Stereo Equipment

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.