How To: Ground a Rega Turntable

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Rega turntables do not have the typical ground system found on many other turntables. Rega actually has a good reason for doing this as they put the ground on the left channel audio cable. They believe doing it this way sounds better and it is hard to argue with their decades of experience. However, sometimes we will run into a certain combination of equipment where we need to ground a Rega turntable beyond the audio cable ground. If you just added a new Rega turntable and are experiencing audio hum, you may have one of those combinations. There are two ways to add a ground, based on the gear you have.
Method One: Used when you have a Rega phono preamp in the system
1. You simply need to get a small piece of stranded wire to use as a ground wire. The wire can be of very small gauge, nothing thick is necessary. You will need to strip the insulation back off the ends of the wire about ½”
2. Connect one end of the small wire to the ground screw on the back of your Rega phono preamp.
3. Connect the other end of the grounding wire to either a ground screw on your amp or if there is no ground screw, simply loosen any of the small screws on the back of your amp that hold on the top cover. Slip the wire under the screw, tighten it back up, and you are done.
Method Two: Used when you do not have a Rega phono preamp in the system
1. This one is a little tricker, but still pretty simple. Get a piece of small stranded wire to use as the ground wire. Strip back the insulation about ½” on each end
2. Locate the left channel phono cable coming out of your Rega turntable. It will usually have either a white or black connecting plug, or be labeled with an “L” or left. It is never the red one as red is the universal color for the right channel in the world of turntables.
3. The connector has a center round pin and an outer shield. When you plug the cable into your phono preamp or amp you can see the center pin goes into a hole and the outer shield connector wraps around the outside of that plug.
4. What you now need to do is get a couple of strands of the small wire to go in between the left cable turntable connection and the input plug. It will be a slightly tight fit, but this should work ok
5. Connect the other end of the grounding wire to either a ground screw on your amp or if there is no ground screw, simply loosen any of the small screws on the back of your amp that hold on the top cover. Slip the wire under the screw, tighten it back up, and you are done.
This should eliminate the hum you were experiencing. If it does not, it is likely a piece of equipment is physically too close to your turntable that has a large hum field. That issue is a whole different matter that you will need to experiment with the physical locations of your gear to resolve.

[@michaelduffy5796]

After 10 years of no noise, my Rega/Marantz combo suddenly started giving an awful hum. I couldn’t figure it out. Grounding to the Marantz's phono ground post worked, just as described! Thank you!!

[@AudioAdvice]

Glad we could help! Thanks for sharing

[@dayvancowboy9833]

I have been deep cleaning my 40-year-old amplifier and absolutely lost my sanity since it was making buzzing sound for a decade until I saw this video and wow! It fixed the issue! I also tried that on my cassette deck and it also fixed it! Thank you so much!

[@AudioAdvice]

Glad we could help!

[@TheTechenthusiast69]

I had the same problem but didn't have to wait 40 years 😁. That buzzing was driving me crazy too

[@go2mac]

Been looking for this for a while since im impressed with rega p1. Thanks great advice

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks!

[@damienlahoz]

Classic advice. Thanks audio advice!

[@bournedaniel]

Wow, thank you so much! This completely got rid of the hum on my old NAD amplifier and Rega turntable.

[@AudioAdvice]

Glad it helped!

[@richardsmith4803]

Great tips. Many thanks, professional as always.

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks Richard!

[@joefficial]

Thank you, man. I solved my hum problem. Very useful

[@AudioAdvice]

Glad it helped!!

[@pablocespedes9585]

Excellent video! Clear, short and helpful!

[@AudioAdvice]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sumahama1981]

Excellent video! 😎🎧

[@asrarul12]

Very clever, Leon. Thanks for the tip

[@AudioAdvice]

Very welcome

[@juanpablocastello9402]

Thank you so much! This was extremely helpful

[@AudioAdvice]

Glad it was helpful!

[@titore74]

I imagined the ground ran on some of the connectors, great info !

[@AudioAdvice]

Glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching

[@paulb9453]

Good tips, thanks, shame Rega doesn't offer this clear advice to its buyers.

[@AudioAdvice]

Glad it was helpful!

[@markielinhart]

Simple and clever solution! I did as you suggested and have removed a soft hum that others put down to the cartridge. Thanks ✌️🌹🇦🇺

[@fadhilalkathiri]

i just put the cable into the red rca (input) on my rega phono mini without connecting it into the screw, AND IT WORKS PERFECTLY. THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!!

[@AudioAdvice]

You're welcome!

[@Malcm59]

Brilliant succinct advice! I have just taken delivery of a new Rega P6, and absolutely delighted with it until I noticed a hum when listening through headphones. Very slight but once I knew it was there it got under my skin and really started to irritate me. Saw this video and linked a short piece of old earth core between the grounding posts on my Cambridge phono stage and Rega Io amp, and instant success and silence👍 Great work, sir !

[@philrob4468]

Did u put it in the rca as well in video... just got a p6 as well

[@Malcm59]

@@philrob4468 I didn't put any wire across the RCA - just worked in my case to connect the phono stage and main amp earth terminals.

[@JoeOrber]

Great video, and it should work for a lot of other audio devices too, keep up the good work 👏

[@AudioAdvice]

Glad we could be helpful

[@danieleperfetti6218]

worked perfectly thanks a lot

[@AudioAdvice]

Glad it helped

[@chrisgargiulo304]

I did not know this was so easy to do.

[@DolphinFinger]

What gauge wire are you using? I've had a lot of issues with Rega hum on older Pioneer integrateds but haven't tried this solution - hoping it works!

[@georgedoughly8682]

22 gauge wire.

[@kellypace1534]

So to understand this better, if I'm using a different brand of phono headamp, then I should connect the 22 ga. ground wire to the Rega TT left channel interconnect, plug that into the third party Phono headamp, then jump the ground wire over to the amplifier ground post? Why wouldn't I attach ground to the head amp ground post then jump over to the amp's ground post like your first scenario using a Rega Phono Pre and the Denon amp in your video? Great video, thanks for posting!

[@AudioAdvice]

Glad you liked it. Try both ways and use the one that works best. It seems to vary in different environments.

[@tonyjedioftheforest1364]

Great advice

[@AudioAdvice]

Thank you!

[@MKorn]

Thanks for this video, great explanation! My Rega RP1 is connected to a Pro-ject Tube Box S2 which is connected to a Nubert AmpX. I had crazy ground humming and tried different variations of the solutions presented here. I ended up with one ground wire going from the left output channel of the Rega into the ground post of the preamp and another ground cable going from the ground post of the preamp to the ground post of the amp. The humming is much, much less pronounced this way yet still audible and still very unnerving. Any other recommendations you can offer?

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks! Something else sounds off. Do you have hum with the Tube Box connected but with no phono cables connected to its input? And bear in mind Rega cartridges are unshielded and do not like to be close to amplifiers, that could be part of it. Thanks for watching

[@MKorn]

@@AudioAdvice Thanks for your answer! The humming is only there when all devices in the chain are connected and turned on. After some further investigation I noticed that the Nubert Ampx isn't even grounded despite offering a groundig post for phono. So I grounded the amp myself and the hum became much, much less noticeable. It's still there though and it doesn't make a difference if I gound the turntable or the Tube Box or both. The cartridge I use in the Rega is a AT-VM95SH by the way.

[@AudioAdvice]

@@MKorn You might try a different amp in the loop and also connect the Rega direct to the amp to see what happens as it does look like its got a phono preamp.

[@MKorn]

@@AudioAdvice When connecting the Rega directly to the phono input of the amp there's no hum.

[@Superdave9000]

I have a Rega P3 going to a Lehmann Black Cube SE II, then to an NAD C 320BEE integrated amp. I have blown the board 3 times on preamps and now am realizing I likely need to ground the preamp to the NAD. Would I go from the left channel of the turntable’s RCA connection in the preamp to a grounding screw on the back of the NAD?

[@TheJimmyboy38]

Great advice i need the stripped ground wire , can you share link please, would be appreciated

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks, any small stranded gauge wire will do. Home Depot or Lowes sell them by the foot

[@arbyfung6157]

Hi audio advise.This is great video . i have other problem on my rega P3.When i play LP ,my PMC speaker have subconic effect(woofer is forward and backward movement),is it normal? Between P3 to intergrated amp ,i added IFI zen phono (it have subsonic filter),and also still have this problem...I'm so confuess and bother,cant enjoy my music way.Can you help me,pls .Thank you so much!

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks for reaching out! We really appreciate your request for technical support. We could use a little more info about your setup and room dimension to give you the best recommendations. Please feel free to reach out to us in chat at audioadvice.io/aa-chat and we will talk through all of your goals and your budget for getting the best sound possible with your current setup. Thank you so much for watching.

[@matthewparkinson5462]

Amazing, thanks

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks for watching!

[@lolbeckstar]

OMG! Thank you so much.

[@AudioAdvice]

Glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching

[@DeepPurpleAreKings]

Thanks, man!

[@AudioAdvice]

Glad to help!

[@Yauboyy]

I have my p1 connected to phonostage, then into headphone amp (wanted for headphone experience), so no actual amplifier. Should I use method 2 of the video, where I attach a ground wire from the left channel of the RCA cable from the p1 and then attach that the grounding post of the phonostage, unlike the video where it attaches to the amplifier instead?

[@AudioAdvice]

If you are having hum, yes. Thanks for watching

[@ENGLISHISBEST]

Is this unique to older rega models. I have a rega planar 3, 2 years old with the thicker better phono out cables linked to a Marantz pm6006 & to be honest haven't noticed any hum.

[@AudioAdvice]

It applies to all however 95% of users are like you and never have an issue. There are just some combinations that can have a problem which is why we produced this video. Thanks for watching.

[@edwardgianni7887]

I'm not sure I am clear on method 2. Would it work if all the magic were done on a non-Rega phono preamp? For example, on a Schiit Mani 2, attach one end of the ground wire with the left plug and the other end on the phono preamp's ground connector? So no ground wire on the main amp?

[@AudioAdvice]

You could try that sure.

[@danielpiolet]

What about the right channel, with my Rega Planar 8 with the ifi zen phono the only solution was to do the trick with the right channel cable (red), but looking at your video, I’m thinking it would be wrong? Regards

[@AudioAdvice]

Interesting, we have not actually done it on a P8, if doing the right channel got rid of any hum stick with it! Thanks for watching

[@Beatsnmotivation]

Wouldn’t that ground get hot on your receiver?

[@thevintagehifiambassador8524]

Hello. I have no ground problem. My P3 is connected to a Naim Stage line MM preamp which has a ground connection. This goes to a Sudgen preamp HA-4 (preout) with no ground connection and then in a Rotel Ra-980 BX (Main In) which has ground connection. Should I connect the Naim pre to the Sudgen preamp by a wire ? or the Sudgen preamp to the Rotel Main opower amplifier? Or leave it as I have no hum at all. It's all about sound quality. Thanks a lot.

[@AudioAdvice]

If you have no hum leave it as is. This is only for odd combinations that cause a little hum. Thanks for watching

[@thevintagehifiambassador8524]

thanks a lot for this fast reply. Have a rockin’ week-end. Stay safe and peace from Luxembourg.

[@daveevans1949]

Hi, Thanks for this video I just have a question I have a Rega P1 ECO with Project phono preamp which has a grounding post but I then run straight into active speakers how would I make a ground loop as i run the rega rca into the preamp then an rca to 3.5mm into the active speakers from the preamp and the speakers do not have a grounding post, Thanks in advance

[@AudioAdvice]

Reach out to our experts at audioadvice.com and they can help you out!

[@11cylynt11]

Does it matter if the ground wire is connected between the washer and ground screw? Or should the washer and screw be over the ground wire? Thx in advance 😊

[@AudioAdvice]

It does not matter. Thanks for watching!

[@11cylynt11]

@@AudioAdvice thx 😊

[@dynagroove1.020]

Thanks- I’m going to try Now!!! 👍🔊

[@kostas9826]

Is it safe to further ground the phono preamp to the receiver (through a wire you just showed) to eliminate hum?

[@AudioAdvice]

It should not hurt anything. Thanks for watching

[@kostas9826]

@@AudioAdvice Is there a danger of introducing ground loop in the system? Thank you for the answer!

[@AudioAdvice]

@@kostas9826 Not likely, but you will certainly hear it instantly if it does cause one

[@rochavj]

Hello. I use a Rega P1 + Schiit Mani (phono pre amp) and I connect directly in a active speakers Edifier S1000 mkII. How do I ground it? Thanks

[@AudioAdvice]

If you have no hum, there is no need to, as that is the case with most systems. If you do, follow these instructions using the Mani as the grounding point. Thanks for watching

[@robinstalheim6036]

thank you

[@AudioAdvice]

Glad it was helpful!

[@nicholasgeorgeliatos1529]

Hi @AudiAdvice. Could you help me solve this problem. I have low level hiss off a Rega P6 with a Rega MK4 MC phono stage into the aux inputs on an Exposure 2510 integrated amp. I grounded the phono ground post to the amp ground post, as per the video. However I’m still getting the his. I had the Rega Elicit-R and never had this problem but now introduced the Exposure 2510 and have this noise floor. This is into a pair of Kef R3’s at 87db. Thanks for any advice. Could there be a fault in the amp to phono stage inter connector wires?

[@AudioAdvice]

If you had no problems before, the new component is likely the cause. Thanks for watching

[@ristekrstevski3666]

One question, Can I use the Method One if I using another Model of preamp instead of Rega preamp which has ground screw?

[@robbie00001]

Was just wondering the same!?

[@Malcm59]

I have a Cambridge Audio Duo phono stage and a Rega amp, and method one did the trick for me 👍

[@thexboxgamer89]

Can you link where to buy the ground wire? I’m looking on Amazon and all the options are a bit overwhelming since I don’t know which one I need

[@AudioAdvice]

If the ground wire is for a turntable, there is nothing special. A piece of 22g wire you can get at a hardware store for a dollar will do the trick. Thanks for watching

[@shaynetaylor8185]

​@AudioAdvice can it be 14 guage speaker wire?

[@Atheistic007]

I have a Rega P3 (2000-2007 version) and I recently bought the Elys 2 cart. The Elys 2 cart picks up EMI from the transformer in my phono stage. If I pick up and rotate the P3 the hum increases or decrease depending on its orientation to the phono stage and the same applies if I rotate the phono stage. It was so bad that I moved the phono stage as far away from my Rega as I could. I've never had this problem with any other cartridge with the same phono stage. Have you ever come across that?

[@AudioAdvice]

The Rega cartridges are unshielded. Rega feels it makes them sound better, but you can encounter hum if there is a field nearby. Hope this helps

[@Ezekieljsw]

Did not work for me, sadly. I have a P1 plugged directly into a Demon PMA-600NE integrated amp. Hoped this would be the fix for that annoying hum, but no luck. Am I gonna have to invest in a phono stage?

[@AudioAdvice]

Did you try grouning to the Denon chassis? You might have to find an area where there is no paint so the ground can attach to metal.

[@louisgreen3915]

This may seem like a dum question, but when your adding an extra earth cable, why does it have to be on the left channel audio cable and not the right ? I thought the black represents the left channel and the red represents the right, meaning they both do exactly the same thing. I'm asking because I need to do this, and I want to get it right.

[@AudioAdvice]

That is not a dumb question at all! Rega puts the ground for the table there, that is why. We hope this will be helpful, thanks for watching

[@louisgreen3915]

@@AudioAdvice Thank you so much. My confusion is at an end. Love your channel.

[@frc04101]

I have a Rega Planar 1 Plus and Edifier Active Speakers and have this problem too. Should I do the same, but with the Speaker screw? Thanks!

[@AudioAdvice]

If the Edifier has a three pronged plug, it should work. Thanks for watching

[@frc04101]

@@AudioAdvice Oh, no. It doesn't :'( Any other advice? :(

[@AudioAdvice]

@@frc04101 You should still try it, the speaker may be grounded in a way that it would work

[@frc04101]

@@AudioAdvice I just tried it and the hum was still there. :( Is there any adapter that turns the speaker plug into a three proned plug?

[@AudioAdvice]

@@frc04101 Not that we know. You might make sure a ground actually happened, sometimes you have to scrape off a little paint under the screw.

[@elisapaul3099]

Hi! I managed to ground it but then the volume was too low, do you know how can I fix that?

[@AudioAdvice]

Something went wrong then. If you purchased your Rega from Audio Advice please contact us for more advanced tech help. Thanks for watching

[@rasek696]

A tried connecting the wire from the left channel to the ground socket and I got no sound on the Left channel

[@AudioAdvice]

If you purchased your Rega from Audio Advice, please reach out to our team for help. Something is wrong though, that never happens

[@lauher21]

How would I do it with the ground wire with progs

[@AudioAdvice]

We are not sure what you mean?

[@Sequeldj]

Didn't work for me unfortunately. My planar 2 is connected directly into the phono stage on my yamaha receiver (RX1040A) It's one of my biggest issues with the rega TT. My technics SL1210 has no issues whatsoever when connected to the same amp. I cant understand why rega don't provide a separate ground wire. Unfortunately I was sold the dream!!

[@AudioAdvice]

Sorry it did not work. Are you 100% sure you made good contact with the metal surface, sometimes the paint acts as an insulator. Rega has always made their tables this way and claim it sounds better when they put the ground on the audio cable, but it is different than everyone else. Thanks for watching

[@danielmorgan9990]

Kick hooked up my rega 6 to audiolab 6000a having sound issue when moving arm toward or away from record...cud this be the problem?

[@AudioAdvice]

if the sound issue is hum, it could be, if it is static, it could be bad internal wiring in the tonearm, which is extremely rare, but can happen

[@danielmorgan9990]

@@AudioAdvice thanx for the reply..it seems absolutely fine now... hopefully it was a cable issue...thanx again 👍

[@WaveRyeDer99]

None of that worked on my RP3. I noticed when I put my hand close to the tone arm it can get worse. Faulty tone arm? Was I sold a lemon? Very frustrated and on the verge of hating Rega. Yes it has the infamous ELYS 2.

[@AudioAdvice]

Sorry to hear that. You may want to try reaching out to our experts at audioadvice.com to see if they can help.

[@joshuasantelises7407]

Link to ground cable??

[@AudioAdvice]

You can just make your own out of any kind of skinny wire. Thanks for watching

[@Boutsik]

I called Audio Advice and they said they DON'T send the wire unless you come into the store. I mentioned this video and but they said they didn't have it. Was easy to get the wire, but irritating that they weren't helpful.

[@plawson91]

I live just up the road from them and customer service has been hit or miss for me. Some of the main floor guys are "aloof" at best. But I've had generally better experiences with the online order support staff.

[@Malcm59]

Any core from a piece of spare mains cable will be good for this 👍

[@gaborheidt1692]

I did version 2 and the left channel stopped buzzing. Can I ground both channels with a Y cable?

[@AudioAdvice]

That is odd, you should try just grounding the right channel and see if it stops buzzing, and if it does try both. Thanks for watching

[@gaborheidt1692]

@@AudioAdvice Grounding the right channel solved the problem. Thanks!

[@AudioAdvice]

@@gaborheidt1692 Glad we were helpful!

[@gaborheidt1692]

@@AudioAdvice Unfortunately, it doesn't work. Whichever channel I ground, the noise is eliminated. If both, there is no playback. What could be the problem?

[@AudioAdvice]

@@gaborheidt1692 That is very odd, you may have a wiring problem in the cartridge or turntable tonearm. You might want to contact the dealer you purchased it from.

[@damiencaze]

Got my planar 1 yesterday. It could be a nice turntable but the crappy plastic arm lever and the cheap unchangeable RCA cable are really really a shame and make me almost regret my purchase.

[@AudioAdvice]

Understandable. Give it a try and if you purchased from audioadvice.com, we offer returns within 30 days should you not end up liking it. You can also chat with our experts to be sure you have it set up to get the most out of it for your system. Hope it ends up working out 👍

[@russbutton9347]

This is definitely going to be an issue with vintage tube gear from Marantz, Fisher or McIntosh.

[@AudioAdvice]

It can be, but this method works almost all the time

[@stephen579]

I'm sorry to say but this didn't cure the problem, I have an RB 300 arm and it has a ground wire but connecting that does not stop the hum either, but if I put my hand under the plinth and touch the large nut attaching the arm to the plinth all hum disappears, I do not want to solder a wire to this nut but I have found a large thin washer that we fit between the nut and the plinth and I will solder a ground wire to that.

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks for sharing, that will likely fix the hum.

[@nelauren]

One would figure for the prices these things are selling they would have a more elegant solution.

[@AudioAdvice]

You only have to do this on rare occasions, normally the table works fine without this.

[@violentsense]

It doesn't work. I have REGA RP6 turntable + REGA ARIA mkII phono + REGA ELEX-R and REGA ELICIT-R amplifiers. And both amps have a very unpleasant hum, whether I'm using an external phono stage or plugging into the amplifier's phono input directly. And your advice doesn't in practice, I can connect the ground of the phono stage and amplifier with a separate wire or I can add a wire between the ground of the left channel and the ground of the amplifier - it doesn't change anything, the hum remains. But if I disconnect the left channel from the amplifier (or phono stage) and connect the ground of the left channel to the ground of the amplifier (or phono stage) with a wire, the hum disappears completely. The ONLY solution is to modify the standard tonearm cable, disconnect the ground from the left channel and bring it out on a separate wire, as is done by all normal manufacturers.

[@AudioAdvice]

Sorry this did not work for you. It normally does. You have some great Rega gear and you modified your arm to get it to work.

[@violentsense]

​@@AudioAdvice You have nothing to apologize for, this is REGA's fault. If your advice helped anyone, that's great. I just wanted to inform those who are unlucky like me. Thank you for your time.

[@Sequeldj]

@@violentsense Didn't work for me unfortunately. My planar 2 is connected directly into the phono stage on my yamaha receiver (RX1040A) It's one of my biggest issues with the rega TT. My technics SL1210 has no issues whatsoever when connected to the same amp. I cant understand why rega don't provide a separate ground wire like technics. Unfortunately I was sold the dream!!

[@PDXDrumr]

I have a Rega P1, and it worked with my Creek Evo, but not my new parasound amp, so it's going to the shooting range w/me soon. Designing a turntable without an engineered ground, and some hinky wiring job I would have done to get a 62 Chevy Nova home in 1975 isn't exactly quality engineering of hi fi equipment. This is how Rega operates. All RCAs are designed w/those notches in the modern era, the turntable has serious design flaws, including motor noise, bad belts, and no ground. A .270 at 150 yards will do it good. It's a garbage brand imo.

[@AudioAdvice]

Before you take it out and shoot it, you might want to do two things, first check its value on ebay, they hold their value well and second, your issue may be the Parasound. We are a dealer of theirs and have had some products produce more residual hum than expected in some systems. We just had an A23 power amp trying to drive a passive subwoofer and you could hear the residual amp hum. Thanks for watching

[@scottkasper6378]

Did nada for me. Still 60hz when the needle gets to the end of the record. They can’t engineer that out in 2020? Really?

[@billsmith8225]

Had the same problem with Rega planer 3. I plugged my phono preamp in a different electrical socket and moved it further away from my amp and other components. Problem pretty well solved.

[@StringerNews1]

Sure it can be engineered out. Write a big enough check.

[@scottkasper6378]

@@StringerNews1 I did already when I bought the thing that shouldn’t have a 60hz hum

[@StringerNews1]

@@scottkasper6378 you hired an engineer? An electrical engineer? And the engineer didn't design something to solve the problem? Ask for your money back.

[@scottkasper6378]

@@StringerNews1 I’m not sure you grasp what I said