2. analog
  3. 1104841130

Please Help My TT is acting like a tuner

I have a Rega p9 turntable, Shelter 501 cart, Bat pk5 phono stage, Viva 300b amplifier and Galante Symphony loudspeakers. I never had any problems with my system until I moved.

Ever since I moved into my new home, I have been picking up radio stations through my TT. The oldies station comes through loud and clear every time I try to play a record!! I have tried everything: powerwraps, ferrite clamps, grounding, lifting the ground, aluminum foil, etc. The oldies station does not stop playing!!!

I am pretty sure it is the TT because the station does not play when the TT is not connected but the BAT phono is loud by itself and is making a crackling whurring sound.

Anyway I am beyond frustrated and am ready to sell my analog gear and just use digital. I have moved my system into every room in my house to no avail, I still hear the oldies station

Please help if you know what I can do. The Rega tonearm cable is hardwired. Is this my problem? Should I get a TT that has the ability to change out cables so that I can use a really powerfully shielded cable? Do the tubes need replaced in the BAT? Or will nothing work and should I either deal with the oldies station or focus on digital?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

rich62
rich62 OP
30 posts
 
Why my stylus? Is it just Shelter 501 or all MC carts?
musicslug
430 posts
 
before you go rewiring or selling your TT, I'd suggest doing a couple of tests.
1.try to get another TT, with a different (shielded?) cable into your system to see if it really is better
2.unplug the TT, leave on the phono setting and see if there's still RFI - if so, it's the amp that needs better shielding and you're just hearing it on the phone setting because the gain is much higher

I used to have terrible RFI in my last place. It was coming through the windows! Even wrapping the TT cable with shielding didn't help. I eventually had to move the stereo (minus the speakers) to the floor underneath (below ground level) to solve the problem.
Some other things that you might play around with: get a sheet of steel (baking sheet?) or some chicken wire and see if you can affect the RFI by moving it around your components. Also, rotating components 90 degrees sometimes helps. It can be helpful to 'dress' your cables (i.e. supend them, make sure they don't intertwine with power cords etc.). Get a friend to listen as you move your interconnects around to see what helps. Also, ask local audiophiles what they know about RFI hot spots in your area. Good luck!
rich62 OP
30 posts
 
Thanks Musicslug. I am going to shield the phono cables with bendable copper tubing and fool around with the grounding of the TT and phono. Hopefully this will work because nothing else has. I am going to call Victor at BAT about whether the Phono Stage can be tweeked for this type of problem. I will fill you guys in if he has any ideas.

Should I ground the copper tubing? Should I ground to the base of the tonearm or the motor or both? Any thoughts on how to ground the system?
aceto
273 posts
 
I had a similar problem. Turned out to be my plumbing. It was acting like a tuner fixed on one a.m. frequency and it induced an audible signal with my turntable. I had to change its orientation and the induction stopped. BTW, my cd player pushes its output through the power cord and into my house wiring. It plays on my car radio in the garage, my portable radio in the next room and makes lines on my TV two floors up.
mpoulos
12 posts
 
Have you seen the clamp on magnets that they use on computer cables? I had the same issue with my ET2 until I clamped one on the tonearm wire. Works perfectly.
Good luck
More to discover