so I just added a grado gold to my music hall 2.1. On my headphones ( through the belari preamp) it sounded great, but then I was rocking out loud style on my monitors and I heard it...the hum I thought I had lost when I upgraded to the 2.1. Anyway the hum is really only present at loud levels, but I was wondering what you folks thought: what can I do to get rid of this? Should I get a new cartridge? If so, which one?
Roggae, for information on shielding your motor, Google "mu metal" for information and suppliers. Here is one example -
http://www.mumetal.com/
Modifying your table should be much less expensive than buying a different cartridge, AND you will preserve the characteristics of the Grado you enjoy.
We had a Rega with a Grado that hummed; I found that neither the platter bearing nor the motor was grounded! Adding a wire was all that was needed- presto! no hum. The wire tied the ground of the motor to the platter bearing and the tone arm ground.
I have used Grado Blue with my vintage REGA P2. It is an older turn table model with ACOS S-tonearm and detachable headshell. I have never heard any hum form Grado cartridge. My guess is not all REGA models have the same shielding/grounding. This turn table came with a separate ground wire for the PHONO amp, perhaps it made a difference.
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