Pundit
Post by rocl on Mar 4, 2017 10:49:32 GMT 12
for a long time with a wide variety of gear i have never quite been able to manage a dead quiet experience at higher listening levels. with the music playing it has been fine, barely noticeable even in quiet passages. i have spent many hours fiddling with cables, positioning of phono in rack, bought shielded cables etc. minor improvements at best. silence - never. last night it was there when i turned the volume on my amp past 10 o'clock with no music. today there is nothing until 1 o'clock - which i do not get to normally. so what has changed? here is a photo from last night  and here is one from today  there is a difference as i have lowered the tt. nothing else got moved. i have just worked out the source of my hum after 8yrs. it was sitting there under my nose the whole time and i never twigged to it. can anyone else work it out?
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Member
Post by reducedtolerance on Mar 4, 2017 11:13:05 GMT 12
I thought it was common knowledge you shouldn't have your TT within 12" of a blank red painting. Alternatively it could have been your lamp
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Post by michaelw on Mar 4, 2017 11:55:50 GMT 12
ditto.
lamps and their switches are notorious sources of noise
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Pundit
Post by rocl on Mar 4, 2017 12:26:54 GMT 12
thanks guys. it was not something i knew and would have saved me a lot of angst. i have done quite a lot of reading on noise associated with tt's and not come across it anywhere, which is the reason i'm sharing it here. the lamp base was right next to the arm wires! i hope this is able to help someone else.
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Post by Owen Y on Mar 4, 2017 19:45:43 GMT 12
Incidentally rocl - is the lamp regular mains incandescent/compact fluoro bulb type? Or low voltage halogen?
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Pundit
Hum has gone! Mar 4, 2017 19:54:47 GMT 12
- Edited Mar 4, 2017 19:56:55 GMT 12 by rocl
Post by rocl on Mar 4, 2017 19:54:47 GMT 12
compact fluoro with dimmer @ Owen Y
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Pundit
Post by neilsan on Mar 4, 2017 20:22:34 GMT 12
Probably the dimmer then!
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Post by michaelw on Mar 4, 2017 21:56:09 GMT 12
and flouro starter !
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Post by Owen Y on Mar 5, 2017 5:40:49 GMT 12
Dimmer in base of lamp I guess. Was it a hum or more of a buzz?
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Pundit
Post by rocl on Mar 5, 2017 7:27:20 GMT 12
it's been a hum, but there has been a buzz too. when i connected the earth lead to the WTA there was a buzz which stopped when i disconnected it. however it isn't there with the 301.
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Post by michaelw on Mar 5, 2017 10:50:52 GMT 12
i've had electrical funnies with the wta gta too. traced to poor connection between arm and output box. the (faux ?) lemo connector was prime culprit. any movement and snap crackle pop. suggested solution was don't move it  the latest wt ltd arm does away with this connection point altogether. 
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Post by guitardude on Mar 6, 2017 9:08:19 GMT 12
In terms of hum, buzzes and other strange noises: Watch out for LED and fluro bulbs as well. Apparently also Smart meters have a bad effect on sound quality but as I have managed to avoid having one of these installed thus far....
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Pundit
Post by Mike A on Mar 7, 2017 11:13:41 GMT 12
Apparently also Smart meters have a bad effect on sound quality but as I have managed to avoid having one of these installed thus far.... I was lucky enough to be home when one was installed at the last house I was in so could do a before and after test of sorts, I was very surprised to discover less noise and better bass definition. This was in a rural area so I think YMMV may apply.
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Post by guitardude on Mar 7, 2017 14:18:46 GMT 12
Hey mike A,
That's really good to know thanks. Everything I had read suggested otherwise so good to get some first hand information on the subject.
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Pundit
Post by neilsan on Mar 7, 2017 20:41:21 GMT 12
Probably because the connections have been tightened up!
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Pundit
Post by Mike A on Mar 8, 2017 12:18:37 GMT 12
Probably because the connections have been tightened up! Way too many variables to say for certain, but you may be right, I got a sound improvement so I was happy 
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