Advice on RFI with a new integrated amp


I need some assistance on my Exposure 2010S. The only input I am using is the cd player, but with volume turned all the way down, I am picking up radio signals. If I turn the dial to the moving coil phono setting, even though nothing is attached to it, I can hear radio pretty loudly.

The corner of the house where our stereo is in under the outside wires, and it sits right next to the terminal for our Verizon Fios -- not the most ideal location, but it
is the only option.

Using the CD pots on the amplifier, you can only hear the radio pretty faintly, when the volume pot is turned all the way down. If I am playing cds, you can't hear anything, but since when I switch to the phono/aux1 setting, as I mentioned, I am picking up radio signals, and
the volume is louder. From what I read (and hear), it appears that the phono pot (perhaps in cahoots with the moving coil phono stage) is acting as a antenna, and picking up signals, which are cross-talking
across the other inputs on the amp.

How would you recommend addressing this? I am currently considering
shorting terminators on the phono, and other output pots and found some terminators online (audiophilia article).

At first I thought it might be my changing the speaker cables, from very thick cables to the slimmer DMNs, but that would not explain why the RFI is louder at the phono input than any of the others.

Whatcha think? Does this make sense?

The other option would be RCA caps.

Thanks,

Marty
martyw
Thanks -- to be honest, I am ready to sell it and move on. Not to mention, I really miss the warmth of my old tube amp, so I am going to try and find something that gets me closer to that.
Solved it!!!!!!!!!! It was the solid core cables!!!! I tried some stranded radio shack cable and cheap banana plugs and no more radio coming into the amp. PHEW!! Of course, still going to sell it -- I miss my tubes, but glad to know I am not crazy!

Thank you all for your help!
Glad to hear it, Marty. But I'm truly surprised, given all the reasons I cited as to why it was unlikely to be due to speaker cable pickup. So somehow what was being picked up in those cables was making its way back to the front end of the integrated amp, where it could be affected by the volume control and source selection, amplified, and detected/rectified somehow (I still doubt that it was an fm signal, for which no detection mechanism is present).

Jim, I owe you a beer!

Regards,
-- Al
Thanks Al and Jim -- It was a bit of a wild goose chase, but glad to have figured it out in the end. I probably should I have tried swapping speaker cables in the first place, but I didn't have any to try so I looked for other possible causes -- oh well. At the end of the day, it is just not the right amp for our situation. There are only two Exposures listed for sale here (including mine), so I don't imagine it taking too long to sell.

Thanks again for all of your help -- Marty
Well gentlemen,

Looks like the devil is still hanging around. I am trying out a new amp and new speaker cables (nait 5i and naca) and am still getting some RFI (can only hear it when 6 inches or so from the speaker). Is this normal? Could it be from the power cords? All my cables are bunched together behind our media cabinet as well...

Thanks -- Marty