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First post/weird low-frequency rumbling/thumping


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Hello everyone, I'm brand new to these forums and I just want to say that I'm just delving into the world of vinyl and I'm really excited to be doing so. I just purchased an Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB.

Last night I headed down to my local record store and purchased my first few albums. I set everything up, and have been playing albums to my Sony AVR successfully for a few hours with the phono pre-amp engaged. The problem was that I have a low frequency "thumping" that was really prevalent. It kind of rumbled at about eight times a second, really really low. It was present with the turntable powered on, even without drive engaged. I did some research and couldn't figure out anything that would nail it down or fix it. Finally, I put my hand behind the audio wires to see if there was anything wrong (the wires on the LP120 are permanently attached), and the sound went away. When I removed my hand from the back area, the sound came back. I turned everything off, tilted the table back to see if anything was wrong or out of place, and couldn't find anything. When I turned everything back on, the sound was completely gone. I can't reproduce it. Now of course I'm thrilled the sound is gone, but I'm the type of person that likes to understand the internals of things, so I'm wondering if my description helps anyone think of what could have been the cause. If it comes back, I want to know what's going on. Thanks everyone for your help! I look forward to hanging out on these forums for a while.

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  • 1 month later...
On 12/29/2017 at 2:32 PM, OhBuoyancy said:

Possibly a grounding issue.

Yes, it's almost certainly poor grounding. A few questions to help pinpoint the issue... Are you using a dedicated pre-amp stage or plugging directly into an integrated amp (receiver)? Ensure your TT ground wire is properly attached to the grounding point on whatever you are connected to. If all else fails it may be interference between non-/partially-shielded interconnects, I had to swap one of those out as well on my setup (RCA between pre-amp and receiver).

 

Lastly, it could also be your power source if your outlets are improperly grounded. I have this issue in my apartment and using a tripp-lite surge protector seemed to help solve that last bit.

 

Edited by bluethumb
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I'm using an Audio Technica with a built-in pre amp. I don't have a ground wire, unless I missed it, but I'm pretty sure there isn't one on that model.

 

The house is fairly modern with good wiring, and it's plugged to a surge protector with a active ground indicator light.

 

It's weird, I can get the feedback/buzzing to stop by pushing/pulling on the power plug, so maybe it is a ground issue...

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