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Phono cable recommendations

I own a VPI Classic 3 to.  My cartridges are low output MC's (.2mV, and .5mV).  I experience a low level hum (not terribly bad, but noticeable when the volume is up).  My phono preamp is an Sutherland AcousTech PH-1P.  My preamp is an Audible Illusions L3.
Using different interconnects from my tt to my phono preamp have lessened the amount of hum I hear, but have never eliminated the hum.  Of course the different interconnects present different qualities.  Some good, some not so good (I had good results using Siltech FTM 4 Sg, quiet, but I felt the sound was too dark for my taste, my favorite was the Anti-Cable level 4....beautifully transparent, detailed, huge sound stage, but noisy, Audioquest Cheetah IC's....nice, but still a little noisy).
My two questions are:
1.  Will a dedicated 'phono interconnect' be more appropriate in this position (tt to phono preamp)?
2.  Any recommendations (say up to the $1k price point....please include inexpensive recommendations also)?
In advance, thanks, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts / recommendations!
louisl
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,381 posts
 
I found the VPI phono cable works best on my Prime and I get 0 hum!
mr_m
1,900 posts
 
Make sure the phono cable has grounding wires attached to it. Purist Audio makes some nice phono cables.
mdelrossi1
79 posts
 
Just picked up an Audio Sensibility phono impact se. Sounds great, better than my other shielded DIY cable which was no slouch.This cable is made with cryogenically treated, Teflon insulated, 7N Ohno Continuous Cast (OCC) copper. $174 CDN. They have more expensive cable, solid silver that are under $1K. they also have a sale on now till April 30th.
louisl OP
183 posts
 
Thanks to all for your suggestions.
mdelrossi...I will definitely check out the Audio Sensibility cables, thank you.
jbrrp1
423 posts
 
I experienced a low level hum like you describe for many years, and through many different cable changes it persisted.  I tried all kinds of move to improve the situation, and all of my changes in associated gear and cable routing, grounding lifts, etc. never really did much to mitigate it.  (Oh, some made it dramatically worse, and were reversed immediately!)

But a cable eventually did improve things, and in a very distinct way.  As soon as I installed a used Stealth Hyperphono from the DIN out of the tonearm to the RCA's into my phono stage I have enjoyed hum free LP's ever since.  This cable exceeds the stated budget, but it does provide an example that demonstrates that a cable can make the difference.  I'm not really sure I can pinpoint just what it is in the Hyperphono's design that accounts for the quiet I hear, but it is doing something right, and hopefully there are more cables out there that can bring this kind of relief for you.
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