Any Allnic users out there? Hum problem.


I brought this up previously but was not very specific.

I bought an H3000 phono stage which I liked very much and was perfectly silent. I then bought an HA Head Amp which had a slight hum. Shortly after I got it one of the transistors blew(I believe,) it went dead and I had to return it to Korea for repair.

Since I've gotten it back the hum is worse. When I play a record the sound covers the hum but when it stops the hum can be heard and felt from the speakers where I am sitting about 8 feet away. I asked the maker about this and he told me he sent it back to me in perfect condition so that's a dead end.

Is a hum to be expected? Do you live with it? Is it a grounding problem? I asked the maker about this as well and he did not respond to the query.

I would greatly appreciate any advice from Allnic users and especially those with the HA3000. Do you get a hum? Is it noticeable when an lp isn't playing? Any grounding suggestions?

My amp is a VTL S200 with an Ayre pre K5 xe mp.

VTL super scoutmaster with 3D tonearm.

Conditioner is an Isotek Sigma.

As I said everything is perfectly quiet until I turn on the HA.

I want to fix this because I like the Allnic sound enormously and don't want to be without the HA. It really is wonderful.

Thanks for any thoughts you may have on my situation.

vindanpar
Vindanpar, I don't think that you should conclude the situation is hopeless.  Are the two units plugged into the same electrical output or into different outlets?  Make sure they are plugged into the same outlet.  Also, try using a cheater plug to remove the HA3000 from AC ground, if the H3000 is correctly grounded itself using a 3-prong plug.  The HA3000 will still see AC ground but only via the IC that goes to the H3000, and this is safe.  Finally, try flipping the polarity of the cheater plug. All of these tricks will affect ground loops, if that is the problem.

If the tonearm is grounded to either unit, try grounding it to both and then try un-grounding it entirely from either unit.  Same goes for the turntable.

Somewhere, somehow, there is a specific combination of grounding and un-grounding that will be the cure.  But I say this on the assumption that you are hearing typical hum that arises from grounding problems, not white noise or hash or buzz, and that the problem is audible in both channels.
What cartridge are you using? As said above, the issue is unlikely the H3000, it is the head amp causing the hum. I fought hum with my HA3000 when I used low output carts. My experience was that if the cart output was under .3 to .35mv, there would be hum. When using a cart with .5mv, it was fairly quiet but never dead quiet. 

Tried two different HA3000's and same results.

Hi vetterone, glad to ''see'' you back. Whie hum is considered to

be a kind of enigma I was confronted with this problem only

twice: with Glanz MFG 61 and Allaerts MC 2 ''gold finish''.

My enigma is ''why my Lord ?'' with my  best ever MM as well

MC cart???

The question, Nandric, is why you think the Lord gives a darn.  For me, it's is there a Lord at all.