Phono noise

OK, so today, after work. I did what was suggested. I unplugged the TT cables from the back of the amplifier, turned on the amp and switched it to phono and the sound is gone (although at VERY high volume, there's a faint background noise, but that's barely audible and I assume no machine is COMPLETELY silent when turned way up like that--so that's something different and not an issue). So, that suggests it's something with the turntable, which we suspected all along, of course. That's fine.

Next, I hooked up the TT again and, just to see, I swapped out the Grado cartridge for the AT cartridge, and the noise is back again. So it's not being caused by the Grado cartridge.

Just to be sure, I also unplugged the CD player and the little step-down transformer I have to use to run that and the TT (as both were purchased in Japan long ago when I lived there and they are both 100V models). With the turntable connects plugged in to both the TT and the amp, the sound is still there, even if the TT is off or even if it isn't plugged into power any more--just sitting there with the ground wire connected and the two connects plugged into the back of the amplifier (which seems strange....but there it is).

I also removed the wi-fi router from the room. That eliminated the radio-like occasional chatter-like sounds, but the main hum is still there.

Finally--and I think this may be the answer: I've not used this TT much until recently because I was having so much trouble with the OLD amplifier (replaced by the Outlaw) that I just stopped listening to music. Now that I've used it a bunch in the last few weeks, it may just be showing its age? On a couple of occasions, it's spontaneously stopped playing--the tone arm lifting in the middle of a record and it shutting off. It's happened a couple of times also that it loses its power connection if one of the front buttons is bumped. It reacts as if there's been a power blackout. So, maybe there's a badly lose connection INSIDE the turntable that is causing it to fail to ground? Or something like that? I do have another TT in the house. I suppose I should hook that up and see?

 

From your description it seems like a shielding issue rather than a grounding issue but localizing the breach might be difficult. Rectifying it might be even more difficult.

I had similar noises with my Dual 510 from electrical interference that I traced to old interconnects going bad. Opening up the turntable and replacing the original cables with new shielded low-capacitance cables completely eliminated the problem.

 

I hope all appreciate how much work it is to do this stuff
But, as every thing is torn apart anyway, I got my son to disconnect his TT, which is nothing special, just another old Technics model that was once my father's, a Technics SL-BD35 and we brought it downstairs and hooked it up to the new system and there you go--dead silent. The sound quality is nowhere as good as with the problem TT and the Grado cartridge--the difference is obvious--but at least this turntable is silent.

Next, I hooked up the CD player with its step-down transformer again and the turntable is still quiet. So, that settles it. There's just something wrong with the old TT.

There may be a Rega Planar 3 in my future---although I've read that these used with Grado cartridges tend to hum...... You just can't win, can you?

 

Well, I doubt that my old Technics SL-J2 is worth putting any significant money into. I was originally looking for a new TT anyway when all this started, but, I ended up upgrading my speakers to a pair of KEF LS50s instead. Thanks to everyone for the input.

 

Try another pair of interconnects for the table if you haven't already done so
That's where the problem will be IF you were telling it straight that the noise was still there even when unplugged from the mains
Your son's test table has captive interconnects
Try another pair of cables

For what it's worth Technics tables are notorious for interconnect AND board problems (where the tonearm wires attach inside) and not just the "1200" series - a linear tracker would be a prime candidate for poor joint issues

fixed more than a few cold and whiskered joints on Technics tables (so I'm saying your problem might be an inexpensive fix)

try the wires first

 

That’s where the problem was with my Dual but in his case couldn’t it also be in the fragile tonearm wiring or their connection points at either end? I’m inclined to believe that’s the source.

 

The problem was consistent with three different pairs of wires connecting the TT to the amp. No sound at all with the second TT (my son's) using the newest wire set (the Wire World Soltice 8 interconnects). Don't know what you mean by "captive interconnects". The wires on the back of my son's Technics SL-BD35 are removable, if that's what you mean, not "bulit-in" so to speak.

I will look into getting the old TT repaired. It has the huge advantage of being small.

 

Grado cartridges are un-shielded designs!! That's why they pick up hum on some turntables as well.

 

Sounds like you are on top of this but from reading through this thread its really obvious that the tone arm has a bad connection. To me it sounds like the arm isn't grounded properly unless on the LP surface. A simple solution is to not worry about it- most people don't listen to the turntable unless the tone arm is on the LP surface anyway.

But if you are thinking about another turntable and are on a budget, the older Technics SL1200s that you see on Craisglist I would think would be a better option than the Rega and no worries using the Grado.

 

+1 on the Technics
yes too on bad connections/wires - as I mentioned many cracked and just plain senile joints on those little bits of board where interconnect and tonearm conductors meet