HI

Thanks for this forum - looks really good.  I have a Beomaster 4400 amplifier and an RX2 turntable.

When I play the turntable through the phono I get the deepest, bassy humming. 

I have tried the headphones socket on the 4400 and still hear it.

When I play my cd (a marantz) through tape 2, it sounds amazing.  I have B&W speakers.

Can anyone offer any thoughts on what I ought to be doing to solve (at least partially) this problem!

Many thanks,

Patrick

patrick@potentialfilm.com

Hello Patrick, and welcome to Beoworld. Sounds as though you have an Earthing problem. Try running a piece of wire between the chassis of the Beomaster and the chassis of the Beogram.

Craig

Have you checked the continuity of all the pins in the 5 pin din socket from the RX2 turntable ? The earth wire suggestion should have helped identify if it is the earth in the connection that is causing this.

Brian

Thanks Craig.   There is a wire with two flat prongs, coming out of the RX2.  I am not sure where/how to attach this to the 4400?  Or indeed if this the earthing wire, or I need something different?

Thanks for your thoughts,

Patrick

Hi Brian, thanks for your email.  As you will see from my post to Craig, there are a few uncertainties about the earthing sit (see above).

As for the 5 pin din that come from the turntable - each of the five pins is straight, is this what you meant?

thanks again for your help

Patrick

At a guess, you have an RX2 which has two RCA plugs and an earth. Assuming your 4400 just has DIN sockets, you need an RCA to DIN converter which includes an earth connector .

patrickolszowski:

Thanks Craig.   There is a wire with two flat prongs, coming out of the RX2.  I am not sure where/how to attach this to the 4400?  Or indeed if this the earthing wire, or I need something different?

That must be the earthing wire if it has a "U" shaped connector. Unfortunately the BM4400 doesn't have an earthing screw where you could attach it - but try this:

note the round bright metal ring which is the sleeve of the input connectors on the Beomaster, say Tape 2 which is conveniently next to Phono. They are all connected to the earth on the Beomaster. Put the earthing connector between that and the inner plastic body of the connectors (keep the volume down!). Secure it with some tape or something so it will not move and stays in touch with the bright metal. Now try playing a record. If the hum is (at least mostly) gone, a RCA-to-DIN adapter with an integrated earthing connection should solve your problem.

Hope it is as simple as this!

(the Beomaster has one bottom plate mounting screw right under the phono connector which might work well as an earthing point - but I can't really recommend that since it would be a great nuisance each time you have to move the kit around)

Reading the post again - in a rush this morning - I suspect this is a Beogram originally fitted withb 2 RCA plugs and an earth wire. Someone has replaced the RCA plugs with a 5 pin DIN but left the earth wire free. As Tournedos rightly says, the earth on a Beogram has two entries - ground for the channels through the middle pin of the DIN plug and the chassis shield and earth goes to the casing of the DIN plug. The latter is what is missing and is what is causing the hum. Nip the wire between the casing and the socket of the 4400 as suggested and the hum should go. If it does, a more permanent solution could be to solder the wire to the plug casing internally.

Thanks very much to everyone for your advice and help on this - I will give it a try this evening.  Just so am I clear, I need to attach the earth wire to the metal plug (that is also, in my case, coming from my cd player) into tape 2?  Cheers  Patrick

Oh, you have something in tape 2 already... It won't matter electrically, you'll just have a hard job getting anything between there - but yes, the slot where the round metal sleeve of the DIN plug goes is correct. Try tape 1 or just unplug your CD for this test. If it helps with the hum, we'll try and work out a more permanent solution for you.

HI all, I have managed to wedge in the earth into the metal sleeve - is a tight fit, but does fit.  The problem I  now have is that the RX2, has stopped working and so can't see whether this works; fingers crossed.

I have checked all the power connections and the fuse but there is no power coming through to the turntable - any thoughts?

Thanks very much for everyone's help to date,

Patrick

HI Peter, I have managed to wedge in the earth into the metal sleeve - is a tight fit, but does fit.  The problem I  now have is that the RX2, has stopped working and so can't see whether this works; fingers crossed.

On the RX2, I have checked all the power connections and the fuse but there is no power coming through to the turntable - any thoughts?

Thanks very much for your help to date,

Patrick

You are going to need to trace through the power circuit with a meter - probably a loose connection or a blown component. I am going to see my favourite Beogram specialist next week with three non working Beograms so will ask then if he has any tips!