ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Hi All
New to the forum and fairly new to what I feel is approaching Hi Fi world of music so please bear with my naivety. Also, I apologise for such a lengthy first post ... I would be very grateful for some advise, please.
Current set up
Beolab 8000 speakers > NAD 3020e Integrated Stereo Amp > Rega Planar 2 with an upgraded tonearm (also Rega) sporting a rather nice Arcam P77 Cart with a recently upgraded Low Mass Paratrace Diamond stylus from Expert Stylus. I am delighted with the combination and really enjoy playing my records.
Issues
There is a hum from the NAD. It is not so loud that it spoils the listening completely but it is definitely there. There is no hum when I run my Beolabs directly from my smart phone. There is s faint hum when I plug a good quality headphone directly into the NAD ... even when nothing is playing.
1. There is a long run of cable from the Beolabs to the NAD - nearly 15 metres (about 3.5 metres of which is just lying spare. This is due to 5 metres from a 2 x RCA cable at the speaker end using the LINE connections into a 3.5mm jack folllowed by 10 metres of a 3.5mm male to 3.5mm female extension i.e there is a joint. Both cables are of good quality (dare say they may have come from Steve at Sounds Heavenly!)
2. The speakers are plugged into the NAD's front facing headphone socket. This is the only way I can control tone, balance and volume. All other outputs (including the power amp output) are clearly not the the right route.
My objective is to replace the NAD with a preamp that will also give me volume control - tone and balance would be a bonus. I really don't want another integrated amplifier as the power amp side of such a unit would just idle and add noise unnecessarily.
I dont have a big budget ... £200 to £250 tops. Any suggestions please? How have others with a Turntable and Beolabs managed their set up?
The most common cause of hum is failing to connect the thin ground wire from the turntable to the preamp/amp -- you need it as well as the audio cables, which often have a floating ground for the cartridge +/-.
If the hum is present in the headphones when the Phono input is selected but goes away when you select Tape or Aux, that confirms it. However, if the hum is present in the headphones for all sources, then the NAD 3020e probably needs repair. It is theoretically possible for the amplifier power supply transformer to induce hum into cables -- any cables, even plugged into & grounded to its own chassis -- and of course the phono is amplified much more than other inputs. Still the missing phono ground wire is usually the culprit, even with old equipment.
Hi & welcome to Beoworld!Have you thought about replacing the NAD with something like a Beocenter 2300 or 2500?. You’d have to put a RIAA pre-amp between the Rega and the Beocenter but this would work well & also give you the option of playing radio or CDs or even cassettes. Also the system could be remote controlled with a Beo4 or a Beolink 1000. If you take your time waiting for bargains on eBay this should be just about doable with your budget.
Cheers
Nigel
You’d also have to invest in some powerlink cables to connect the Beocenter to the Beolabs. Should still be doable with £250, especially if you go for a 2500 that has a defective cassette. There’s one on eBay currently for £180 including a Beo4.
One more thought.... if there’s no hum from the NAD with the turntable disconnected, it’s probably working fine. This could be sold for a few bob
Thanks for all the responses. While searching for a suitable option, I liked this one :
Technolink TC-770LC
https://www.phonopreamps.com/TC-770LCpp.html
There is a lot of talk about linking to B&O on the website. Can someone kindly tell me if this can be connected directly to my Beolab 8000s?
Does the 'Attenuate' knob work like a volume control for the Beolabs or do I still need a passive amplifier between this and the Beolab speakers?
Ok .. So after much contemplation, I am thinking of getting a Graham Slee Gram Amp 2 Communicator as a preamp for the turntable. Specs are below :
https://www.audioaffair.co.uk/graham-slee-gram-amp-2-communicator-phono-stage
This comes with RCA outs. No volume control. I really want to keep as straight a line as possible between that preamp and the Beolabs.
Any suggestions please? Am I right in thinking that a simple passive controller will be sufficient and least contributor of any unwanted 'noise'?
Sorted.
I found an incredible deal on a Rotel RC-850 Stereo Control Amplifier (£30!!!) that looks and works like it is brand new. Connected it to the Beolabs using RCA cables (about 5 metre length) and the Rega TT.
Sweet as anything. All works exactly as I was expecting. All signs of hum etc. which I had earlier with the NAD are all gone - totally gone. Very nice sound. Thanks to everyone who helped.
I am also now thinking of connecting my Walkman Cassette player to the aux input on the Rotel ... that will bring back some memories no doubt!