Turntable Hum

[levimax]

Anyone have cart recommendations? Like to keep it under $400. MM / MC, doesn’t matter to me.

I just replaced a Denon 103 R with an AT 33 PTG/2 and am very happy.... A little more expensive but the conical stylus on the Denon is only good for 200 to 300 hours vs 1,000 + hours for the AT's Microline. It also sounds better especially on older / damaged records.

 

[Helicopter]

I just replaced a Denon 103 R with an AT 33 PTG/2 and am very happy.... A little more expensive but the conical stylus on the Denon is only good for 200 to 300 hours vs 1,000 + hours for the AT's Microline. It also sounds better especially on older / damaged records.

That seems like a goid bet. I love the AT-OC9XML. With a $400 budget, I would also look at the AT-OC9XEN or any of the MM ML carts. The VM95ML is surprisingly good, and I like the 440MLb, so I would guess the 540ML and 740ML are good too.

 

[levimax]

That seems like a goid bet. I love the AT-OC9XML. With a $400 budget, I would also look at the AT-OC9XEN or any of the MM ML carts. The VM95ML is surprisingly good, and I like the 440MLb, so I would guess the 540ML and 740ML are good too.

I have a 540 ML as well and it is great but definately a little bright compared to the 103R which I can see in measurments as well as hear. The 33 PTG/2 has a FR similar to the 103R. The other issue with the 103R is that they jacked the price from $250 to $450 so it is not the bargain it used to be.

 

[SimpleTheater]

I have a 540 ML as well and it is great but definately a little bright compared to the 103R which I can see in measurments as well as hear. The 33 PTG/2 has a FR similar to the 103R. The other issue with the 103R is that they jacked the price from $250 to $450 so it is not the bargain it used to be.

I think that’s the #1 issue I have against replacing the 103R. I bought it in 2019 for $270 after NY tax, and would pay $486 today after tax. Plus, only getting 2 years and maybe 300 hours playing time out of it is frustrating. The cart still works, but some type of grounding issue surfaced in the unit, which I imagine will only get worse.

 

[sq225917]

The 103 has a plastic body, does your other cart have a metal body?

 

[SimpleTheater]

The 103 has a plastic body, does your other cart have a metal body?

No. It's plastic. However the problem is new, so not sure if that is the problem.

 

[sq225917]

Id always look at connections first, either ics or what they plug into, or potentially the mains too. Its mot unknown for a bad earth connection in a wall socket to work its way loose and cause a different path of least resistance to gnd to occur.

 

[Bob from Florida]

I just replaced a Denon 103 R with an AT 33 PTG/2 and am very happy.... A little more expensive but the conical stylus on the Denon is only good for 200 to 300 hours vs 1,000 + hours for the AT's Microline. It also sounds better especially on older / damaged records.

Can you provide the source for 200 to 300 hours on the Denon stylus. The only consistent info I can find is to check for wear after 500 to 1000 hours. Checking for wear is not the same as worn out. That information is not from Denon, but seems to be a "commonly" repeated wisdom in general.

 

[levimax]

Can you provide the source for 200 to 300 hours on the Denon stylus. The only consistent info I can find is to check for wear after 500 to 1000 hours. Checking for wear is not the same as worn out. That information is not from Denon, but seems to be a "commonly" repeated wisdom in general.

I can't find 200-300 hour reference I was quoting but I did see it and in my experience it is accurate and a conical stylus, even a good one, does not last very long before you start hearing distortion... especially IGD. It was one thing when the 103R's were $250 and quite another now that they are close to $500. Here is a good article that seems to back up the 200- 300 hours for conical and it ends with the conclusion "We need more scientific data" which I agree with https://thevinylpress.com/the-finish-line-for-your-phonograph-stylus/ .

 

[Bob from Florida]

I can't find 200-300 hour reference I was quoting but I did see it and in my experience it is accurate and a conical stylus, even a good one, does not last very long before you start hearing distortion... especially IGD. It was one thing when the 103R's were $250 and quite another now that they are close to $500. Here is a good article that seems to back up the 200- 300 hours for conical and it ends with the conclusion "We need more scientific data" which I agree with https://thevinylpress.com/the-finish-line-for-your-phonograph-stylus/ .

Pretty good link - thanks for posting it. Makes me want a cartridge with replaceable styli..... The Sumiko Amethyst looks pretty interesting and price is not bad considering the cost of better cartridges.

 

[levimax]

Pretty good link - thanks for posting it. Makes me want a cartridge with replaceable styli..... The Sumiko Amethyst looks pretty interesting and price is not bad considering the cost of better cartridges.

The problem with MM carts is that often times the replacement stylus cost almost as much as a new cart. I see on Amazon a VM540ML stylus is $209 and the entire cart is $249. For the Sumiko Amethyst Amazon does not have the replacement but I see it elsewhere for $499 which is not a lot less than the entire cart on Amazon for $599. It is amazing to watch the price gouging going on with carts and stylus... most prices are up ~100% in the last few years.

 

[Bob from Florida]

The problem with MM carts is that often times the replacement stylus cost almost as much as a new cart. I see on Amazon a VM540ML stylus is $209 and the entire cart is $249. For the Sumiko Amethyst Amazon does not have the replacement but I see it elsewhere for $499 which is not a lot less than the entire cart on Amazon for $599. It is amazing to watch the price gouging going on with carts and stylus... most prices are up ~100% in the last few years.

Scaling back to the elliptical on the Moonstone model $300 for the entire cartridge and $179 for new stylus seems more reasonable. Not having to remount a perfectly aligned cartridge does have some value when it comes to re-tipping.

 

[egellings]

Some cartridges are sensitive to AC magnetic fields around them from nearby power transformers in equipment. Move the TT around while listening to the hum and see if it varies in loudness based on TT position.

 

[SimpleTheater]

So I picked up plastic screws. No change in hum at half volume level. Ungrounded it was less loud but still annoying.
I then bought a Goldring E3 moving magnet cartridge. At half volume ungrounded it is dead silent, with a little hum at 3/4 volume, but no phono input is ever perfect. Expecting to get even quieter I grounded the turntable, but the hum got significantly worse. Not as bad as with the Denon, but I’m definitely thinking something is wrong in the Teac.

Obviously, I’m listening ungrounded.

I’ll do a Denon vs Goldring video comparison soon, but they aren’t that different.