Crackling noise over wifi for Rega P3 turntable

[jcrenner]

I have the following set up, which works perfectly with my old turntable (Audio Technica LP60XBT). I recently upgraded the turntable to a Rega P3 with an Exact cartridge and suffer significant crackling over the left speaker (only left) on some tracks (which I presume is frequency-driven - it is over bass).



To try and narrow down the issue, I tried the following:

• Switch the turntable back to the Audio Technica without changing anything else (playing the exact same track)
• Connect the Rega P3 and Fono preamp directly into Denon PMA-30 amp line input via a RCA cable
• Connect with WiiM Pro Plus and WiiM Pro directly via RCA line out / line in
• Connect to a second WiiM Pro into a completely separate amp (NAD D3070 v2)
• Swap the phono out into pre-amp (crackling then appears in the right speaker)
• Connect the unused WiiM Pro Plus line out and WiiM Pro line in via a RCA cable to attempt to ground both units
• Ground the Rega Fono via the grounding port
• Change the line-in input resolution on the WiiM Pro Plus (all combinations)

The only thing I can think of is the Rega Exact cartridge producing a weaker signal than the Audio Technica which could cause an issue with the WiiMs. Has anyone encountered anything similar or has a recommendation?

 

[harkpabst]

Your structured research is quite impressive, so far. In the end, I think, there is one single bullet point telling you the truth:

Swap the phono out into pre-amp (crackling then appears in the right speaker)

This is the 100% proof that the problem is with the turntable, indeed. I don't think that the crackling is a secondary effect on the WiiM. It's probably directly caused by the Exact.

Connect the Rega P3 and Fono preamp directly into Denon PMA-30 amp line input via a RCA cable

I would expect this to have worked OK just by chance. If you repeat this setup, I bet the crackling will come back at one point.

Rega did have quality problems with the sourced magnets for their MM systems build in-house from time to time over the last years. I once had an Exact myself, which showed exactly this behaviour. The type of noise did not sound at all like it could have even been caused by a cartridge. But in my case I had just replaced the pickup, nothing else, and the crackling was there.

I got a working replacement unit and my dealer was already aware of this strange intermittent quality problem. For whatever reason it looks like it mostly affects the Exact, not the Elys. Maybe it's not just the coils being different but it might really use different magnets to create its higher output voltage.

So, my recommendation is to simply get the cartridge replaced.

 

[harkpabst]

I have to take back the claim of the Exact having higher output voltage. This is no longer the case compared to the newer Elys 2. The difference appears to be just the needle.

I stand by my guess that the cartridge is faulty.

 

[jcrenner]

Connect the Rega P3 and Fono preamp directly into Denon PMA-30 amp line input via a RCA cable

I would expect this to have worked OK just by chance. If you repeat this setup, I bet the crackling will come back at one point.

Thank you so much @harkpabst - I genuinely believe it won't be the case (as one of the other tests I carried out was to plug in the P3 straight into the NAD D3070 v2 and it worked beautifully as well), but I fully take your point and will try again!

 

[bherren]

Thank you so much @harkpabst - I genuinely believe it won't be the case (as one of the other tests I carried out was to plug in the P3 straight into the NAD D3070 v2 and it worked beautifully as well), but I fully take your point and will try again!

I assume you tried wiggling the cables, plugging in & out etc ? My old Rega P3 has notoriously poor cables & connectors (newer ones seem to have improved).

That said I'm feeding my Pro Plus with a P3+Exact via a Schiit Mani and I am seeing no such problem, it's all good

 

[jcrenner]

For a reason I cannot explain, I switched the Wiim Pro Plus with a WiiM Pro (acknowledging the different DAC) and the issue was resolved.

 

[bherren]

For a reason I cannot explain, I switched the Wiim Pro Plus with a WiiM Pro (acknowledging the different DAC) and the issue was resolved.

Odd, that Pro Plus might be defective. The Pro Plus has a better ADC my, not just the DAC. Strange.

 

[jcrenner]

Odd, that Pro Plus might be defective. The Pro Plus has a better ADC my, not just the DAC. Strange.

I thought about that and borrowed another Pro Plus, factory resetted it, hooked it exactly as mine, and had the very same issue.

 

[bherren]

I thought about that and borrowed another Pro Plus, factory resetted it, hooked it exactly as mine, and had the very same issue.

That is very weird. Mine is working like a charm with the schiit. Afaik the Pro only supports up to 1V input while the plus goes to 2V in addition to having a better sampling rate. Very weird.

 

[jcrenner]

That is very weird. Mine is working like a charm with the schiit. Afaik the Pro only supports up to 1V input while the plus goes to 2V in addition to having a better sampling rate. Very weird.

I narrowed down the issue to being linked to gain on the preamp.

The Rega Fono mk3 is speced for a 41.4db gain. By replacing the preamp with a Cambridge Audio Alva Duo (gain 39db for MM), I solved the issue and the static disappears on the Pro Plus.

What gain settings do you use on the Mani? (my understanding is that Gain 1 = L, Gain 2 = L the resulting gain is 30dB), which would explain the absence of symptoms on your side.

 

[bherren]

I narrowed down the issue to being linked to gain on the preamp.

The Rega Fono mk3 is speced for a 41.4db gain. By replacing the preamp with a Cambridge Audio Alva Duo (gain 39db for MM), I solved the issue and the static disappears on the Pro Plus.

What gain settings do you use on the Mani? (my understanding is that Gain 1 = L, Gain 2 = L the resulting gain is 30dB), which would explain the absence of symptoms on your side.

I don't remember, I'm travelling at the moment and won't be able to check for a few weeks unfortunately