Is ground noise really normal? If so, why?


I was playing my turntable for my kids tonight and remembering how amazing it is. But the ground noise between tracks was really bothering me and my kids asked what “that noise” was. I can’t imagine it’s not there during the songs. Am I missing something or is audible ground noise completely normal? I’ve had the tech over and I recall he thought it was normal. My turntable is a Clearaudio Performance DC and my phono preamp stage is a P-5xe Twenty. 

If this is normal, why? And are there companies out there that make phono stages that have no ground noise? It’s 2019 for godssakes. 

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Showing 1 response by pragmasi

I'd start by checking your interconnects are making good contact with the connectors on the TT and preamp (swap them out if you have spares), also check that the TT ground connector is securely connected to the preamp.
If the hum is still there then search up 'Ground Loops', it may be worth experimenting with ganging up all the mains plugs to a single wall socket if you haven't done that already.
Other than that I'd try to locate the source of the hum by disconnecting equipment until the hum goes away. Also check to see whether you have any equipment nearby that may be emitting interference.
The TT and preamp you reference look pretty high quality and I would not expect to hear any hum at all. The link provided by @hagtech looks like a good starting point.