2. analog
  3. 1268587886

Turntable Hiss

Hi,
I just got a turntable off ebay. I love the sound of it. I can not believe more people don't listen to records.
Here is the question:
I have to turn the volume about 25% higher when I am listening to a record (versus listening to CDs or radio.) At the same time, I get a hissing noise. I still prefer to listen to the LP but is there a way to decrease the hissing noise?
My equipment:

Technics SL-QD33 turntable (w/ audio-technica 8008 cartridge)
Cambridge Audio 540-P Phono-preamp
Cambridge Audio 840A Integrated Amp
Audio Physic Yara Evolution Speakers

The cables between the amps and the turntable are cheap kind. I do connect the ground wire of the turntable to the screw on the phono preamp.

Many thanks
katie617
bdgregory
1,715 posts
 
. . . second what Al said.

but, how much hiss do you actually have? Can you hear it from your listening position? . . . from 5 ft away from the speakers? . . . ear next to the speakers?

The 25% volume level difference is pretty common in my experience. It's possible to find phone stages with more gain but I've found the extra gain doesn't necessarily make it sound better. I've learned to tolerate the volume diff, and some level of higher noise floor after realizing I was chasing my tail (and had run out of money). What matters is does the vinyl rig best the CD? Mine does by a wide margin even with the volume issue and a little noise (which is undetectable from my listening position.
t_bone
1,182 posts
 
Third what Al said. The phono stage is probably the most overlooked component in the vinyl chain. Getting it really right is night and day from not doing so.
rrog
1,958 posts
 
It makes more sense to find a cartridge to match the preamp.
almarg's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
almarg
9,670 posts
 
It makes more sense to find a cartridge to match the preamp.
Ron -- Note that she already has a 5mv cartridge. No moving magnet or moving iron cartridge, to my knowledge, is going to provide a great deal more output than that. I believe there are some cartridges that approach 7mv, but that is less than 3db greater.

So if the root cause of the problem, as I suspect, is the level of noise generated by the phono stage, changing cartridges will not improve signal-to-noise ratio, and therefore will not help significantly.

Regards,
-- Al
More to discover