[Quiet Earth]

Ok, well at least you know that it is connected. When you short the meter (touch the probes) does it read 007?

[vortrex]

001 with the two probes together.

[Quiet Earth]

Try the 200 hundred ohm setting just to make sure that you don't really have 6 ohms of resistance. Or the 2 ohm setting.

[vortrex]

Try the 200 hundred ohm setting just to make sure that you don't really have 6 ohms of resistance. Or the 2 ohm setting.

at 200 it's 6.7 at the amp and 00.4 with the prongs together.  my meter does not have a 2 setting.

[Quiet Earth]

That seems kind of high, but I can't say for certain that it is wrong. Did you try the IEC inlet to case, bypassing the power cable?

Also, try ohming two metal parts of the case to make sure you are getting a good connection.

[vortrex]

all those measurements were right at the inlet.  the only spot I could get a reading was by touching a rivet for the 845 socket.  there's really no bare metal on this case at all.

[Quiet Earth]

Ok, well, at least you have more data.

You have three "earthed" phono stages that make hum with your integrated. If you could find another earthed component to plug into your new integrated, that could be another data point.

If it were me, I would take the Line Magnetic back to the dealer along with one of the phono stages and try to duplicate the problem there. If it hums (and YOU will KNOW it), ask for a replacement. It should be under warrantee. it should not do that.

If not, then I guess you have to figure out why phono stages hum so loud at your house. And why they only hum with THAT amp. What you measured with your phone is totally unacceptable. No phono set up should have that much noise compared to a CD player. I still suspect the new amp, but I can't be sure from such a long distance diagnosis.

If you really love the amp, you could get a different brand that is based on the same circuit topology, but does not hum with phono stages.

[Quiet Earth]

By the way vortrex, do you have the amp and the phono stage plugged into the same AC circuit (same outlet)?

[vortrex]

thanks for all help!

when the dealer is back in town he is going to come over to my house for a listen.  I think this is a one-off with mine.  there's no way others would not be noticing the same thing as me.  I wish I had a 3 prong CDP here.
 

[vortrex]

By the way vortrex, do you have the amp and the phono stage plugged into the same AC circuit (same outlet)?

yes, they are.  I can't reach the other outlet to split them up.  I could run an extension cord temporarily, if you think it is worthwhile.

[vortrex]

ran an extension cord from another circuit to the phono pre, no change.

[vortrex]

wouldn't a cheater plug make something a 2 prong though, like the CDP?  I tried a cheater on amp and phono before.

[Quiet Earth]

Actually, I was going to recommend that you use the same outlet (same circuit) if you had two different lines.

Don't mess with cheater plugs. I think you have collected enough data for now. If you keep moving your gear around you're bound to mess up something that was fine to begin with. Probably best to wait for your dealer to assist you now.

I guess the last thing you could do just to check your sanity would be to try that receiver in your video set up. But that's more unplugging and hassle, and maybe you are tired of all this for now. I know I would be.

I sure hope you get this resolved.

[mikecole]

The following will most likely not help, but it may give you some other ideas. I had hum in a couple of different situations.

When I hooked up an RCA cable from my integrated to the sound card on my PC, I got hum. If I plugged the PC and all peripherals into the same outlet as my stereo, it went away. Or if I used a set of RCA ground loop isolator plugs from Radio Shack, the hum went away (but the sound suffered).

When I had an electronic MC step up, I always had hum. If I wrapped it in an aluminum sheet, it reduced the hum, but did not eliminate it. I used PowerLink adapters to run ethernet over the power lines in my house and the stepup picked up hum from there. I could even hear it when adapters polled each other, there was a click every time the poll LED came on.

BTW, if you want to reduce gain, I would do it at the phono stage. I had a phono stage that had a bit too much gain and turning the volume knob down on the integrated was not the same as reducing gain at the phono stage. With too much gain the sound had a sort of forced quality to it. All IMHO, of course.