New RCA cables. Sound is horrible.

[Mr Boochie]

I have used many different cables from a turntable to a preamp in my many years and none of them have ever made that much difference in the sound. Ever.

Doug

Truth. Actually, the only time I've had issues is when the cables go bad. Connectors, soldering, and simple corrosion. And yes, that does happen to "boutique" interconnects.

Often, the problem is wear at the point where the cable enters the RCA plug. A bad fit, too-heavy cords, or too-chunky plugs are often the culprits.

A friend bought me a pair of Ohno interconnects. They are lightweight, easy to arrange and rearrange, and have good plugs. Five years, no problems.

 

[peterp1]

I have used many different cables from a turntable to a preamp in my many years and none of them have ever made that much difference in the sound. Ever.

Doug

Are you referring to replacing the internal single-ended RCA cable from the turntable? It seems like you are talking about ordinary two-ended RCA cables you'd use for a CD player (or the output of a standalone phono preamplifier), because it seems unlikely there would be a need to replace the internal turntable RCA cables often, if ever.

Ordinary line-level RCA cables are unlikely to pick up noise because they have high signal levels (on the order of 1 volt). You don't really need quality with those 1volt line-level signals because any noise picked up would probably measure in the millivolts or less. The voltage levels coming out of the turntable, however, are only about 5mv (0.005 volts) for moving magnet and only about 0.5mv (0.0005 volts) for moving coil. The normal signal expected at a line-level input of an amp is around 1 volt, so the phono preamp needs to multiply that signal around 200 times for moving magnet, or 2000 times for moving coil. Any tiny bit of noise on the turntable RCA cable will be multiplied 200 or 2000 times before it's sent to the amp.

Bear in mind I have never replaced an internal turntable RCA cable -- so I'm not preaching and am happy to be corrected -- but it isn't difficult to see that any tiny bit of noise on the internal turntable RCA cable would be very audible through the amp after being multiplied by 200 or 2000 times in the phono preamp.

 

[Mr Boochie]

The voltage levels coming out of the turntable, however, are only about 5mv (0.005 volts) for moving magnet and only about 0.5mv (0.0005 volts) for moving coil. The normal signal expected at a line-level input of an amp is around 1 volt, so the phono preamp needs to multiply that signal around 200 times for moving magnet, or 2000 times for moving coil. Any tiny bit of noise on the turntable RCA cable will be multiplied 200 or 2000 times before it's sent to the amp.

You may be able to hear the EMF picked up on the phono lines, using headphones — with the preamp volume set pretty high. I actually move the interconnects around until I get the lowest background noise. Then use twist ties to hold them in place.

This also works for any power lines near those phono interconnects.

The turntables have MC cartridges.

 

[dankik]

The turntables have MC cartridges.

Sanyo TP600SA turntable

Audio-Technica AT-VM95E Cartridge​

Sony STR-6055 reciever

Mogami 2965, W2965, 5 feet.

• DUAL - 75-ohm Coax construction
• 2 x 24 AWG stranded Neglex OFC copper conductor
• Insulation: XLCPE
• Capacitance at 1kHz - 27.0 pF/Ft
• DC Resistance, Shield - 0.0076 W/Ft

The OP has an AT-VM95E, a MM cartridge.

 

[Mr Boochie]

The OP has an AT-VM95E, a MM cartridge.

I'm talking about reducing noise picked up by the phono lines. Connected to either MM or MC cartridges.

Mine happens to be MC.

 

[Doug G.]

Are you referring to replacing the internal single-ended RCA cable from the turntable? It seems like you are talking about ordinary two-ended RCA cables you'd use for a CD player (or the output of a standalone phono preamplifier), because it seems unlikely there would be a need to replace the internal turntable RCA cables often, if ever.

Ordinary line-level RCA cables are unlikely to pick up noise because they have high signal levels (on the order of 1 volt). You don't really need quality with those 1volt line-level signals because any noise picked up would probably measure in the millivolts or less. The voltage levels coming out of the turntable, however, are only about 5mv (0.005 volts) for moving magnet and only about 0.5mv (0.0005 volts) for moving coil. The normal signal expected at a line-level input of an amp is around 1 volt, so the phono preamp needs to multiply that signal around 200 times for moving magnet, or 2000 times for moving coil. Any tiny bit of noise on the turntable RCA cable will be multiplied 200 or 2000 times before it's sent to the amp.

Bear in mind I have never replaced an internal turntable RCA cable -- so I'm not preaching and am happy to be corrected -- but it isn't difficult to see that any tiny bit of noise on the internal turntable RCA cable would be very audible through the amp after being multiplied by 200 or 2000 times in the phono preamp.

I am well aware of the electrical characteristics/issues involved and am generally referring to just working with turntables/preamps. Some have single-ended cables permanently installed and some have RCA jacks for use of separate cables. I have never heard any large scale differences in sound from a turntable by merely changing out cables.

Doug