FamSarley

All good points, Sadly, I cleaned it recently and re-calibrated nearly everything, but it still skips. It got better, the first track doesn't skip at all anymore on the second side, so I may clean it a bit more thoroughly again and see if it helps. Otherwise I am definitely blaming the pressing and it is unfortunately a bit late to return it, but I'll contact the seller and see what they have to say. Thanks for all of the help!

Sorry it's been a while, but it seems to have all sorted out. I started some trial and error testing with all of it and decided to buy new wires anyways. I cleaned things up with my soldering and it turned out that one of the channels wasn't even transmitting a signal, so I figured new wires were in order anyways. Once I put everything back together the hum went away! I'm assuming it was a grounding problem with the wiring, but either way I'm quite content with the sound. The only problem I'm experiencing now is some static and popping, but it's currently been storming quite a bit and it's been incredibly dry with the PA winters, so I have a feeling that should go away in the next couple days. Thank you for all of your help!

Yeah, I can't seem to figure this one out. I messed around with the ground a bit (put it on the platter, touched it to myself, etc.) but the hum hardly decreased. I'm starting to wonder if it could potentially be related to the wiring at all. I haven't soldered much in the past, but my connections look pretty clean. Would the gauge of the wire affect anything? I also had to manually strip these (meaning I used a wire cutters and pocket knife very carefully), would that possibly mess with any internal resistances if I thought it was a clean cut and actually took out a wire?

Yeah, it does hum without the TT powered on, but if I disconnect the preamp from the TT then the hum goes away. If you have watched the video, I followed it and simply connected the ground wire to where the former preamp was grounded. The new wires I am using might be a different gauge, would that matter? Also, would it be bad practice to simply remove the current wires that I soldered in and see if the humming persists?

Hello all, Recently, I modified my turntable set up. I did the ever so encouraged removal of the internal preamp from AudioTechnica AT-LP120. I recently put it all back together, grounded my new Gram Amp 2 Communicator and hooked it all up. The only problem is that I now have a consistent humming throughout my speakers. Considering the hum was there even without my turntable turned on, I figured it had to be originating from the preamplifier. To remove the stock preamplifier, I followed this video's walkthrough. The actual work starts around 13:50. So, I was wondering if the hum would be originating potentially from where I soldered new wires back on, or else if I didn't have the preamplifier properly grounded. All help is greatly appreciated, thank you very much!

Hello All, I recently purchased a 180 gram reissue of David Bowie's, "Ziggy Stardust...." and on the first play the entire second side was skipping. I run an AudioTechnical AT-LP120 with the stock needle and have had it for about a little over a year now. I am currently in contact with AudioTechnica's customer service over it, but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas as to what could be the problem. I returned the album initially and bought a different copy, but came up with similar results. So I have re-calibrated the tone arm and its weight. and have messed around with some of the settings, but I haven't found any solution. My concern is that it might be something in the needle or else the antiskate perhaps. Either way, all help is greatly appreciated! Thank you.

Hello all, I'm not necessarily new to vinyl, but I have finally felt that I've invested enough into it that it's worth upgrading my sound system. I currently have an AudioTechnica AT-LP120 turntable and a Bose 321 ii Home Theater System for a Receiver and Speakers. My recent upgrade was that I purchased a Phono Preamp, more specifically the Gram Amp 2 Communicator. I have had very little experience in anything like this, so I was wondering if there were any tips, tricks, or instructions on how to set it up with my turntable. I am aware of removing the built in preamp with the AT-LP120 instead of just switching it to an external preamp. I plan to do that in the future once I figure this out. My main concern with the Gram Amp 2 Communicator is the "earthing" wire and particularly how to set it up and if there is anything to it. Will I technically need to still set it up since my AT-LP120 already has a grounding wire internally? Also, for the sake of knowledge, what dangers do I run in not setting up the grounding wire before playing any vinyl? All help is greatly appreciated, Thank You!