Phono Hummmmmm

Posted by: Andy Moore on 04 April 2002

I've finally got my hands on a Tom Evans Microgroove and am thrilled... almost.

I have a distinct hum on the left channel, not a buzz which might be an earthing problem but a hum with a definate pitch (approximately a 'G' I'd say).
The Microgroove is on its own wall shelf about 9" above my amp and I have a DV17d2 and RB300. I've tried moving it futher away from my amp but this has no effect.
The hum stays on the left channel if I swap the inputs over and goes completely if I unplug the source.
My dealer is going to contact Tom to see what he says, but in the meantime does anyone else have any ideas?

Andy.

Posted on: 04 April 2002 by Jo Sharp

Probably a fault in the phono amp -duff capacitor or something simple. Get your dealer to take it back and test it in his shop.

Posted on: 05 April 2002 by Andy Moore

Thanks for the reply, I hope it is something simple. My biggest worry is that they will say "It's supposed to be like that" which is obviously rubbish.
I've tried moving it as far from the rest of my equipment as my cables will allow with no improvement. I've even tried putting it directly on top of my amp to see what kind of noise that makes and that was more of a buzz...

Anyway, I'm taking it back today and hopefully will get a replacement asap.

Andy with fingers crossed.

Some are into rubber, I prefer Vinyl.

Posted on: 05 May 2002 by Andy Moore

Here I am about a month down the road and I am still without a working Microgroove.
Tom Evans reckoned the hum was caused by the power lead running too close to a capacitor. I got the unit back, but it was still humming. My dealer then arranged for a completely new unit which I tried with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.
At first I thought everything was ok but soon enough I noticed the hum, not as loud as before but still loud enough to be annoying. Soon after this the whole right channel fried itself so I now had two reasons to take it back.
My dealer is going to try and sort it out again but I'm starting to wonder if it's worth while.

Interestingly enough my dealer has loaned me a Trichord Dino in the meantime. I decided to see if I get the same hum. I do, but it is so quiet that you can only hear it when the volume is at ridiculous levels. I can't hear it at all when playing music and to be honest my time with the Dino has been quite enjoyable.

So it would seem that there is something in my system that is causing a hum that the Tom Evans is making a big issue of. I'm worndering if its anything to do with earthing, loading or even if there is a problem with my DV17d2.

Any more ideas?

Andy. confused

Posted on: 05 May 2002 by garyi

my 17d2 never immited even a fart for the 4 odd years I had it, if thats any help.

Posted on: 05 May 2002 by Rico

Has your dealer popped around for a recce?

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Still, at least it's not a big hummer.

Rico - SM/Mullet Audio

Posted on: 12 May 2002 by Raphael

Hi there
I recently experienced this problem as I moved away from a full Naim set up and went to a line-stage only amp. I then tried a whole series of phono stages from various friends and found I was getting hum with some phono stages and not with others. The culprit turned out to be - and earth wire from the cartridge. Disconnecting this eliminated the hum. I guess with all the different bits of equipment in use, I was getting some kind of earth loop. I am now very happy with the EAR phono stage. I could not stretch to Tom Evans' price and so never did try it.
Good luck
Raphael