Rega P6 picks up radio signal and hum

[babel]

Hi,

I've just bought a brand new Rega Planar 6 TT, fitted with an Audiotechnika VM750SH MM cart. It is plugged in directly into a Roksan Atessa via its built in phono preamp and connected to a pair of Dali Oberon 7. The main problem here is that it picks up RF signals--one of those Cristian stations (I mention this because they are famous for blasting their radio signal) and as a sonic bonus it also throws in a lovely hum. After some deep web research I've narrowed it down to:

- This just happens with the phono RCA inputs. The other analog and digital inputs are clean.
- All wires and intercoms unplugged (except obviously the P6), same problem...
- Speaker cables off and I still hear a hum and the radio aforementioned radio station through the headphone output.
- I disconnect the P6's RCA's and the problem goes away.
- I also tried unplugging the PSU... to no avail. That is not the problem.
- Out of sheer desperation I also tried the ol' trick of wrapping aluminum foil around the RCA cables. Nothing...
- Unplugged the router and wifi related appliances... Same.
- Took Bothe the P6 and the amplifier to a different room and listened through the headphones. Nothing...
- Tried with an old HK6300 Harman Kardon. Same problem
- Tried adding some ferrite braces to ALL the leads.... Nope...
- I live in the center of Madrid and I don't see any AM/FM antennas in the vicinity... but of course this is no proof there aren't any.

So I gather it comes form the turntable. Is it the RCA's, the cart, the tonearm, my electrical wiring distribution...? God knows... As most of you know, Rega fits the earth inside one of the RCA cables (I think it's the left one) so I can't "fiddle" with this option; the cables are also hard wired to the TT, so I can't try to replace them with better shielded ones.. Purchasing a phono preamp at this stage and risking it wouldn't solve the problem is a very discouraging option... There is no way to reach REGA tech service online or a proprietary forum to post or chat with a Rega technician

I'm desperate, since I can hear this "RF parasite" at a 30% volume and higher, so it spoils any vinyl I play. Tried everything above. About to throw the towel and stick to DIGITAL.

Anyone has any ideas that I haven't tried? It's really frustrating...

Thank you.

 

[daytona600]

Sounds like Poor shielding or Buy a technics / project or keep the Rega tuner

 

[Din5]

I would seek advice from a Rega dealer, I'm sure they will help even if you did not buy new/ or from them. You could also try the P6 with another amplifier ? just to test things further.

 

[Al ears]

I would seek advice from a Rega dealer, I'm sure they will help even if you did not buy new/ or from them. You could also try the P6 with another amplifier ? just to test things further.

he's already done that..
"Tried with an old HK6300 Harman Kardon. Same problem"

 

[Gray]

Hi,
Took Bothe the P6 and the amplifier to a different room and listened through the headphones. Nothing...

What does that 'nothing' there mean?
No cure or no interference in the different room?

 

[Al ears]

In some cases it is, unfortunately, better to sell on the turntable and purchase from a different manufacturer.
Can you try / borrow a different turntable?

 

[Gray]

Anyone has any ideas that I haven't tried?

If you've got an earth connection on your mains supply there in Madrid Babel, you could try connecting the TT ground to that.

Make sure it is an earth before holding the bare end of a wire connected to it, to TT ground (preferably while the interference is occuring) to see if that kills it.
Try it to the outer contact of both RCA plugs.

 

[Din5]

Hi, have a look at this video, How To: Ground a Rega Turntable - YouTube

Play the video from 1.50 onwards, where it assumes that you don't have a Rega Phono ( which has a grounding post). If this is the case for your setup, then as the video explains, attach a short length of thin wire onto the outer RCA connection of the Left Channel RCA plug, and attach the other end of the wire to the ground terminal on your amplifier. I guess this should complete the grounding circuit between your Left RCA plug (which Rega uses as the ground ) and the actual ground within your amplifier..
Let us know if this works for you ?

 

[Al ears]

If you've got an earth connection on your mains supply there in Madrid Babel, you could try connecting the TT ground to that.

Make sure it is an earth before holding the bare end of a wire connected to it, to TT ground (preferably while the interference is occuring) to see if that kills it.
Try it to the outer contact of both RCA plugs.

Rega turntables don't have a separate earth wire, there is no way he can do that

 

[Gray]

Rega turntables don't have a separate earth wire, there is no way he can do that

No they don't have a separate ground wire.
But they do have a ground - and by connecting a wire from mains earth to outer RCA plug, he will be connecting TT ground to mains earth.

 

[Gray]

Hi, have a look at this video, How To: Ground a Rega Turntable - YouTube

Play the video from 1.50 onwards, where it assumes that you don't have a Rega Phono ( which has a grounding post). If this is the case for your setup, then as the video explains, attach a short length of thin wire onto the outer RCA connection of the Left Channel RCA plug, and attach the other end of the wire to the ground terminal on your amplifier. I guess this should complete the grounding circuit between your Left RCA plug (which Rega uses as the ground ) and the actual ground within your amplifier..
Let us know if this works for you ?

I think it likely that the amp RCA socket grounds will already be electrically connected to its ground post.
But it's certainly worth a try 👍

 

[Al ears]

No they don't have a separate ground wire.
But they do have a ground - and by connecting a wire from mains earth to outer RCA plug, he will be connecting TT ground to mains earth.

I wouldn't even attempt that on a European socket system.
They are grounded via the left neg cartridge signal cable to the amp or phono preamp so adding another earth isn't going to solve anything, in fact it could make it worse.
Buy a different turntable.

 

[Gray]

I wouldn't even attempt that on a European socket system.

That's why I questioned whether he had a mains earth.
We've told others to connect TT grounds to mains earths before on here - no different.

Probably easy for him to return a brand new TT, but perhaps he may want to exhaust experiments first - unless he feels unsafe - or there is no mains earth in Madrid?? 👍

Of course, he shouldn't have to improvise.
But then he shouldn't have to be subjected to RFI.

 

[Gray]

Can you try / borrow a different turntable?

That should be the first move.

 

[Al ears]

That's why I questioned whether he had a mains earth.
We've told others to connect TT grounds to mains earths before on here - no different.

Probably easy for him to return a brand new TT, but perhaps he may want to exhaust experiments first - unless he feels unsafe - or there is no mains earth in Madrid?? 👍

Of course, he shouldn't have to improvise.
But then he shouldn't have to be subjected to RFI.

Most European plugs don't have three pins. Its pretty easy to access the earth pin in a UK plug but not so easy over there.
Mostly on this forum I have been telling people how to get rid of unnecessary earths....
Unfortunately the Rega method of earthing can cause more issues than it solves.

 

[Din5]

Here's another hopefully useful video about Rega TT's
turntable buzzing? simple guide to what may be going on. Using Rega Planar as example - YouTube

 

[Gray]

Unfortunately the Rega method of earthing can cause more issues than it solves.

Yes, certainly caused more than its fair share of issues for people.

 

[Al ears]

Yes, certainly caused more than its fair share of issues for people.

Which makes me wonder why people dont try before they buy when it's so well known...

 

[WayneKerr]

Maybe it's time for Rega to rethink their earthing solution as it sure as hell creates more problems than it solves

 

[daytona600]

3wire phono cable industry standard since the 1950s on millions of Turntables Rega use 2wire

 

[neozeo75]

Same crap is happening on my system (with McIntosh MA12000). The hum reduces as the turntable (P6) is further away from the amp, but I cannot put it so far away because these attached cables are short. I cannot even replace the cables (truly idiotic design). Plus, as the turntable itself is picking up the hum, I am not sure how far out it should be from the amp. I am using a rack from SolidSteel, and I do not want to keep adding the stack to secure enough distance. It is not cheap. Well, I am ditching the turntable and won't be coming near to anything stupid Rega. Never again (and I hope others learn from this before throwing money out of the window).

 

[DELBOY14]

Hi,

I've just bought a brand new Rega Planar 6 TT, fitted with an Audiotechnika VM750SH MM cart. It is plugged in directly into a Roksan Atessa via its built in phono preamp and connected to a pair of Dali Oberon 7. The main problem here is that it picks up RF signals--one of those Cristian stations (I mention this because they are famous for blasting their radio signal) and as a sonic bonus it also throws in a lovely hum. After some deep web research I've narrowed it down to:

- This just happens with the phono RCA inputs. The other analog and digital inputs are clean.
- All wires and intercoms unplugged (except obviously the P6), same problem...
- Speaker cables off and I still hear a hum and the radio aforementioned radio station through the headphone output.
- I disconnect the P6's RCA's and the problem goes away.
- I also tried unplugging the PSU... to no avail. That is not the problem.
- Out of sheer desperation I also tried the ol' trick of wrapping aluminum foil around the RCA cables. Nothing...
- Unplugged the router and wifi related appliances... Same.
- Took Bothe the P6 and the amplifier to a different room and listened through the headphones. Nothing...
- Tried with an old HK6300 Harman Kardon. Same problem
- Tried adding some ferrite braces to ALL the leads.... Nope...
- I live in the center of Madrid and I don't see any AM/FM antennas in the vicinity... but of course this is no proof there aren't any.

So I gather it comes form the turntable. Is it the RCA's, the cart, the tonearm, my electrical wiring distribution...? God knows... As most of you know, Rega fits the earth inside one of the RCA cables (I think it's the left one) so I can't "fiddle" with this option; the cables are also hard wired to the TT, so I can't try to replace them with better shielded ones.. Purchasing a phono preamp at this stage and risking it wouldn't solve the problem is a very discouraging option... There is no way to reach REGA tech service online or a proprietary forum to post or chat with a Rega technician

I'm desperate, since I can hear this "RF parasite" at a 30% volume and higher, so it spoils any vinyl I play. Tried everything above. About to throw the towel and stick to DIGITAL.

Anyone has any ideas that I haven't tried? It's really frustrating...

Thank you.

You could try an iFi DC blocker or ground loop eliminator on the amp, maybe both.

 

[Gray]

I cannot even replace the cables (truly idiotic design).

With a bit of effort, somebody could.
And, though not ideal, just extending them could be beneficial for you.
You say the hum reduces with distance - maybe you can eliminate it altogether.

 

[Oxfordian]

If my little grey cell's memory chip is working correctly, somewhere in all the bumf I had with my Rega P3, Fono and Neo was a line that stated that due to possible interference the Fono should be sited as far from the P3 as reasonably practical.

Now I have my phono stage (now a Lehmann Black Cube) at the very bottom of the hifi rack the amp on the shelf above then the CDT and the P3 at the very top, I have no interference.

As a suggestion and before you throw the whole kit out of the window in frustration, is it worth looking at how you have the kit sited and is it feasible to add a new or pre-loved Fono into the mix to extend the distance between the TT and Amp?

 

[nopiano]

You could try an iFi DC blocker or ground loop eliminator on the amp, maybe both.

Unfortunately he hasn’t been back since his first post! Complain and run is getting quite frequent!

Perhaps you were replying to the new guy with the McIntosh?