VPI Classic hum

Running the Kimber Silver Streak from the junction box to the phono preamp. Nothing fancy and I'm not sure how shielded it is, but no "hum" to be bothered by. Of course you're going to hear more "hum" on quiet passages; it's nothing to do with shielding, but the nature of the medium. I have five gain settings on my preamp and the noise increases with the gain but so does the dynamic range. Once the music kicks in, it's a non-issue. If you want no noise at all during quiet passages or lead-in, switch to CDs.

What was the problem with the motor?

Your second post suggested that you were bothered by some noise on the lead-in and quiet passages and were trying to eliminate it. If you have buzzing sound coming from the speakers that's one thing, but I stand by my statement that some noise is inherent in the medium and those looking to eliminate it completely should switch to CDs. Doubtless, it might vary with different cartridges and cables (Grados are notorious for picking up hum with the Classic, for example), as well as with the quality of vinyl certainly. However, I've heard mega-buck systems and I'm sorry but at higher listening levels there will be noise, especially with tube amplification. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your posts.

I've had my Classic I with the Valhalla wiring, and a Lyra Delos for over two years now, and after three or four different interconnects across my system, three different speaker cables, two different phono preamps, a line preamp and power amp upgrade, I have not experienced any hum so many posters here complain of. I run tube line preamp and monoblocks so I do have what I'd describe as "hiss" when I turn the volume up to about a 90 dB level, but it has no effect on the sound; record imperfections are way more obvious than any hiss during quiet passages. So I'm puzzled by this mysterious hum problem and why the turntable would need any fixing or looking at. It's most likely poorly shielded cartridges than might be picking up some interference. I'm not sure how VPI or a VPI dealer can possibly fix the problem.

Btw, Macster, I also bought my Classic and the rest of my system from Stereo Unlimited in San Diego. If you want to get in touch, feel free to email me at [email protected].