Turn table crackle issue. Get out your thinking caps!

@avanti1960 I unplugged the power supply only

 

Ok so I think I need a new power cord. The included cord is thin and cheap.

My other components work just fine and they are all two wire cords. The Pro Ject cord is single wire.

I think this might solve the problem

Powseed 36w AC Multi Voltage 5v 6v 7.5v 9v 12v 13.5v 15v Power Adapter Supply Switching DC Tips Selectable Freely for Household Electronics - Google Search

 

I thought you disconnected the power cord and the issue was still present? What tests have you tried and what were the outcomes?

 

@costerdock Yes you're right. I did disconnect the cord and there was still a problem. I forgot about that when I ordered the cord.

Crap.

All the tests I tried are listed in the OP

 

Try turning your phone off for a while, and see if the crackling stops. GSM phones are notorious for injecting noise into sensitive circuitry they are nearby.

 

Thanks - yep - aware of those tests - but yesterday we had some other suggestions:

• You were going to try your turntable in the HT setup
• I suggest you disconnect everything in your stereo set and just have whats necessary for the turntable (see if another component/cabling is causing it)
• You mentioned a washer/dryer - I suggested - hit the circuit breaker and turn off everything except circuit that stereo is on and see if it is present (some other electrical device feeding noise - like phone suggestion above mentioned above)
• I think you might have to remove the cart and try a different cart - if all else fails you should certainly do that. Try the cart from the Rega - it shouldn't be too difficult and something you should routinely do.
• Move the turntable as far away from your preamp as your cables allow - could be the location that is causing it

Best of luck!

Chris

 

Good idea

 

Good ideas. Will have a go at them tomorrow

 

And...the mystery continues. I must admit this one is sort of unique.

 

@Tillman See! It's maddening!

Just played an album with my cell phone far away. The system was totally quiet. I also switched plugs. I had it plugged into a fancy Shinyata plug, but I moved it to a cheap Home Depot plug.

I'm not declaring the problem solved, so before all of you run out to Home Depot to buy "audiophile" plugs, let's wait a bit

 

i would bring another amp down into your setup (your home theater amp. This would bring another amplifier into the same environment. If the issue goes away you know the cause. If it remains, you have isolated the issue to the turntable interconnects, amp to preamp; interconnects preamp to turntable, wiring, turntable to cartridge or cartridge. Forget about causes, e.g. static, electrical noise, etc. and find out which piece is generating the pops.

 

My stuffs are not as nice as yours but I discovered something this spring that blew my mind. My vinyl playback system/chain has always been silent no hum no static no nothing. BLACKNESS then one day I'm sitting here and I get a weird hum and what sounds like static in left channel only.. Turns out it's my cell phone and only when i'm listening to vinyl. Something in the table and/phono pre amp picks something up from my cell phone. I have recreated it and now I have banned cell phones in the music room ! The other day I brought my cell in here and laid it down on the desk and spun some records and bam there it was again. NO MORE CELL PHONES I kind of wish they'd die anyway.

 

That should be a universally adopted law!

I actually listen to music. Don't want to be distracted by alerts from a cell phone, of all things.

 

My cell is always on silent but they should still not be around when music is playing.

 

something is wrong someplace if a cell phone causes noise on a vinyl system.
should not happen.

 

i dunno maybe something is wrong with my cell phone... no other weird behavior ever unless my nexus 6 is in here. It doesn't have to be charging either...

 

Also turn off the pace maker

 

If this was covered, I missed it.
Your turntable, through the Manley OR Parasound, is in your AUX 2 input. The popping occurs even when the Manley/Parasound is disconnected. The popping occurs if the Manley or Parasound is connected but the turntable is disconnected. Is this right?
You don't have popping from the CD input. What input is the CD player connected to? (CD I assume but need to be sure.)
Swap the wires going into the AUX 2 and CD inputs you have been using. Does the popping still occur?

 

I spoke with Jay today at Sounstage Direct, where I bought the PJ. Jay is the head tech there, and VPI certified.

I went through the whole story with him and we more or less came to the conclusion that it's my cell phone/WiFi causing the issue. He's heard of it happening before, with both PJ tables and VPI tables. I told him that I'm using a MC cart, and he said that could be part of the issue too because the MC requires more amplification, which would make the cell/WiFi waves more prominent.

So there it is. Analog undone by 21st century tech.

 

My old 200x crackberry used to make a funny sound through various systems everytime it synced up to get mail. Not at all with my S6.

 

I'm surprised it took that long to solve this. This is no secret. Just a couple months ago, I finished a conversation and laid my cell phone down next to my VPI and since I don't carry my phone with me when listening to music, I heard strange noises which were caused by my phone.

Same thing happened with digital audio when I had my phone next to my PC, a few years back. I thought this was common knowledge, to be frank.

 

Sounds like a cop out IMHO.
I have extensive wifi and (4) active cell phones in my home and and MC cartridge and never hear anything like you are describing. In fact I just brought my phone right next to my cartridge, phono preamp and amp with the volume quite loud and not a peep.
If it is the cell signal than something in the chain has an abnormal out of spec sensitivity to it.
If leaving your phone in the other room solves the issue then it's up to you if you are satisfied with that as a solution. I would not be. Could be something as simple as needing shielded wires between phono and preamp.

 

@Guy Gadbois , what's the humidity like in my bathroom these days? Do you have air conditioning, and how humid is it outside? I don't get around much.

 

@avanti1960 I don't know. Every house and room is different

@R. Totale Totale Actually it's quite nice. Sorry about the clog though. Yes I have A.C. and it's been pretty humid lately

 

It really depends on the type of phone you are using, whether they are CDMA or GSM. GSM phones are notorious for causing interference with sensitive electronics. If you park a GSM phone next to a pair of amplified speakers, you'll likely hear the hallmark "dit-dit-dit" sounds the phone produces when the cell tower polls it and it responds back.

In the OPs situation, there may be a need for better shielding on his equipment, but it may not be entirely effective. I work as an electronics tech for a company that produces medical diagnostic equipment, and I sometimes have to put my phone in airplane mode with some boards I'm testing, because otherwise I get interference patterns coming from the board under test. Not everything I test is affected; just those that deal with millivolt signals.