Technics TT Noise

playittwice

playittwice

Super Member
I’m finally getting my TT spinning again. I installed a new Shure M97xe on my Technics SL D2 table. Now I do realize this is not a top shelf table but it’s one I’ve had for 30 years and it works and actually sounds pretty good. The issue I’m having is it has a kind of a wind blowing sound coming from it. Wow that’s a weird description but that’s how I describe it. Like it’s picking up the motor noise or tone arm. Kinda airy sound, most noticeable between songs but it’s there all the time just not as noticeable when there’s music playing. I put new RCA’s and ground cable on it. May be a ground issue, don’t know, thought I’d ask you folks here.

Thanks
 
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Have you removed the platter lately? If so, Can be a rub against motor cover beneath. Reset platter. On MKII's, It happens.
 
classic carl said:
I have a SL-D2 but have not had any issues with it. Does the sound you hear come through the speakers, or are you hearing it close to the turntable itself?
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Coming through the speakers. Really annoying sound. Kinda like your eardrums have water in them. Hard to describe.
 
Sounds like rumble. Does your amp have a low or rumble filter? If so, try that. Have you moved your turntable closer to your speakers?
 
classic carl said:
Sounds like rumble. Does your amp have a low or rumble filter? If so, try that. Have you moved your turntable closer to your speakers?
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My amp is a Sansui AU9500. No filter I’m aware of. My TT is distanced from the amp and speakers. 2 feet above the amp and 20 feet opposite wall from speakers. If it’s rumble is there a cure?
 
I am not sure, but have had *plenty* of problems that I managed to work through with my turntables. Try isolating exactly what is causing the problem - could be any number of things, from the needle, to the cartridge, to the wires, to the tt motor, to the pre-amp.. etc.

Just to be clear - its not the sound of the preamp in the Sansui - right? If you disconnect your turntable from the amp, and particularly if you can short the inputs, and turn it up, you will hear a windy sound and this is normal. But usually you have to turn the volume pretty far up for that.

Do you have another cartridge you can try?
Do you get the noise with the arm in the air over the record (needle not touching)?
 
Another trick you can try is to get a dual RCA to 1/8 inch jack and plug your turn table into your line-in on your computer. Record a record using the freeware Audacity, then use Audacity to apply the RIAA equalizer (Effect menu->Equalization->Select Curve->RIAA) to the recording; if the problem is with the table or the cartridge, you will hear it in the recording.

If it is the table, perhaps lube the motor on the Technics - that's the one thing I think you are supposed to do occasionally with these tables - there are instructions for this in the manual for it on hifiengine.com (https://www.vinylengine.com/library/technics/sl-d2.shtml), and the oil should be the recommended one or similar. I used SuperLube (long silver pen-like container) and it worked great on mine.
 
playittwice said:
My amp is a Sansui AU9500. No filter I’m aware of. My TT is distanced from the amp and speakers. 2 feet above the amp and 20 feet opposite wall from speakers. If it’s rumble is there a cure?
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It probably isn't rumble or feedback if your TT is that far away from the speakers. It must be a mechanical issue. Try lubing the motor per the directions in the owner's manual figure 20.
 
playittwice said:
No its not the amp. I tried hooking it to another amp and same results. Thanks for the tips, I will try to isolate it.
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Ok - all amps have phono stage preamp noise though, so another amp may not give you a good indication if your table has a problem. Sorry if I seem stuck on this, your description of the noise (wind blowing) in your first post is what a phono stage sounds like, which is why I thought it might be that.

Moving on -

A grounding problem would be that low bass hum, like a refrigerator noise , so I don't think it is that.
What o'clock is your volume knob at when you are playing?
Do you still hear the noise when you lift the needle off the record? Does it get louder with the needle suspended over the platter when closer to the center vs the edge?
 
You folks have some great ideas for me to try. I’m at work now and will try when I can and post my results. The volume knob is at 930-10 o’clock. I did try tapping on the tone arm with the table turning and tapping on the platter a bit as it spun and nothing seems amiss. I will do the other tests in a bit.

Thanks for the help.
 
Hi there, new to the forum. I just picked up a Technics SL-D30, which is a very similar table, and I'm having the same exact issue. I know exactly what you're describing. Mine modulates in volume as the table turns. It's not self noise or preamp noise, as this tends to be more of a static volume. It almost sounds like two soft stones slowly grinding against each other in the background. When the program material is loud, it's not very noticeable. But in soft passages it becomes like another instrument. Annoying! Very interested to hear what you come up with, as I will be trying to solve the same problem myself.
 
Great info - yeah the volume at 10 oclock rules out the phono stage; Yes, I think these Technics all use similar if not the same direct drive motors.

Another thing to try is play the record at 45 RPM. Does the pitch of the noise change? If so, the lube may help then.
Another guy had a problem with bearing noise in his rega motor and recorded it -
https://soundcloud.com/radiosurfer/regaproblem

I found another post where a guy said he had the weight too high and the suspension on the needle was bottoming out causing a similar noise.
The last post in this thread has that:
https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=37513&start=45
 
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