Return to Objective Turntable Home Page
Ten Strategies for Minimizing Turntable Hum
An excerpt from the white paper on minimizing hum
We start with a list of the top 10 strategies for minimizing turntable hum. We'll take a quick look at the
physics of why hum often crops up in turntables. Then we'll explain the top 10 list so they make sense. Next,
we'll go over the process described in point 10, the system build-up method. Finally, if you have a PAT-4 Preamp,
we'll go over my new favorite way to make a PAT-4 insanely quiet.
- Plug the amp, preamp, and turntable into the same outlet strip.
- Use good, low ground resistance cables with double shields for phono inputs. (woven shield plus foil shield).
- Make sure the ground connections (the crowns) of the RCA jacks fit snugly at both the preamp and phono ends.
- Make sure that the ground connections are clean (no oxidation).
- Use the shortest practical cable length to connect the phono to the preamp.
- Make a clean, low resistance connection between the turntable ground and the preamp ground.
- Keep the tonearm/cartridge away from large magnetic fields like those generated by large transformers.
- Experiment with an additional green wire ground in strategic places.
- Experiment with reversing two-wire plugs.
- Build the system up one piece at a time, and do simple diagnostic tests to sort out the hardest problems.
Download the white paper
For more information, download this pdf file with lots more useful details on strategies for minimizing turntable hum. It
also includes the best modification ever for a PAT-4, a modification that though a bit awkward, can drop hum to unheard-of
levels (yes...intentional pun).
Should this latest PAT-4 modification become a product?
Please tell me what you think. Should I turn this into a nice looking product? Is the two-box PAT-4 about to come to life?
Send me an email with your opinions.
For Great Information about amplifiers and preamplifiers, visit:
