phono preamp crackling

Although a defective phono stage is certainly a possibility (perhaps a marginal capacitor), it sounds to me like a good possibility would be that you are picking up rfi/emi (radio frequency interference/electromagnetic interference) from a fluorescent light fixture, a dimmer switch, or some other device which (like those) can generate significant rfi/emi.

Aside from turning off any such devices which may be nearby, what you could do that might be helpful is to take a portable transistor am radio, tune it to an unused frequency near the bottom of the band (near 540kHz), and during times that you hear crackling from the audio system see if the radio picks up corresponding crackling static-like noises. If so, you may be able to zero in on the source of the rfi/emi by walking around with the radio and noting where the volume of the crackling becomes loudest.

HTH,
-- Al

1. Make sure your rca females are clean of all oxides.
2. Ensure the IC's are gripping well. I was "sure" I had good IC's / connections and still had perplexing problems like yours until I got the outer casings of my rca's compressed a little (they had expanded just enough from being swapped around multiple times). Be carefull not to crack this tender area of the rca when compressing. Take note of the location of the plug casing slits and compress to close in these gaps a bit.

The above costs nothing: UNLESS you break a plug!
Good luck

I would first try grounding your table to the phono amp. Also, make sure you're not using the moving coil setting with a moving magnet cartridge.

Cheers.

i promised i'd post a response once i figured out what was going on. i'm fairly sure i know where the cause of the crackling lies.

first, some have speculated that i have noise in or around my system. there are no fluorescent lights nearby (at least that are on), and i have two dedicated lines from my breaker box to a quad receptacle to power my hi fi equipment. so i don't think that is the problem. also, i tried the suggestion from almarg, and set my tuner to an am station but did not hear any crackling through the tuner.

i think the problem is in the phono stage itself. the only way i can get the crackling to stop is by tapping on the back of the gcph. the crackling stops completely. note that i have made sure all the connections in and out of the gcph are secure. i'm using balanced connections out, the grounds from my TT are very tightly secured, as are the rca's from the TT. again, a couple taps towards the back of the phono stage and all crackling is gone, at least for awhile. i figure there is something loose in the phono stage.

if you have any other thoughts let me know and thanks again for all the suggestions.

I'f guess bad solder joint in the phono.