Stereo Equipment

http://www.slowtimes.com/photos/chas50/image11.jpg

i was looking for something to recommend you but i can't find it or remember the name! i am good for nothing! nothing! NOTHING

http://www.thesoundwell.com/

I'll probably try craigslist.

Infinity Primus 150
Paradigm Atom v.3
ZVOX Audio 315

I have some Paradigm Titans, which I think are about the same as the Atoms. They're really good.

In your price range (whatever that is) get an integrated amp. This includes the poweramp and preamp in one. You'll either have to find one with a phono stage or buy a separate phono stage.

what's a phono stage.

Yes, I'm looking at $200 MAX. And a lot less if I can be smart about it.

xp-ok, maybe!

if you happen to get one, make sure to get a preamp that plugs into the wall. i first got a cheap one that ran off batteries and i had to change it constantly.

but you said you're not even getting a turntable for a while, so maybe forget that (just to remember it later)

I've just put together a system for my garage/shop area.

Onkyo TX-84 (late 80's?)
Pioneer 6 CD magazine that's junk from early 90s (and which i've never trusted, and don't like to load/unload)
Kenwood 3-head Auto-Reverse cassette (fine pro-sumer model from mid-90's)

...and i plug in my Sansa Clip through a $30 headphone amp into the AUX for MP3s

Cheapo Pioneer tower speakers and the matching pressboard rack/glass door.

I rigged the rack with a 110V fan, cut a hole in the opposite side and covered with air-duct filter material (and weather-stripped all other airgaps), and plugged both the fan and a USB charger into the "switched" power plug on the back of the receiver. Power it up, and the Sansa stays charged and the fan keeps it all relatively clean and cool.

Just have to hang the speakers in the rafters to save on floor space, but i'm rocking hard for less than $100, all-in.

I put a Kill-a-watt meter on it to measure power consumption and i can keep the unit powered-up and ready in the winter for less than the juice it takes to run a 60W incandescent.

wrong board, again...

Hello. I am in Hell.

Okay not exactly, but. About a year ago, after my last turntable died, I bought an old Philips GA212 off eBay (I have def talked about it elsewhere here). It is a joy, the sound is fab, but there were two problems. One, if the needle encountered any vinyl of less-than-mint or slightly dirty status, it skipped. Two, there was occasional feedback, though this often cleared if I wiggled the phono cable or removed it from the amp and put it back in again (the turntable had a DIN out which I connected to a PHONO cable connector, which I imagined was the reason for the occasional hum).

To cure Problem One, I recently bought an Audio Technica AT-95E cartridge with elliptical stylus. And that has worked great - scratched old records that used to be a nightmare to play now play smooth. BUT. There is now a loud hum, at all times.

At first I thought it was something to do with the turntable and the cartridge, and tried cleaning the sled, toying around with the headshell, etc. For sure, if I touch the cartridge, the hum is much more pronounced. But, today, monkeying around with it some more, I discovered that the hum is present even if the turntable is not plugged in to the stereo - that the hum is there whenever the PHONO cables that connect to the turtable output DIN cable are plugged in to the amp. Also, when I plug other cables into the PHONO input on the amp, the hum is there. And also, when I plug the turntable into, say, the AUX or CD inputs, there is no hum (although, obviously, the volume is impossibly low).

So, does this conclusively mean the problem is with the amp and not the turntable? And if I get a cheap Phono Pre-Amp off eBay and connect it to the AUX channel will that work as a stopgap before replacing the amp properly? (The amp is a ROTEL RA-920-AX which a friend gave me some years ago, which is FINE but which I have no real love for).

Yes, it sounds like the phono connector on the amp is shot. The timing of it getting worse when you got the new cartridge could easily be coincidence.

Since it's maybe just a connection I'd take it in to an electronics shop and see if they can fix it. Or the preamp option you suggested.

Most turntables will have a grounding screw between the RCA connectors, and there will be the equivalent on any amp with a phono in. You need to connect a wire between these two things to keep your amp and your TT on the same reference ground, so that the phono preamp is not amplifying tiny mains hum into loud speaker hum.
http://www.co-bw.com/Images_Audio/imagevig_4.jpg http://www.co-bw.com/Images_Audio/imagevif_5.jpg

Thanks Tom. I was guessing that the evidence pointed to the amp being the culprit, but I literally have no technological understanding whatsoever.

Matthew - there doesn't seem to be one from the turtntable - maybe because the output isn't RCA but DIN? But the hum is there even if the PHONO cables aren't connected to the Turntable DIN cable.

Meaning, if the cable is connected to the phono input but not to the turntable? Or the hum is there with no connection to the amp at all?
It's possible the DIN cable is damaged in some way, too.

but if you're using one of these cables, the metal lug has to be attached to the screw terminal on the Rotel.
http://www.conrad.com/medias/global/ce/3000_3999/3200/3250/3251/325110_BB_01_FB.EPS_1000.jpg

I have that cable, but without the lug to connect to the ground nut on the amp.

I'd tentatively suggest that's the deal then. It might be that the cable is a general DIN-to-RCA not specifically for turntables. If you feel like hacking it, pushing the end of a wire into the third (middle) pin will connect it to the arm ground, and would then be suitable to connect to the amp ground. Might be easier/more permanent to get one with the lug though - searching "din turntable (ground,earth)" on ebay yields some not-too-pricey options.

Thanks Matthew - have spotted one and will order. I'm guessing the amp's still knackered, though, if it's still humming without the RCA cable being connected to the turntable?

Sorry to be dense, but do you mean there is a hum with no cable plugged in to the amp's phono inputs at all? or if the cable is plugged in to the amp, but the other end is not plugged in to the turntable? If it's the latter I doubt it, and the quick way to test would be to connect pin 3 (the middle pin) of the DIN connector to the ground nut on the amp. That should shut up the hum, since otherwise the free end is basically acting as an antenna and picking up all the mains hum pervading the air. Would not be an issue on other inputs (which expect a 400mV signal) because the phono input is geared to amplify a 2-3mV signal.

Of course the amp should be switched to another input and turned down while making that connection, don't want to make a hue click or crackle and damage the speakers!

*huge

Matthew otm

Cable ordered. Will update and let you all know how it goes. Thanks for your advice.

Sorry to be dense, but do you mean there is a hum with no cable plugged in to the amp's phono inputs at all? or if the cable is plugged in to the amp, but the other end is not plugged in to the turntable?

You're not being dense, I'm not describing it very clearly. But definitely the latter.

Also, I just plugged my old Ariston turntable - which currently has no power source plug attached but also never had any hum issues with the amplifier, so I'm guessing was already grounded somehow - into the amp and there was no noise, so hopefully the amp is actually fine and it was the lack of a ground/the shitty DIN-to-RCA connector that was to blame.

Fingers crossed Stevie!

Hello!

Got a cable with a ground attached and the hum is GONE! Mostly.

But playing a fela record just now, the horns seem *ghostly, like they're not there, which was not the case with my old cartridge. So something is wrong in the headshell, I think.

I reckon I just need to bite the bullet and get a professional to fix it.

Damn. If it was the bottom end missing I would suspect the channels were out of phase. With the headshell, if there are four leads plugged in at the back, it might be worth checking the correct wire is on the correct pin if you have any way to do that. If it was phase, it would be the pair for one channel swapped over.

unfortunately the philips uses a weird proprietary sled system inside the headshell, rather than wires.

so close, though.

I'm beginning to see why most people are fine with an ipod and computer speakers.

Well - the only remaining DIY advice is to check that the pins connecting the cartridge are clean and that there's nothing somehow shorting between them (and maybe check where the wires are coming out of the tone-arm if that's visible), also that the stylus cantilever is free of anything touching it and isn't bent or whatever. So close.

the photo on the left looks like it has a solid coat of oxidation -- elbow grease, Deoxit, repeat until pristine. Ground screw/horseshoe connect, as well.

...and remember, those plugs have two connecting surfaces ea -- outside and center pin.