I was recently asked...
And here was my response...
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I've had some good and one bad result in this area. I think it depends on the many factors that can come into play in an audio system e.g.
Having said that - A friend with an all tube system experienced terrible hum
Other DIYers have reported excellent results, but their gear was top quality and they appreciated the need for cable positioning - some with tube and some with solid state
I generally recommend using 24 gauge wire for the signal and 20 gauge Mil-Spec for the neutral with a 4:1 or even 5:1 ratio of neutral to signal wire length - the reason for such light gauge is that thinner gauge wires are less responsive to RFI
The helix acts like a faraday cage for some protection, but it is not a "fully screened" solution
As an example - I tried a standard IC (16 gauge Duelund signal and 2 x 16 gauge mil-spec) in my system and held the IC against a Helix power cables in my clenched fist - with the amp on Phono and turned up to full volume I did hearjust a little hum
By comparison - you could hear hum at normal volumes on my friends all tube system with the cables separated
So it is not as simple as i would like in order to recommend using Helix for TT's
It's more a case of try a regular Helix IC and if that works go for the lighter gauge version
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So, under the "right conditions" The helix Interconnect will provide exceptional performance between a turntable and phono stage.
Unfortunately I cannot say exactly what those conditions are, but if you already have a pair of IC's, try connecting them between your TT and phono stage to see if there is any hum - the "conditions" in your system may be "just perfect"
NOTE: If your Turntable has RCA socket outputs on the rear and there is some RFI interference in the form of HUM or you can hear a radio channel - all is not lost...
- TT's that have RCA Sockets generally also have a ground wire terminal that should be connected to the ground terminal on your phono stage.
- one might think the neutral side of the RCA is connected to that ground wire terminal, but there is a case for not connecting them, so leaving them disconnected is the best option
- I found a simple solution to this problem on the web - Simply attach a small piece of wire from the ground terminal around the neutral side of each RCA socket - apparently it works very well
BTW - for best grounding results from TT to phono stage I ensure a Spade or Ring connectors makes the connection - NOT bare wire
Regards - Steve
Do you consider these cables shielded? For example, could the ICs be used on a phono stage and keep noise out?
And here was my response...
---------------------------------
I've had some good and one bad result in this area. I think it depends on the many factors that can come into play in an audio system e.g.
- grounding of components
- for example, NAIM only grounds the neutral on their source components - not the amps
- their approach often leads to hum when non-Naim source components are used
- grounding the neutral side of the amp circuit will fix this issue - by making a grounding lead
- grounding of the turntable arm
- if done right there should be no problem, but many times it is arm grounding is incomplete
- Cartridge selection
- some cartridges can be more prone to RFI
- e.g. Grace cartridges can produce hum on some Rega TT's
- wiring of the arm
- I use a one piece harness from the cartridge to the phono stage
- some TT's has a joint to a larger gauge cable at the arm anchor point
- some have phono sockets at the rear of the turntable
- Any of the above can be problematic
- the phono stage
- good ones mitigate a lot of RFI issues
- phono stages with grounded power supplies are often the best choice
- tidy cable positioning
- poor positioning will exacerbate the situation
Having said that - A friend with an all tube system experienced terrible hum
Other DIYers have reported excellent results, but their gear was top quality and they appreciated the need for cable positioning - some with tube and some with solid state
I generally recommend using 24 gauge wire for the signal and 20 gauge Mil-Spec for the neutral with a 4:1 or even 5:1 ratio of neutral to signal wire length - the reason for such light gauge is that thinner gauge wires are less responsive to RFI
The helix acts like a faraday cage for some protection, but it is not a "fully screened" solution
As an example - I tried a standard IC (16 gauge Duelund signal and 2 x 16 gauge mil-spec) in my system and held the IC against a Helix power cables in my clenched fist - with the amp on Phono and turned up to full volume I did hearjust a little hum
By comparison - you could hear hum at normal volumes on my friends all tube system with the cables separated
So it is not as simple as i would like in order to recommend using Helix for TT's
It's more a case of try a regular Helix IC and if that works go for the lighter gauge version
---------------------------------------
So, under the "right conditions" The helix Interconnect will provide exceptional performance between a turntable and phono stage.
Unfortunately I cannot say exactly what those conditions are, but if you already have a pair of IC's, try connecting them between your TT and phono stage to see if there is any hum - the "conditions" in your system may be "just perfect"
NOTE: If your Turntable has RCA socket outputs on the rear and there is some RFI interference in the form of HUM or you can hear a radio channel - all is not lost...
- TT's that have RCA Sockets generally also have a ground wire terminal that should be connected to the ground terminal on your phono stage.
- one might think the neutral side of the RCA is connected to that ground wire terminal, but there is a case for not connecting them, so leaving them disconnected is the best option
- I found a simple solution to this problem on the web - Simply attach a small piece of wire from the ground terminal around the neutral side of each RCA socket - apparently it works very well
BTW - for best grounding results from TT to phono stage I ensure a Spade or Ring connectors makes the connection - NOT bare wire
Regards - Steve