A hum which increases as the tone arm gets closer to the spindle. Help!

[admin_exported]

I recently bought a Rega P2 with the factory fitted Rega Bias 2 cartridge and it hums! When everything is on and the arm is in the rest it is silent but as soon as I pick up the tone arm and move it towards the record a quiet hum begins and by the end of the record when I take the arm off the hum is loud.

What can be the problem here? It shouldn't be an earthing problem as I understand the Rega P2 are earthed through the connected phono lead.

Any help would be really appreciated.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Loose tag-wire on the cartridge? Seems like it gets louder as it gets closer to the motor, so either there's a problem in the cartridge or maybe a loose wire in the motor.

A call to Rega should clear it up...

 

[chebby]

I had this very combination when I bought my P2 last year.

Experienced no such hum.

The earthing is connected to the inside of the arm so it is possible something has come adrift there.

Your P2 is recently purchased so arrange for an exchange/repair with your Rega dealer.

Here is a pic showing the earth tag inside an RB-250 with the counterweight stub unscrewed (this one had to be re-soldered)...

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your help. So annoying, I'll be on the phone to them first thing tomorrow!

 

[chebby]

tjsshanty:Thanks for your help. So annoying, I'll be on the phone to them first thing tomorrow!

Make sure it is done through your dealer though. If you get through to Rega they will advise the same.

 

[Anonymous]

Sure thing, thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey guys, I took the turntable to my dealer and they informed me that the hum is normal! They consulted Rega and apparently it is a known "characteristic" of the turntable; as the arm gets closer to the motor you get a bit of feedback. They played me a P3 and it did the same thing.

I would be interested to know what you guys reackon.

 

[chebby]

Never experienced it ever.

Since 1983 I have owned two Rega Planar 3's and this (current) P2. No hum on any of them ever, even at loud volume.

A friend owns the new P3-24 that I listen to regularly when I visit. No hum.

I even know someone who has had the old (R200 arm version) Planar 3 since about 1979 and that has no hum either.

Where does the hum come from? The speakers or the motor or where? How loud is it?

 

[chebby]

Is your Rega very near the amp?

I have just read a couple of accounts of people with P3's (both with Elys cartridge) who moved their turntable away from their amp and cured the problem.

Someone suggested the Rega Bias and Elys cartridges are prone to picking up stray EMF. (Apparently certain Grado cartridges would suffer from this too.)

My Rega P2 is about 3.5 metres from my amp. I no longer use the Bias 2 cartridge but don't recall any hum when I was using it.

 

[Anonymous]

It comes from the speakers, it is pretty quiet and noticeable only at reasonably high volumes and is inaudible if music is playing. I only hear it when the record has finished but if I simply pick up the tone arm and move it towards the spindle I can hear it and the noise increases as the arm approaches the spindle.

I thought it was rubbish when the dealer told me it was a "characteristic" of the turntable but having heard another Rega do the same thing I don't know what to think. I am probably just being anal and oversensitive!

On another topic, roughly what is the break in period for the P2?

 

[chebby]

The 'break-in' period will be for your cartridge. About 20 - 25 hours of playing time I would say.

More important thngs are...

Is the deck on a rigid, levelled platform away from speakers (and away from their 'firing line')?

Never place it on large hollow structures like cupboards/sideboards/cabinets and never 'stack' it on top of other equipment.

Levelling is important with any turntable. Use a trustworthy spirit level and adjust the spikes on the support/table.

Double check your tracking force with a stylus tracking force gauge.

The anti-skate/bias slider may not need to be as high as the instructions recommend. Even with a level support you will find the RB250's anti-skate quite agressive. Try setting the slider to about half of what it should be. (If you are tracking at 1.8grams then set anti-skate slider to 1 or less).

 

[Lost Angeles]

I have just tried this on my system by turning the amp up to 2 o'clock and cannot here any noise wherever i move the arm too. My P3 which I have had since 1986 sits on the top of my rack with my amp on the next shelf down and my RH speaker not far away.

 

[Anonymous]

Its placed on a very sturdy and heavy table which I have leveled.

Unfortunately due to the small size of the room that it is currently set up in it is fairly close to the speakers, although it is slightly behind them and so hopefully not in their firing line. What problems would I experience if it is too close? Presumably the sound from the speakers can interfere with the tracking?

I don't own a stylus force guage and so I have just gone on what the instructions say. However, I did have some difficultly making the arm "float" 1mm above the record for zero balance. When it did float it would move back to the arm rest, I put this down to over aggressive anti-skate.

P.S. Thanks for all your advice Chebby, it is really appreciated.