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Connecting the ground wire makes music less lively

Friends,
Lately for some strange reason I heard hum from my TT setup. When I connected the tonearm ground wire to the phono the hum was gone. Thats the good news. The bad news is, when I heard the music with the ground wire connected, it sounded less lively, less palpable. Some vitality was taken away. When I remove the ground wire the life in the music is again back, just that the background hum is audible during silent passages (thats irritating). Has anyone else heard this effect ? Is there a solution to this problem ?

My phono stage is very heavy and can't be moved around. I have to say this problem is quite disturbing because either way there seem to be a serious compromise which is not really the fault of the components.
pani

Showing 9 responses by pani

pani OP
1,214 posts
 
My system:
Garrard 301 turntable
SME M2-12 tonearm
Audio Technica ART9 and Denon 103r cartridges
Naim Superline/Supercap phonostage
Lamm LL2 preamp
FM Acoustics F10 power amp
Tannoy Turnberry SE speakers

Cables are all Mogami 2803 with Auditorium 23 speaker cables
pani OP
1,214 posts
 
What should I exactly do to the Garrard ground ?
Should I connect a cable from the motor bracket to the ground of the AC mains ?
pani OP
1,214 posts
 
I tried borrowing a friend's pro-ject phono stage which has variable gain options. I noticed that with this phono there is no hum at 40 db and 50 db gain, however the moment I switch the gain to 60 db (that is the max gain on this phono) the hum is back. Can this be used as a clue ?
pani OP
1,214 posts
 
Atmasphere, this hum issue is a recent one. It did not happen before. The cables were no different. Moreover the Mogami 2549 and 2534 cables that I use are extremely low capacitance cables. I also have a Van Den Hul D501 phono IC which also doesn't solve the problem.
pani OP
1,214 posts
 
Another observation: I noticed that when I switch off the motor of my Garrard 301 the hum changes. It becomes thinner and slightly less prominent. Does that mean it is something to do with the Garrard motor grounding ?
pani OP
1,214 posts
 
100 ohms loading
pani OP
1,214 posts
 
What exactly does it mean by ground the Garrard motor ? Please advise since I am a total novice at DIY.
pani OP
1,214 posts
 
The Garrard motor has only two wired terminals. But my upgraded pc has 3 wires. The ground wire is just left taped and loose on the motor end. Should I connect this ground wire to some area on the motor ?
pani OP
1,214 posts
 
Hi Pradeep,
You are using a SUT with a low gain MM stage, that should not cause a hum IMO. In my system when I use a lower gain stage the hum is gone. The hum is only there when I use the highest gain on the phono. Unfortunately my MC cart needs the highest gain so I have no choice.

Do you hear the hum with both your turntables ?
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