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Rega P3 Hum

troika said:
Yes. It behaves exactly the same as it does when the turntable is plugged in.

I also confirmed that it behaves the same plugged into a different line-input. The other line inputs (CD, DAC) do not hum.

The dealer offered to have me bring it in. Part of me expects it to not hum there, but, I think I've tried everything that I can here.
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take your receiver with it. Might actually be a receiver issue since your previous Phono stage also hummed. Maybe they can figure it out.

nashou
 
Nashou66 said:
take your receiver with it. Might actually be a receiver issue since your previous Phono stage also hummed. Maybe they can figure it out.

nashou
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I thought about that, but the phono hums no matter while line-in I use, but the CD player is quiet in the same line-in's.
 
troika said:
I thought about that, but the phono hums no matter while line-in I use, but the CD player is quiet in the same line-in's.
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Right but we need to know how the RCA's in the Creek are GND'd . opening it up or seeing a schematic is the only way to know. It might be just the way they do GND,s since its a modular design.
The non Phono Inputs may not be GND'd optimal for that receiver/Amp. Do you have another receiver you could try in your system? Not sure if that has been asked before . Or try the Phono pre and TT in another system.

Athanasios
 
I assume your new planar 3 has the plastic 3-screw mounting base. In this case what is connected on the negative wire ( shield) of one channel internally, is only the armtube, through the thin black wire.
On my rega tonearm, I have opened the bottom cap , cut the black wire and connected it on a dedicated ground wire that goes directly on my phono preamp ground terminal.
This is how it should be from the start anyway, either there is a hum or not. So, this is another way to experiment if you like.
 
LP-THORN said:
...either there is a hum or not.
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This is the issue that's being totally ignored in most of the posts on this thread - the hum changes as the arm is moved. It isn't a cause of "it hums" or "it doesn't hum", it depends on the position of the arm.
 
rothwellaudio said:
This is the issue that's being totally ignored in most of the posts on this thread - the hum changes as the arm is moved. It isn't a cause of "it hums" or "it doesn't hum", it depends on the position of the arm.
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A friend had a similar -not exactly same- problem with his old planar2/rb250 after some time he had his rb250 rewired.
After checking everything, problem was one of the internal wires with damaged insulation , touching the armtube when the arm was at the first 3-4 cm of the record.After that point, it was ok. I don't know what exactly it might be in this case. I would check everything , either it sounds logical or not. In any case, removing the ground from the negative of one channel , for me at least - is a must , even if it is not this that causes the problem.
 
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LP-THORN said:
A...problem was one of the internal wires with damaged insulation , touching the armtube when the arm was at the first 3-4 cm of the record.After that point, it was ok.
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Yes, I thought that was a possibility too, so I asked the OP to clarify. He said...

troika said:
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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I'm going to take it into the dealer/shop and let them test and chase. We'll see if it does the same on their bench. If so, it's under warranty, if not, the problem lives in my room and with my power.
 
Great call to ask them for help. Let us know what they find. Hum has driven many to distraction, especially in the phono world.
 
Stupid question here, but at normal listening levels is the hum noticeable-to-strong, or do you have to crank up the volume to hear it? I have heard very few phono combos that won't make some hum/hiss when the volume is cranked high. My rule of thumb is that if my normal listening levels don't exhibit hum/noise/hiss, after I've done my best to diagnose, I decide whether to live with it. Many phono listeners have to make that call in their own environments.

Second stupid question, but have you had other turntables in that same environment and did you get hum?

Last stupid question, will the retailer allow you to return the Rega for full value paid?
 
lazycat said:
Did they give any suggestions to try? Maybe try an ATVM95? Grasping at straws admittedly.
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I held back a little information because I was still working through the conclusions with the shop. "The shop" is a local place here in my town that specializes in hifi gear, new and used and I've dealt with them for years. Really good people and I just want to make sure that anything I say publicly about them is positive, whether I name them or not. I refer local people to them all the time without reservation. That said, this is a weird hobby and little things can (or can't) cause issues. They have been slammed through Covid because more people are investing in things to do at home and dealing with them for the last year, it's been clear that they've been stretching themselves a bit thin trying to keep us all happy, stay open, and keep themselves and their customers safe. I'm sure it's been a good sales and service run for them, but I can also see that it's been hard on them and they are an important part of our local community.

The Rega Fono MM was purchased from their used room and I didn't even look at it before, I just tacked it onto my new order and brought it home. I noticed (and commented here) that the power supply didn't appear to be the original one, but assumed that it was okay. It turns out it was the wrong type entirely. It's unlike them to miss something like that, but I guess so much stuff has been moving in and out that it may have only been there a day or two when I left with it. They tested the stage and determined that it wasn't damaged and was functioning properly and are providing me a proper Rega power supply free-of-charge. I won't be sure until I get it home if that's what was behind the problem, but it was something to get sorted anyway.

If I still have the hum, first of all, it doesn't affect hearing the music, it's just annoying in between, but I'll look at my power and things like the light fixtures in that room and see if I can find the source of interference. I've also got an internal Creek stage inbound. Creek tested a new-old-stock one and sent it to me internationally for 80GBP, which seems reasonable and I'll know definitively how these compare and contrast and can release one or the other into the wild once I've decided which to keep.

I have a gig tonight, so even if I pick it back up today, I won't get it setup and tested again until tomorrow or the weekend. Will report back, though.
 
Do you have fluorescent lights in your listening room ? I had hum issues with my old Onkyo TX4500 MKII receiver that I use with some horrid Bose 301 series II speakers in the garage (I like to listen to tunes when working on the cars). I traced it back to a bad ballast in the fluorescent light that hangs 3 feet above it.
 
Hopefully the correct p/s will solve this.
The Creek phono should be pretty good, probably at least the equivalent of the Rega. £80 was a bargain. lol
 
The Creek stage arrived today and is installed.


I'm not going to skip ahead to conclusions just yet. It's not broken in and it's Christmas Eve, so I have divided attention. But, it sounds VERY GOOD out of the box. Bass is noticably tight and clear in ways that I like. I have the Rega fono MM plugged into a line input now, so once the Creek is burned in I can A/B them, but I'm not hearing anything that I don't like coming out of it on my first record.

AND...the hum seems about 70% quieter and is almost gone by the time the arm reaches the first groove whereas it took most of the playable surface of the record with the Rega stage.

So, I'm feeling good.
 
Okay, so no heavy analysis or waxing philosophically about the shape of the mids:

The internal Creek phono stage is MUCH quieter than the external Rega stage that I was using and it sounds AT LEAST as good. It has more detail, maybe less romantic warmth. I do like warmth, but I'm not hearing anything that I don't like out of the Creek and though the hum still exists, i have to crank to volume past listening levels to hear it and it is gone quicker in the tone arm travel. So, without a proper burn-in of the Creek stage and an exhaustive A/B analysis, the Rega is going to eBay and I'm keeping the Creek. One less wall wart and set of RCA cables to boot and I'll actually re-claim some expense once the Fono MM is sold.

I'm calling this resolved. I really and truly appreciate everyone's advice and council on this. 2022 can be about listening rather than chasing gremlins.

EDIT: When I say it is "quieter" I mean the hum. The output appears to actually be hotter. I notice I set the volume lower for similar listening sessions.
 
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Great to hear resolution. IMO many, maybe most, phono rigs will not be silent with volume turned way up past normal listening levels. If I have to crank the volume to hear it I have decided not to worry about it. I have a Grado on my Rega and even with a humbucker, if I turn the volume up high I can hear it as I transverse the arm toward dead wax. I like the sound so much that the hum (that I don't hear anyway) doesn't bother me.

Enjoy the music in the new year!
 
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