circuit bored records Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Alright, so I've been extremely satisfied with my set up as of now. I know every component I have can be upgraded in some sort of way, and that's not really the answer I'm looking for. I run my Stanton hand-me-down T.80 turntable with a Shure M97xe cartridge into an Art DJ PreII Preamp, through a Numark Dj mixer (basically as a volume, treble, bass control). The mixer goes into an older Sony 2 channel receiver with 4 Sony speakers through the A/B channel on the receiver. Quality is great, I've never had a problem.. ..EXCEPT when you turn the volume up really, really loud, to levels which I rarely listen to records at, I get a slight buzzing sound (I would call it more of a hum) from the turntable. Not noticeable during 90% of the music I play, but in between songs or during extremely quiet passages It's noticeable. When I hover my finger just below the cartridge cables (even when not listening to a record) the buzz/hum increases and even more so when you touch the cartridge cables. I've tested other inputs (CD player, MP3) at these levels and there's no buzz so I'm confident the other equipment isn't the issue. Is the problem because of the lack of an external ground? Is there a way to ground the table without it? I've read that these tables have an internal ground but that there's a slight chance they could go bad. Is the table just so shitty that the lack of "shielding" or whatever around the tonearm and cartridge sucks and isn't made for audiophile listening or something? I bought new gold-tipped leads to replace my 10-year old ones, and it didn't help the problem at all. Just seeing if anyone has some DIY suggestions or troubleshooting. I really, really don't want to buy a new turntable at the moment but think that it's most likely the issue :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hipsterasfolk Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Finger by cart = static feedback Vibrations = buzzing/humming so 90% full blown audio could cause the needle to go crazay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circuit bored records Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 Thanks for the response man! Not sure what you mean by full blown audio though, like the cartidge wont respond well to loud volumes? I should probably also mention the buzzing sound happens even when a record is not playing and the tone arm is resting, just a consistent hum sound if the volume is turned up to the max. Could it be caused by other electronics plugged in to the same surge protector? I have a TV, cable box, computer, etc, all plugged in on the same circuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 The sound is from a crappy preamp being driven by too much power. Plain and simple. The internal ground can be checked, but I am sure its just a not so great preamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emo Revival Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 My turntable has a fuzzy static noise and after searching everywhere I found out its because my turntable needs a ground wire in the back that I didn't have. I bought one on ebay and the problem disappeared. Check your manual and see if yours needs one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearchuck Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 What ajxd said. You're playing that shit too loud. Turn the ruckus down. Seriously folks, I always see these posts about weird noises at high volumes. Let your ears be the judge: if your system is fine at normal listening levels one minute, and then you crank it to the max and you hear clipping / distortion / crackling / etc etc the next ... then you're overdriving your system. Some speaker / amp combos simply aren't made to rock the house. And you're always going to get some level of fuzz / hiss with all preamps / amps. Hell - almost everything in your system can contribute to background noise: cables, the cartridge, speaker wire, bla bla bla. It's just the nature of the beast. Some preamps are pretty close to dead quiet ... others, not so much. I bought that ART DJ Pre (the usb version) last year for fast, easy digitizing needs and honestly, it's a decent little budget preamp. I've heard and used much better, but if you need something for $50, it's a good budget choice. There's a little bit of hiss, but I really only notice it if my ears pass right in front of the speakers. If you have ground loop issues, there will be a rather noticeable hum, but you'll hear it at low volumes as well. Doesn't really sound like that's your issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 As Chuck said, groundloop is a 60hz hum, crappy preamp is hissing. Also Chuck, I didn't make it to the bar with the Reuben, but I made it to Fern next to Lunchbox, and it was amazing. Also Zizi's out near Ikea/UNCC. Both were all vegetarian/vegan spots (for my wife), and two different pay levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circuit bored records Posted June 30, 2012 Author Share Posted June 30, 2012 Thank you guys for the responses, the crappy pre-amp makes a lot of sense. Don't think it's a ground issue either since I've had an ungrounded table and know what that hiss sounds like. The speakers (2 floor speakers, 2 bookshelfs) are my parents' from the 80s and the receiver is a newer stereo receiver. My issue is that my setup can play mp3s and CDs at the kind of levels I'm talking about and can definitely rock the house IMO without the buzzing sound, so I just want to get my turntable on par in terms of quality in attempts to eliminate some of his buzzing at loud volumes. There's a slight white noise with CDs and mp3s at extremely loud volumes but that's to be expected and not as bad as the buzzing with the TT. My friend gave my the Art DJ Pre II, but my TT has a built-in preamp that sounds exactly the same as going through the Pre II. Any recommendations for the next step up for a pre-amp in terms of quality and cutting out some of the background noise/buzzing sound at loud volumes? Probably want to stay under $150. Is it not even worth it til I upgrade the table? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amnstypls Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 sorry to bump and old thread, but I am having this issue too. I have a project carbon and I am running in to a marantz integrated. I've noticed that if I touch the screws on top of the cartridge or touch the ground connection in the back, the buzz goes away. what can I do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amnstypls Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 I'm seriously going insane at this point. I have no idea what happened but this buzz makes me want to throw all of my shit out the window. it goes away entirely if I pinch the earth connection or touch either screw on the cartridge. it's like the ground got shaken loose or something. if I pinch the RCA output on the table, that makes it go away too. but when the needle is just riding on the vinyl, it makes that buzzing sound. if I remove the ground connections completely, it is much worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinch Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 Post a picture of the connections, mainly the connections on the cartridge and the connection to your Marantz. Just to clarify, the ground wire IS connected to the ground binding post on your Marantz? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amnstypls Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 yes, it is connected. so... I woke up this morning and fired it up... and guess what? the buzz is gone. could it just have been some static buildup? or maybe just some dirty power? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 bah-humbuzz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amnstypls Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 bah-humbuzz. has this ever happened to you? last night my girlfriend was looking at me like I was a mad scientist or something. I seriously fucked with every connection for about 2 hours straight, on a Friday night haha. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I got it resolved. eventually I just became so frustrated that I gave up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amnstypls Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 are there power distributors that you can buy that will "clean" power or help cut down on the potential for bad electrical noise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streetwaves Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 How close are your speakers to one another? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amnstypls Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 How close are your speakers to one another? probably only about 2-3 feet between them. spacing them out should help?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swemoll Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 probably only about 2-3 feet between them. spacing them out should help?? Yes. Outside of this hum issue, it's smart to have your speakers more than 2-3 feet apart. Set them about as far apart from one another as you are from them (this is a rough idea-every room calls for a different setup). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amnstypls Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 Yes. Outside of this hum issue, it's smart to have your speakers more than 2-3 feet apart. Set them about as far apart from one another as you are from them (this is a rough idea-every room calls for a different setup). thanks I'll definitely try this out. weird thing is that I've noticed that it ONLY happens at night, so I'm wondering if it is just something electrical that is going on. Is it possible that streetlights could cause this buzz? My set up is in my front room, about 15 feet from the street. I also live in a pretty run down area so it's possible that we just have shit power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swemoll Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 we just have shit power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amnstypls Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 we just have shit power. I was thinking this was a likely explanation. Would a power conditioner help? Or is there anything that can help clean up electrical noise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swemoll Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Yeah, but there's so much shit out there, it's tough to choose something that really works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amnstypls Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Yeah, but there's so much shit out there, it's tough to choose something that really works. I've got an old power conditioner I used to use for my guitar rig. I think I'll give that a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swemoll Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 I've got an old power conditioner I used to use for my guitar rig. I think I'll give that a shot. Good! The best thing you could do is try out stuff and listen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 I use and recommend Tripp Lite Isobar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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