HA-3000 Interconnect to Phono stage choice

rockitman

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Sep 20, 2011
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what is everyone using ? I would love to use my 2 meter Nordost Odin, but it makes my system hum. When I use a 1.5 meter Nordost Tyr, no hum. The Odin cable is dead quiet on any other system component including my tape pre, so I am perplexed. Perhaps length of cable is the issue ?
 

Joe Galbraith

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Apr 22, 2010
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Silent Source Silver Signature - 1 meter from H3000 to L3000, ditto TT to H3000.
 
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audioarcher

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May 6, 2012
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Use a .5 meter or less if possible. I would not use anything over 1 meter. The signal is still very small. Something with an RF shield.
 

rockitman

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Sep 20, 2011
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Use a .5 meter or less if possible. I would not use anything over 1 meter. The signal is still very small. Something with an RF shield.

Hi Sean, so you use the HA3000 ? Do you think the hum issue I had with my 2 meter Odin cable was do to the excessive length of the cable ? The Odin cable is totally shielded.
 

Peter Breuninger

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Jul 20, 2010
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This is a demanding position for a cable. I feel your pain.
 

rockitman

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This is a demanding position for a cable. I feel your pain.

yes, it is painful not being able to use my 2 meter Odin in that position (It breaks my Odin chain). Fortunately I can still use it out of my King/Cello tape preamp so not all is lost. I really am not in the mood to pay for more Odin. The thought even makes me a bit crabby. Cry me a river...lol
 

audioarcher

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May 6, 2012
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Hi Sean, so you use the HA3000 ? Do you think the hum issue I had with my 2 meter Odin cable was do to the excessive length of the cable ? The Odin cable is totally shielded.

No, and maybe.:) Could be the longer cable is getting closer to a source of hum? I don't know. Are the cables being kept away from power cords and transformers?

The recommendation for shorter cables is mostly for sound quality purposes.
 

rockitman

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No, and maybe.:) Could be the longer cable is getting closer to a source of hum? I don't know. Are the cables being kept away from power cords and transformers?

The recommendation for shorter cables is mostly for sound quality purposes.

I am thinking the added length is adding more resistance, hence the hum. The Odin cable is 100% shielded and does not hum with any other line level output component. The added length and lower output voltage of the HA3000 must be making the hum I think. Any electrical engineers out there ?
 

mep

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Apr 20, 2010
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I am thinking the added length is adding more resistance, hence the hum. The Odin cable is 100% shielded and does not hum with any other line level output component. The added length and lower output voltage of the HA3000 must be making the hum I think. Any electrical engineers out there ?

The extra resistance of the cable due to length is so negligible it's not worth mentioning and resistance doesn't cause hum. Hum is usually caused by shielding issues or laying the cables next to something that has a strong magnetic field.
 

DaveyF

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Jul 31, 2010
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Could also have to do with the RCA connectors or the DIN connector ( if that is what you are using).
The WBT's on Nordost are excellent, BUT I think they are a little fragile and the pins can get easily damaged.
 

mep

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Apr 20, 2010
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Could also have to do with the RCA connectors or the DIN connector ( if that is what you are using).
The WBT's on Nordost are excellent, BUT I think they are a little fragile and the pins can get easily damaged.

How could hum issues possibly be caused by the RCA connectors assuming they have good solder joints?
 

drunkenrabbit

New Member
Dec 1, 2013
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Do you mean from your TT to your H3000? or from your H3000 to your linestage?

I have zero hum using 1.5 m Graham Slee Lautus IC's from my TT to the H3000 (plus ground wire), and I use a 1/2 metre Silver XLR to my Allnic T2000.

Not Odin, but no hum is a good thing.

Hum can also be ground loop of course, but no doubt you have countenanced this.

Cheers
Andrew
 

rockitman

Member Sponsor
Sep 20, 2011
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Could also have to do with the RCA connectors or the DIN connector ( if that is what you are using).
The WBT's on Nordost are excellent, BUT I think they are a little fragile and the pins can get easily damaged.

The thing is the Odin rca cable doesn't hum connected to any other output source including my King/Cello tape pre.
 

rockitman

Member Sponsor
Sep 20, 2011
7,097
412
1,210
Northern NY
Do you mean from your TT to your H3000? or from your H3000 to your linestage?

I have zero hum using 1.5 m Graham Slee Lautus IC's from my TT to the H3000 (plus ground wire), and I use a 1/2 metre Silver XLR to my Allnic T2000.

Not Odin, but no hum is a good thing.

Hum can also be ground loop of course, but no doubt you have countenanced this.

Cheers
Andrew

You might be confusing the H-3000 with the HA-3000. One being a phono stage, the other a head amp. I run the HA-3000 head amp into my H-5000 DHT phono. The tonearm plugs into the HA-3000. If you are using the H3000 phono, I recommend you try the HA-3000 head amp in front of it.
 

drunkenrabbit

New Member
Dec 1, 2013
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Sydney, Aus
You might be confusing the H-3000 with the HA-3000. One being a phono stage, the other a head amp. I run the HA-3000 head amp into my H-5000 DHT phono. The tonearm plugs into the HA-3000. If you are using the H3000 phono, I recommend you try the HA-3000 head amp in front of it.

Oh yes - my apologies - you are quite right.
 

rockitman

Member Sponsor
Sep 20, 2011
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Northern NY
I have found a technique that significantly lowers the noise floor on the HA-3000. This will be system dependent, but apparently my location has significant rf and em interference. I used Mu Metal foil to line the inside of the HA-3000 case. I still have a bit of a hum using my Odin interconnect, but it was significantly reduced. Using the Tyr rca's compared to pre Mu foil, I am sensing at least a 2dB drop in noise floor. This is good news. I will take a pic soon of the insides.
 

cratin

Well-Known Member
Jul 26, 2012
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Seoul, Korea
one of simple / widely used method in reducing hum or noise of allnic's phono & headamp is to put the distance between main unit and power unit as much as possible. They are in fact quite sensitive to each other's location. No hard & fast rule... experiment for location of placement. Putting shielding material would help but place the units in right location (far from each other) would be more beneficial in terms of sonic quality...
 

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