Just added a pair of Audeze headphones and when listening through my 4.6 preamp, I notice lots of noise in the phono signal path. Nothing has changed in that path in years – same cables, same cartridge – although the system was just subjected to a complete disassembly, a 5000-mile move, and a reassembly after months in shipping cartons.
The noise goes away when I unplug the turntable, but I realize that that doesn’t mean that the turntable, phono cabling, or cartridge are necessarily the noise source. The circuit may simply not be operating when there are open inputs.
I’m also not certain that there wasn’t some level of noise all along. The Audeze’s are audio microscopes. My gut feeling, though, is that this is something new, since the noise is profound enough that I can’t imagine that I wouldn’t have heard it in the past.
I’ve tried several times to contact PS Audio re: whether they can give my unit an overhaul & return it to factory spec. But so far no reply.
Anybody suggest any direction? I can’t swap cables b/c the turntable cables are hardwired into the table. And I don’t have a second table or preamp to swap in for further testing, which would of course make everything easier.
Any ideas?
c