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Rega P3 Hum

rothwellaudio said:
...
Does the noise stop abruptly when the arm moves closer to the spindle, or does it fade away? ...
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Just tested this. The hums seems to fade to black as I move it in. I feel like it starts to decline about 2/3 of the way to the label is gone by the DeadWax.

I really appreciate all of the advice.
 
I watched a YT video from Audio Advice earlier this week about Rega table hum and they suggested something to try, which was connecting the left channel shield (outer wall of the RCA phono lead, left side) to the ground on the phono preamp. Since you're tracking and diagnosing, it would take five seconds to try such a thing, maybe check the video. They use a very thin stranded wire and wedge it in the 'notch' of the shield on the RCA lead as they insert it into the phono preamp, then attach the other end to the ground on the phono preamp.

I agree with a couple of other posters that you may just have a faulty tonearm ground. Did you buy this Planar 3 brand new? Man, if yes, I'd be looking to return that thing for another.
 
troika said:
@krautmaster

Not doubting you or dismissing your advice, but can you clarify for me whether you think this is causing/would resolve the issue I'm describing or if it is just meant as general advice?
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Many people over the years have complained of noise/hum coming from their Rega power supply (the cheapy "wall wart") when it is plugged into a plain old power strip. The linear power filter cleans up the "juice" and stops the hum.

You said that your power supply was a generic brand and not the one Rega supplies. It may not make enough power to correctly operate your table - many wall warts are 24Volt /100 mA, but the Rega supplied ones are 24Volt/350 mA.

It is also very important to try and keep the power cables away from the audio connection cables as much as possible, and if they do have to cross each other keep them at 90 degree angles.

The Pro-ject Debut Pro table I had for a very short while had a wall wart that was noisy as hell when plugged straight into the wall outlet (which I did when attempting to set the anti-skate) but when plugged into the Furman power filter it was dead silent.

You can search the intranets for the specific reasons you should use a linear power filter. Some are way to technical and written for electrical engineers, but here is one of the hundreds of sites you can browse:

https://audiobacon.net/2018/06/29/linear-power-supplies-for-audiophiles-getting-closer-to-live/
 
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Sorry @krautmaster, I don't necessarily disagree with you on the technical aspects you noted in your posts about power filters, but IMO we are talking about consumer devices here, not laboratory instruments. If the average consumer cannot take a consumer electronic device home and simply plug it into a wall socket and have it work correctly, it's not acceptable. If the OP cannot get his Rega machine to function properly, without contortions, the machine should be returned for a refund or sold off. It need not be more complicated than that.

I will never accept that I need some sort of power conditioning device(s) in order to properly use any record player or other gadget in my home. The advanced phono hobbyist can certainly take that route, but it's not something normal Joe hobbyist should *have* to do to enjoy reasonably good system performance.
 
The wall wart for my table is 100% the correct Rega one. The one for the phono stage is not branded and I picked it up used, so I don't know for sure about it.
 
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losthorizon said:
I had the same problem and I grounded the phono amp and the power amp without success, but when I put my hand under the plinth and touched the nut on the base of the arm everything went quiet, I connected a ground wire to the arm mounting nut and its perfect now.
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That's an excellent suggestion and easily done.
 
losthorizon said:
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I had the same problem and I grounded the phono amp and the power amp without success, but when I put my hand under the plinth and touched the nut on the base of the arm everything went quiet, I connected a ground wire to the arm mounting nut and its perfect now.
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@troika

Fingers crossed for you
 
Rega Tone arms have been known to hum. There are some who remove the GND strap from the base of the connector inside the barrel . I do not remember exactly how its done but it is out there on the internet.

Athanasios
 
losthorizon said:
I had the same problem and I grounded the phono amp and the power amp without success, but when I put my hand under the plinth and touched the nut on the base of the arm everything went quiet, I connected a ground wire to the arm mounting nut and its perfect now.
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I was excited to see this advice, but I don't think I'm quite following. Underneath the plinth, under the tonearm, there is nothing metal to ground to. The cables come out and there's a bit of a sleeve, but I don't see what I would use as a ground. Touching around down there with both my fingers and a wire doesn't change anything.

Can you clarify, please?


Nashou66 said:
Found the info

http://www.aqvox.de/REGA_250_300_Tonearm-mod-humm-free-remove-signal-groundrega_mod.html

Also another thing to try that is easier is to GND the motor to the Tonearm GND.

Athanasios
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This makes sense and (I think) is within my abilities, but I'm hesitant to perform a modification to a new, under warranty turntable. Rega does ground their tonearms, they just have their own way of doing it and in my case it either didn't work or the noise is coming from somewhere else.

I'm going to try a few other things before I think this direction and will talk with the dealer as well. It's possible that I should try a different unit or take it and the used Rega stage in and test there to see if it happens in their shop and if so, whether it happens regardless of which stage is used.

The 2nd hand stage is a variable that I don't think we can entirely ignore in this process. I think I'm going to take Creek up on their offer to send me an internal stage for $100USD and change. It's worth a try and I think I'm always going to wonder if the difference in audio is worth the expense and extra box. The extra box, extra power supply, and extra leads are each additional points of failure. If it dramatically improves the audio, then I suppose it's worth it since that's the point of hifi equipment, but if not, I'd prefer to simplify and it would actually enable me to recoup some of my investment. Had the Creek amp had the card installed when I auditioned it I would have either bought it because I was happy with the phono stage or opted for a different IA. I think point, I'm kind of attached to it and don't mind an external stage as long as everything is working and sounding as it should, but simplifying would be better, all things equal.
 
troika said:
This makes sense and (I think) is within my abilities, but I'm hesitant to perform a modification to a new, under warranty turntable. Rega does ground their tonearms, they just have their own way of doing it and in my case it either didn't work or the noise is coming from somewhere else.
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Yes but do they GND it to the motor? That is why needs to be done.

Athanasios
 
This is my last shot. First, you should really go straight to your dealer if this is a new turntable. This is a $1,000+ purchase and the seller needs to provide assistance IMO. One of the earlier posters mentioned a possible fault with the ground in the tonearm, and a switch to another like machine should immediately tell if that is the case. Part of your purchase pays for that warranty and service that you should use.

Second, have you had another turntable in this same system? Did you have a hum issue if yes?

Do you have another turntable on hand that you can insert to see if there is a hum?

It would potentially be helpful to know whether hum with turntables has been an ongoing problem for you. If not, then it's very likely the Rega.
 
troika said:
Just tested this. The hums seems to fade to black as I move it in. I feel like it starts to decline about 2/3 of the way to the label is gone by the DeadWax.
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This is the key to your issue. How can the hum be bad at the start of a record and virtually gone at the end? The only thing that makes any sense is the change in the position of the arm and cartridge relative to a magnetic field, ie another piece of equipment containing a mains transformer. No amount of PSU changes, additions of ground wires, changes of phonostage or additions of mains purifiers can account for it or make any difference.
What's under the turntable? What's behind it? What's near it at all? Find what's producing the magnetic field and move the turntable out of it.
 
If the turntable motor is the source of the hum it should be easy to verify. Turning on the motor will start the hum. Turning it off will stop it.
 
It hums whether the motor is turning or not.

On the shelf below it is the Rega fono MM and a Lenovo computer.

I'll try some other things this weeek and will give a call to the dealer.
 
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