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My silver interconnects are causing hum, why?

Mr. Lin

Mr. Lin

Lunatic Member
So I just plugged a pair of Kimber Silver Streak interconnects that I won on Ebay into my turntable and preamp, and immediately I noticed a hum. It got louder and then quieter when I moved the cables around, but I can't seem to figure out what's causing the hum. The improvement in sound is obvious and very nice indeed, and the hum is hardly audible when music is playing loudly, but of course I'd like to get rid of it.

I know they're unshielded, but I'm a bit of an amateur so I don't know exactly what that implies. Any help?
 
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It means that it will be susceptible to picking up stray EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference), which results in a hum. If you can't find a position for the cables, which eliminates the hum, you may want to try moving the turntable, if that is possible, or convenient.

Or, you may have to get some cables with better shielding. Your statement about improvement in SQ means that you should still get some benefit over whatever you were using, originally.
 
I have a bunch of cables, most of them shielded. But I think you're right, the improvement in sound quality is dramatic enough that I still prefer the silver streaks over my other interconnects, even with hum. Thanks for the advice, I'll play around with the position of the tt and see if that helps.
 
Yes, turntables are particularly susceptible to EMI, and it's doubtful whether you'll find a position where it won't hum. Incidentally, all is not lost. The ICs may be usable for line level components....or you can just add a shield yourself.

Go to http://www.mcmaster.com/ and do a search for:

EMI/RFI-Shield Polyurethane Wrap-Around Sleeving

It's cheap, and includes a grounding wire which you can attach to the signal ground (the outer part of the RCA connector).

That site is out of sight--great stuff there!
 
hakaplan said:
Yes, turntables are particularly susceptible to EMI, and it's doubtful whether you'll find a position where it won't hum. Incidentally, all is not lost. The ICs may be usable for line level components....or you can just add a shield yourself.

Go to http://www.mcmaster.com/ and do a search for:

EMI/RFI-Shield Polyurethane Wrap-Around Sleeving

It's cheap, and includes a grounding wire which you can attach to the signal ground (the outer part of the RCA connector).

That site is out of sight--great stuff there!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the pointer. Has anyone used the EMI/RFI-Shield Polyurethane Wrap-Around Sleeving they sell? My issue would be whether the sleeving would come off easily, that is, without damaging my cables. It would also cover the beautiful cables but I guess the old cliche beggars can't be choosers is true here. Anyway, the silver streaks were very expensive, and I love the sound (it's blasting right now, feels like I'm in the recording studio!), but the hum and noise is irritating at quieter points.

This is one of the reasons I'm getting another turntable for the same system, to have options!
 
You could try a little experiment and wrap them with aluminum foil from the kitchen.

I'll bet you have some right now and it's cheap + easy to try.
 
Are the RCA's a tight fit? I had a similar problem and eliminated it with an IC with RCA's that fit very tightly. Or it could possibly be a bad ground.
 
They are tight, but I noticed that positioning them straight away from the turntable helps, and also my air conditioner definitely makes it worse when it's running.
 
whoaru99 said:
You could try a little experiment and wrap them with aluminum foil from the kitchen.

I'll bet you have some right now and it's cheap + easy to try.
Click to expand...
Aluminum foil isn't the best shield for EMI, but it's better than nothing and certainly quick and won't damage the cables. But, it's still necessary to have it contact the ground of the connector for the shielding to work.
 
Mr. Lin said:
Thanks for the pointer. Has anyone used the EMI/RFI-Shield Polyurethane Wrap-Around Sleeving they sell? My issue would be whether the sleeving would come off easily, that is, without damaging my cables.
Click to expand...
Why not email them and ask?
 
Call Kimber

HI,
The problem is almost surely the nearness of a power transformer. Kimber's silver cables are unshielded as you noted. I've had my entire system wired with Kimber's KCTG unshielded silver cables with no hum problems.

Also, the cables Kimber builds for use as phono cables are different than their normal interconnects. They are shielded but not in the normal way. Kimber's main claim to fame is very low capacitance which is achieved by their shielding techniques. I don't think you will be able to use unshielded Kimber's for your phono cables. The problem is especially severe if you are using a low output MC cartridge which I was. The special silver phono cables Kimber supplied to me worked great.

I would call Kimber. They will help you even if you did not buy the cables through normal channels (no pun!!). They are very helpful folks.

Sparky
 
But I am using them for phono cables and it sounds incredible, there's just some hum and a little buzzing, but I think it's still worth it.
 
Mr. Lin said:
But I am using them for phono cables and it sounds incredible, there's just some hum and a little buzzing, but I think it's still worth it.
Click to expand...
I think he means you won't be able to use them without getting some hum, which is obviously the case. But if you can live with it, fine.

Wondering though, aren't the PBJs unshielded? You didn't get hum with them?
 
That's right, PBJs aren't shielded. I have a shielded pair that came with my Thorens, 1 meter length. I used these from tt to preamp, and I have 2 meter unshielded PBJs from preamp to amp with no problem at all. The silver streaks are currently between tt and preamp, because, as I understand it from doing some searches on the subject here, the most important connection is between tt (or source) and preamp. Or do I have that wrong?
 
hakaplan said:
Aluminum foil isn't the best shield for EMI, but it's better than nothing and certainly quick and won't damage the cables. But, it's still necessary to have it contact the ground of the connector for the shielding to work.
Click to expand...


The EMI/RFI wrap stuff read like it was mylar-backed foil so that's why I suggested to try the aluminum foil as a quick test.
 
Mr. Lin said:
That's right, PBJs aren't shielded. I have a shielded pair that came with my Thorens, 1 meter length. I used these from tt to preamp, and I have 2 meter unshielded PBJs from preamp to amp with no problem at all. The silver streaks are currently between tt and preamp, because, as I understand it from doing some searches on the subject here, the most important connection is between tt (or source) and preamp. Or do I have that wrong?
Click to expand...
No, you're right, that is the most critical connection. But that is also the connection most susceptible to hum. As you have discovered the same unshielded cables which cause hum when connected to the turntable, work fine with line level connections.
 
Have you tried flippling the ICs and connecting them in the opposite orientation that you have them now. Some ICs have the ground only connected at one end and that may result in the hum. An easy check. Flip the first one and try. Flip the second and try. Flip the first one back and try. Last, flip the first back, again, and then flip the second one back and try. That will check all possible orientations. (I think :para:)
 
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