Hum ......... Which cartridge

[Ned664]

Ok thoughts welcomed....
I have recently changed my phono stage to a iFI micro and I am very pleased with it. But I have now noticed a bit of a hum from my cartridge during quieter pieces and between tracks. I thought that maybe it was the new phono stage but changing back to my Angle reveled it also. I think that the iFI with higher gain has simply made it more obvious. So is it my cart - no hum when not on the record? Cartridge is a Benz Micro Silver and is only around 6 months old. I have checked the connections whci all seem positive and earth is secure.

If the cart does need replacing - suggestions welcomed!

Cheers.

[YNWaN]

What is the turntable? Also, have you tried disconnecting the arm earth?

[Ned664]

What is the turntable? Also, have you tried disconnecting the arm earth?

TT is a Roksan Radius 5 and yes have disconnected arm earth it does not seem to make any difference :(

[The Grand Wazoo]

Yes, I'd be playing around with the earthing arrangements (a lot if necessary) before I started buying new cartridges.

[Oldpinkman]

My life has been plagued by hum issues. Look to earth loops first. Assuming no obvious oher hum sources near the cartridge. Earth arm to preampand preamp to power amp.

[twotone]

Try a different cart if you have one to eliminate the cartridge or prove that's your problem.

[julesd68]

What is the turntable? Also, have you tried disconnecting the arm earth?

I have a problem with hum which is eliminated if I disconnect the arm earth lead to phono stage - is it worth me trying to discover the root of the original hum, and if so, how might I go about it? I think it started after swapping my tone arm over to another deck and back again but can't be sure ...

[YNWaN]

The hum is caused by an earth loop - as long as there is no hum that is all that matters.

I don't know what you did when you fitted your arm but the chances are you have altered the earth bond to the mains. Either the arm was grounded to mains earth and now it is not, or vica versa.

Some cartridges are more prone to picking up hum - Grado and Deccas for example.

[julesd68]

Did a bit of experimenting trying to find what has caused the earth loop in my system which wasn't there before. So with the tonearm earth cable connected to phono stage I get a bad hum in the right channel. Disconnecting the red cartridge tag removes the hum completely. Does this tell me anything useful? :scratch:

[YNWaN]

The fact that there is only hum in one channel suggests that there is a continuity issue in your arm wiring rather than just a ground problem. There may be two separate problems here.

[julesd68]

Thanks for that - is the cartridge another possibility? I seem to remember reading somewhere else that cartridges can develop an earth loop ...

[DSJR]

If the right hand channel hums, but not with red wire disconnected, I'd check the return (green) for full continuity.

The iPhono is well shielded but see if moving it around makes any difference. Don't set the gain too high and make sure you have fully inserted the phono plugs as this was an aspect hifi dave found early on with his demo sample.

The Nima shouldn't naturally have wiring issues, but check if the arm is properly earth-connected to the deck chassis (can't remember if it should be - so long ago). If the arm earth is connected at the iPhono end, try taking another wire from this point to the amp and see what happens.

Good luck :)

[julesd68]

Dave, sorry to have confused the thread - I'm not the OP, and apologies to the OP for jumping in with a hum problem of my own!

When you say check the green for full continuity, what do you mean?

[Ned664]

So, it was the cartridge, purchased a New Sumiko Blue Pint Evo III and no hum! Which is great but also perplexing and a bit frustrating as the Benz Micro is a great cartridge and only around 6 months old. I think that the greater gain from the iFI phono stage revealed the hum as it is barely noticeable at lower volumes, but I am sure it was not there when first installed. Curious- maybe cartridge abuse from late night, inebriated use?
Incidentally the Sumiko is fantastic straight out of the box, looking forward to how the sound will develop over time. Bass not as deep as the Benz but is taught and controlled and the sound staging is just incredible.