Rega fono mini a2d hum anyone?

[mrbthebarber]

I bought this brilliant little unit a few weeks back and just love the sound it produces with my Rega 3 and Ortofon Mono cartridge. However I have had this constant watery , wavy hum since I installed it and as much as I love the unit, the noise is driving me crazy! Anyone else had similar and solved it? I have tried isolating the unit, plugging it in elsewhere, running earths from it etc etc etc but still it hums. I spoke to the very nice people at Rega who said that "all turntables will emit some hum when not playing music and it will get louder as the arm travels closer to the motor", which it is doing but this turntable didn't hum when run through the amps fono stage ( Aracm Alpha 3 ) , only this one and sadly the hum is so loud I can hear it when music is playing :-( Thanks in advance.

 

[BigH]

I bought this brilliant little unit a few weeks back and just love the sound it produces with my Rega 3 and Ortofon Mono cartridge. However I have had this conastant watery , wavy hum since I installed it and as much as I love the unit, the noise is driving me crazy! Anyone else had similar and solved it? I have tried isolating the unit, plugging it in elsewhere, running earths from it etc etc etc but still it hums. I spoke to the very nice people at Rega who said that "all turntables will emit some hum when not playing music and it will get louder as the arm travels closer to the motor", which it is doing but this turntable didn't hum when run through the amps fono stage ( Aracm Alpha 3 ) , only this one and sadly the hum is so loud I can hear it when music is playing :-( Thanks in advance.

Regas do seem to suffer from hum. Does your TT have an earth wire you can run to the phono stage? If its humming when music is playing I would take it back to dealer, either replace it or try a different phono amp. The Cambridge 751 is not bad and about £100. It seems it could be a design fault have a read of this: http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=65863

 

[mrbthebarber]

Hi and thanks for your reply. The turntable, as said, doens't hum when going through the amp phonon stage, only this one and to anwer your question, the Rega 3 is earthed internally within the arm ( black lead I believe ). I have however tried earthing at various points all over the TT, all to no avail :-(

 

[BigH]

Hi and thanks for your reply. The turntable, as said, doens't hum when going through the amp phonon stage, only this one and to anwer your question, the Rega 3 is earthed internally within the arm ( black lead I believe ). I have however tried earthing at various points all over the TT, all to no avail :-(

As said its a Rega design fault, I would return the unit for a refund and buy a different brand.

 

[davedotco]

Hi and thanks for your reply. The turntable, as said, doens't hum when going through the amp phonon stage, only this one and to anwer your question, the Rega 3 is earthed internally within the arm ( black lead I believe ). I have however tried earthing at various points all over the TT, all to no avail :-(

What cartridge are you using and how is it wired?

Sorry, it's an ortofon, my mistake. Wireing is still important, and is it metal bodied?

 

[nopiano]

Do I take it you have moved the Rega preamp around to a position that reduces or minimises hum? Or is what you are hearing the same regardless?

i have the earlier fono and I have to be careful where it is sited, to minimise induced hum.

 

[BigH]

In that link I posted one guy cured it, he said: "I figured it out. theres a 6.8uf 50v polarized cap missing from the circuit design. it goes inbetween the Zener Diode near the power plug and ground. "

When he put one in all the hum went.

 

[busb]

In that link I posted one guy cured it, he said: "I figured it out. theres a 6.8uf 50v polarized cap missing from the circuit design. it goes inbetween the Zener Diode near the power plug and ground. "

When he put one in all the hum went.

I'm thinking off buying one so will take this thread into account! I was also rather presuming its box is screened?!

 

[TrevC]

I bought this brilliant little unit a few weeks back and just love the sound it produces with my Rega 3 and Ortofon Mono cartridge. However I have had this constant watery , wavy hum since I installed it and as much as I love the unit, the noise is driving me crazy! Anyone else had similar and solved it? I have tried isolating the unit, plugging it in elsewhere, running earths from it etc etc etc but still it hums. I spoke to the very nice people at Rega who said that "all turntables will emit some hum when not playing music and it will get louder as the arm travels closer to the motor", which it is doing but this turntable didn't hum when run through the amps fono stage ( Aracm Alpha 3 ) , only this one and sadly the hum is so loud I can hear it when music is playing :-( Thanks in advance.

It doesn't sound all that brilliant to me.

 

[mrbthebarber]

Hi, I am afraid as of today I have given up on this unit and written to Audio T to return it. Sad to see it go because the sound reproduction from my mono cartridge, coupled to this fono stage was brilliant ... apart from that damned hum. To answer some questions, yes I have moved it all over the room, moved cables, changed power sources, earthed etc etc but still it remains. Such a shame as is such a brilliant unit otherwise ... as I find are all my Rega goods.

 

[nopiano]

Would be interested if they find it is faulty - I hope so for your sake - and intrigued if Rega have modified per that earlier post.

 

[mrbthebarber]

In that link I posted one guy cured it, he said: "I figured it out. theres a 6.8uf 50v polarized cap missing from the circuit design. it goes inbetween the Zener Diode near the power plug and ground. "

When he put one in all the hum went.

I wish I had the knowledge and skill to do this :-(

 

[BigH]

In that link I posted one guy cured it, he said: "I figured it out. theres a 6.8uf 50v polarized cap missing from the circuit design. it goes inbetween the Zener Diode near the power plug and ground. "

When he put one in all the hum went.

I wish I had the knowledge and skill to do this :-(

Yes but its not worth getting someone else to do it, I think its pretty bad that Rega first left this off and second don't seem to have cured it. You can either buy the more expensive Rega or another brand, Cambridge 640/651 have a good reputation and can be modified if you want to go down that route. The Project are also pretty good. See what your dealer says but if its less than 6 months old you don't need to prove its faulty.