Phono preamp make crackling noise


Looking for advise from any of the audio Gurus.

My set up consist of Unison research Unico pre connected to Auris audio Forte 150 mono blocks, my speaker are Focal Sopra N3. I also have BLUESOUND NODE 2 (Dac/ streamer).
I do not have any issue with noise when I play music through my BLUSESOUND NODE either Tidal or Spotify..
I recently purchased Unison Research Simply phono Tube Phono amp with separate power unit. As soon as I connect the ’Simply phono’ to pre amp and set to appropriate input I get crazy cracking noise on my speakers. It is not a ’Hum’ like you hear with ground issue. I don’t even need to switch on the Turntable. It overpowers the sound of my music.
I am trying to eliminate each piece of my equipment. I even took my Phono preamp and the preamp to a Hifi audio store . we connected my equipment at the store and amazingly it played without any noise. I have changed interconnects / power cables still it is noisy . Looks like the issue is in the wall electrical. I just moved to a new house.
Any help will be appreciated. I even tried to move my NAS drive away. Just driving me nuts!!!!
128x128vishu
The real culprit behind phono stage noise is the fact there has to be a huge amount of gain. Unlike line stage components (CDP, tuner, DAC) all of which have outputs in the range of single digit volts (why they are all called line stage in the first place) the phono stage sees cartridge output in millivolts. It is because the phono stage has to have enough gain to bring millivolts up to volts that even the tiniest bit of noise into the phono stage can result in the most horrible loud noises coming out the other end. Not just hum but pops, cracks, shrieks, even radio station broadcasts, sometimes so bad you can hear the noise change as you walk around the room and reach for the connection, volume, etc.

I'm explaining all this because if your story is true and complete then its a travesty the store didn't explain any of this. Because they for sure ought to know. Everyone with a turntable ought to know. When you hear noises like this it is NOT the phono stage. Or at least hardly ever is. Its the signal coming into the phono stage.

What you should have taken in is your phono stage and turntable. That's what they should have told you to do. Specifically, the most likely culprit is the connection from the table to the stage. Clean the you know what out of both ends. While tracking it down do as Keith Herron suggested to me and stick with plain old alcohol and clean cotton cloth. 

Seriously, I know things are bad but still can hardly believe it. You took your stage and pre and they didn't say what we need is the table? Incredible.
millercarbon
You are absolutely right about the gain. I don't understand why a phono stage that cost $2500 CAD have fixed gain of 52db? I was keen on tube phonos staged that's why I bought the 'Simply Phono',otherwise solid state Gold note PH10 is an amazing phono stage , where you can adjust the gain.  Ph10 did not crete any noise in my system. I tried couple of phono player, both were noisy. My issue is without even turning on the phono player, by just turning on the phono preamp, connected to my preamp I hear this very unpleasant  noise. As soon as I unplug the RCA to pre amp or turning off the phono stage the noise disappeares. I also found out any wifi extender  plugged into wall socket close to my equipment induces considerable noise.
What's your cartridge's voltage, is it MC or MM? The crackling noise is usually from the tubes especially if they're running through a very high gain stage like 52 dB. Depending on the tube type you may be able to try a lower gain/noise version, e.g., 12AU7 vs. 12AX7, etc. 
The factory tube is  four ECC83 Valve – also known as the 12AX7.
I tested it on MM cartridge. 
The store is figuring it to be issue with my wall power and wifi adapters noise being picked up by my phono stage and amplifying  it many times.
I have an electrician coming today to check it out. 


is the turntable grounded to the phonostage? and have you also tried adding a ground from phonostage to the preamp via a screw on the chassis if it doesn't have a grounding post.  Most likely a grounding issue.
Cytocycle agree that’s what happen to me, I have to buy the Audioquest ground wire...from tt to preamp...
I resolved my issue. I tried seeking help in various forum and personally spoke with  guys at local audio store. I took my Unison research 'simply phono' and my Rega P3 turntable with my interconnects to the store and hooked it up to their system. There was no noise of any kind . 
Finally I found the culprit. I had a 'wifi adapter'  plugged into the electrical socket close to my audio equipment from which I was hard wiring my NAS drive and Bluesound node streamer. 
Just removed the 'wifi adapter' and the noise disappeared. These wifi adopter create a big noise in the net work.  I hard wired the USB directly from main Router and have no issues.