RCA extensions and buzz/hum

[serfrock]

Hi all,

I've got an Audio Technica AT-PL120 hooked up to a Harman Kardon 3490 stereo amp, but sadly, one of the downsides to the turntable is that it has permanently affixed - and very short - RCA cables. Well, my current setup (and any feasible setup) can't really accommodate that, so I bought some RCA extension cables, (only 6 feet) so as to put my turntable an acceptable distance away.

Well, you guessed it, they're emitting a fair amount of buzz and hum, even when the turntable is off and not plugged into the wall outlet. Using different cables doesn't help, but plugging my turntable in to the amp directly eliminates the noise. No matter where I position the extensions relative to the rest of my wiring, the sound persists. Turning the turntable's internal preamp on (while the turntable is still plugged into the phono-in) seems to help matters, but not totally eliminate the noise. They're not bad cables, and I can use them to extend other audio sources without issue.

I'm sure you must get a million of these sorts of questions, but I haven't found anything quite like my situation (sorry if I'm overlooking/missed something previously posted!).

So whaddya say, Audioholics - can anyone help me out? Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

 

[TLS Guy]

Hi all,

I've got an Audio Technica AT-PL120 hooked up to a Harman Kardon 3490 stereo amp, but sadly, one of the downsides to the turntable is that it has permanently affixed - and very short - RCA cables. Well, my current setup (and any feasible setup) can't really accommodate that, so I bought some RCA extension cables, (only 6 feet) so as to put my turntable an acceptable distance away.

Well, you guessed it, they're emitting a fair amount of buzz and hum, even when the turntable is off and not plugged into the wall outlet. Using different cables doesn't help, but plugging my turntable in to the amp directly eliminates the noise. No matter where I position the extensions relative to the rest of my wiring, the sound persists. Turning the turntable's internal preamp on (while the turntable is still plugged into the phono-in) seems to help matters, but not totally eliminate the noise. They're not bad cables, and I can use them to extend other audio sources without issue.

I'm sure you must get a million of these sorts of questions, but I haven't found anything quite like my situation (sorry if I'm overlooking/missed something previously posted!).

So whaddya say, Audioholics - can anyone help me out? Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

Turntable leads need to be kept short for a multitude of reasons.

Since your turntable has a phono preamp use it. But connect to a line level input then, and NOT the phono inputs. You should easily be able to use 6 ft cables then.

 

[markw]

PHONO stages have very high gain, more than the typical line level/aux inputs, and are quite prone to pick up (and amplify) hum/noise/whatever.

Like TLS guy says, either use the phono preamp IN your TURNTABLE and feed it to an AUX input on your receiver, or move your TT closer to the receiver and use the receiver's PHONO input.