# Where does the ground cable from my turntable go?



## Travis

Hey guys I want to buy a Technics SL1200MK2. I have a phono preamp from TheSource which has two sets of RCA jacks, one for in and one for out. That's all that's there.

Now, I want to buy the turntable, and the cartridge I have picked out, but I am wondering where the ground cable goes from the turntable, since I don't have a ground post on my Denon AVR. I'm thinking that I may have made a mistake when I bought this preamp?


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Well, if the Denon is lacking a ground post, that has nothing to do with the preamp. You should be able to attach the ground wire to the Denon via any screw that holds the cover on.

Regards,
Wayne


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## Travis

Wayne A. Pflughaupt said:


> Well, if the Denon is lacking a ground post, that has nothing to do with the preamp. You should be able to attach the ground wire to the Denon via any screw that holds the cover on.
> 
> Regards,
> Wayne


No I know that that has nothing to do with the pre amp, but I was just specifying that it also does not have one. So I can just connect the ground wire to a screw on the side of my receiver then hey?

Awesome!  

Thank you very much!


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt

> No I know that that has nothing to do with the pre amp, but I was just specifying that it also does not have one.


Okay, now I get it! :T

I doubt a grounding post on the preamp would do much good. I'm pretty sure it would have to be grounded to the receiver. The grounding posts receivers had had continuity with the chassis, so yes, any screw on the Denon should do the trick. They're often pretty short, so you might have to substitute one that's a bit longer. If you don't get a good ground, you'll get some noise or hum. The paint on the top panel (which is typically where you'll find the most accessible screws) might be preventing good contact, so you might have to sand a small pad down to the metal. If there's a rear-facing screw securing the top panel, that might be the one to use. It won't be noticable if you have to resort to sanding.

Regards,
Wayne


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## eaglerider94

Travis said:


> Hey guys I want to buy a Technics SL1200MK2. I have a phono preamp from TheSource which has two sets of RCA jacks, one for in and one for out. That's all that's there.
> 
> Now, I want to buy the turntable, and the cartridge I have picked out, but I am wondering where the ground cable goes from the turntable, since I don't have a ground post on my Denon AVR. I'm thinking that I may have made a mistake when I bought this preamp?


I have a Denon 3808CI with a Technics turntable and I've attached the ground wire to the ground connection on the rear of the amp. Then again, a ground wire is a ground wire so if your amp doesn't have one then any screw which fastens the cover on the rear should suffice.


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## Travis

I'm assuming that I could use any screw on any of my components (such as my DVD player, since it is easiest to remove from my component stack being on the top, to look and see if the screws are touching any ciruits)


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## robbo266317

You can try it but it may introduce a ground loop and hum.


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## Travis

robbo266317 said:


> You can try it but it may introduce a ground loop and hum.


Why would it matter which component it was? They're all plugged in to a socket of some sort that delivers electricity.


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## robbo266317

Ideally you want all earths from one piece of equipment going directly to just one other piece of equipment (including signal earths). 
If you connect the turntable signal earths to the amplifier and the earthlug to the DVD then you have potentially two earth paths going back to the wall outlet and end up with a loop.

It may not matter, the only way to know is try it.


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## Travis

robbo266317 said:


> Ideally you want all earths from one piece of equipment going directly to just one other piece of equipment (including signal earths).
> If you connect the turntable signal earths to the amplifier and the earthlug to the DVD then you have potentially two earth paths going back to the wall outlet and end up with a loop.
> 
> It may not matter, the only way to know is try it.


Oh! What if the DVD player is plugged into the AVR's power outlet, as it is?


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## Kal Rubinson

My general rule is to connect the ground cable where it does the most good. I select 'phono,' turn up the gain to moderately high listening level and then touch the ground cable to the chassis screws of each the other major components in the same rack until I find the quietest background. Sometimes that is achieved without connecting the cable to anything.

Kal


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## tonyvdb

Remember that if its a newer receiver or pre pro it may not have a true ground (a lot now a days only have the the hot and neutral). Your best ground would be going directly to the ground on the wall plug, the screw holding the plate to the plug will usually work if its not painted and the plugin was installed properly.


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## Travis

So the general idea here is that when I get the turntable, experiment!


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