Clearaudio Emotion - please help

[admin_exported]

Hi guys,

I've recently upgraded my turntable, from an NAD to a Clearaudio Emotion, and at the same time put a Pro-ject phono stage in between the turntable and the amp.

My problem is that it hums, a loud and obtrusive hum even when the motor is off and the tonearm's in it's rest. Just selecting the appropriate source on the amp produces the hum through the speakers, so I'm pretty convinced it's to do with the earth. I've sent it back to the shop, who've tested it, and sent it back saying that it's fine, so I think the tonearm itself is OK.

If I connect the earth lead to the post on the back of the phono stage, the hum is horrible. If I connect it to the post on my amp (Rotel RA-01), it gets a bit better, and if I touch the tonearm too, it gets slightly better still.

Has anyone had this problem, or got any suggestions about how I can improve the earth? Anyone out there using a Clearaudio Emotion with no problems?

Thanks

Chris

 

[Tear Drop]

Make sure the cartridge (headshell) leads are connected to the correct pins on the cartridge. If they are and the problem persists then I would suggest that something, somewhere, is faulty, and don't be fobbed off by the dealer. Did you have any problems with your old TT?

 

[Tear Drop]

Just re-read your post - another possibility is the Project phono section may have a fault. See if you can get your hands on another one and do a comparison.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Teardrop, thanks for your help. No, I didn't have any problems at all with my previous TT, but the NAD didn't have a separate earth lead. I guess it was earthed via the power cord.

The posts on the back of the cartridge are colour coded. I'll check them again, but I'll be pretty disapointed if I've managed to get them wrong!

I've tried the setup with and without the phono stage (the amp does have an internal one), and there's little diference to the hum, so I'm pretty sure that's not the culpret.

I guess I'll have to send it off for someone to check if I can't find the solution.

 

[matengawhat]

i had a major issue with project and rksan kandy kit - the two really didn't lik each other - but if you have connect direct to amp and same issue that would suggest the deck not the amp or phono stage

 

[Anonymous]

I'd love to head from anyone out there that's using a Clearaudio Emotion sucessfully.

I'm wondering if I need to get a cartridge with a higher output. The goldring electra on my NAD was similar output to a line level input (after going through the phono stage, of course), so the volume knob on my amp would be in pretty much the same position regardless of the source.

The Clearaudio cartridge however is much lower output, which means that I have to turn the volume knob up way higher, and consequently the hum is much louder too.

If that doesn't work, I don't really know what to do.

 

[fatboyslimfast]

You could try coupling the earths (i.e. connect the turntable to the ground on the phono stage, and then connect that ground to the amp's ground using a small length of cable).

It won't cause any problems, but might just sort it (I had a similar problem with a different piece of kit, and grounding the two solved it).

 

[John Duncan]

Have to type this again since my internet connection is being suboptimal........

Firstly, try all the earthing tips above. If those aren;t doing anything for you:

Phono stages nearly always introduce hum - how much depends on the gain required. Since you mention low output, am presuming you have a moving coil cartridge ratyher than moving magnet, correct? If you have the mk1 project pho stage, I think it was only moving magnet - if you have the mk2, then you should check it's switched to "MC".

If that's not the problem, you may have to bite the bullet and do one of a) get a phono stage that has a higher output, b) get an MC step up transformer, c) get a phono stage that has variable gain to match correctly to the crtridge like the Trichord Dino.

jd