any point of AC cables you have problem.

2) Keep you phono cables short, consider moving to a non-AC pre-preamp, like a Chamelot Lancelot which has a battery, but more important, can be place at the outputs of the table and limited to about 12" of cable. The signal is then amplified and is much less prone to HMMMMMMM

3) Have you looked at your pre-amp??? The Chamelot or another phono head amp will allow you to bypass the phono stage in your pre-amp altogether. A battery powered pre will also eliminate the potenetial for ground loops which is what you have.

4) Digital glare even on great CD decks is well, to me just not acceptable. The only place for CD's is in the car.

5) Use a cheater plug if needed for experiementation and swap the polarity of you pre-amp, then back, then the power amp, then back. Caution, allow the cap in the power amp to cycle down prior to swapping polarities, I'd let it go at least 10 minutes. Those amps with inadequate protection and LARGE caps can take oppostion to the quick discharge via reversed polarity. Can you say POP!!!

6) A poor contection somewhere in the pre-amp can cause these problems as well.

Remove the phono from the equation. With just the cables going into the pre-amp, not connected to the TT do you still have humm??? If so move the cables around and see if it helps.

That ought to get you started, post the results and we'll go from there.

good luck,

BTW in the future when your disposing of your analogue equipment let me know. I love a deal.

loon
twl
3,251 posts
 
I can assure you that something is wrong with the grounding in the phono wiring or elswhere. You just need to find it.

There is no hum problem in normal analog systems.

I would also check your "new dedicated lines" for phase polarity and proper grounding, because if they are not all correct, you could be getting ground loops between the phono stage and the preamp, and that would happen no matter what phono gear you were using.
oanhu
24 posts
 
Linkoping,
Contact Brooks @ www.brooksberdanltd.com. He is a king of the analog. He will help you to solve the problems. He is in Monrovia. It is about 1 hrs from Orange County.
oanhu
24 posts
 
You can contact Ken @ www.audiomax-ltd.com. He is very kind and living in Orange County.
sberger
146 posts
 
the simplest solution might be just to play with the grounding wire from your table. i have a vpi scout that has 2 grounds, one that connects to the lugnut under the table, and one that is supposed to connect to the junction box that the arm is connected to. originally, nothing would stop the hum until i literally taped the second ground to a screw on the junction box. that worked perfectly for several months until the table got moved recently. then i had the hum again. until i untaped the second ground. now it's not connected to anything. no hum. the message is that you may need to fiddle about with several things before it goes away. but don't just keep trading in tables without fixing the problem.

Good luck!
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