I recently bought a Planar 25 to go with my Grado "Reference Reference" ($1200/high output). Yep, it hums. Motor off, nothing; running, more hum closer to the spindle. No surprise as the wooden cart body offers no shielding, and Rega's too cheap to shield their motor. But let's put the hum contribution to the total record noise in perspective. With a quiet phono preamp and my better records, the hum on the last track at loud volumes is notably less than the groove rush and occasional crackle. And because it is a constant hum vs the varying noises of an LP, you tend to psychoacoustically tune it out more. I was planning to invest in shielding initially, but I simply haven't found it objectionable. Noticeable, yes if you're listening for it, and admittedly not the best synergy. I know there must be many out there who would consider anything less than total background silence unlistenable, if so, stick with CDs :-)
Seriously, the best solution around this I'm aware of is to buy the low-output Grados (0.5mV). Not only do they sound somewhat better if you've a good MC preamp, but there is far less wire to pick up the motor EMI, so hum for the same setup is reduced by at least an order of magnitude and rendered a non-issue.
Seriously, the best solution around this I'm aware of is to buy the low-output Grados (0.5mV). Not only do they sound somewhat better if you've a good MC preamp, but there is far less wire to pick up the motor EMI, so hum for the same setup is reduced by at least an order of magnitude and rendered a non-issue.