Audio Systems: Connecting portable CD player to stereo, panasonic cd player, mini stereo system

Question
Hi Cleggsan,

I asked a question a while back, and you were very helpful with that, so I have a follow up question.  I was trying to use my stereo speakers (mini stereo system AIWA NSX-AJ100) to play a CD from a portable Panasonic CD player since the CD player in the stereo unit broke.  You suggested I get a cable to connect the portable CD player to the stereo, and I got RCA cables with the red and white plugs and successfully played CDs through the auxilary input.  However, as soon as I plug the cord into the portable CD player (without even playing the CD from the portable player), there is a noticeable buzzing, which gets better if the portable player is placed on top of the stereo unit, and worse if the portable player is moved away a bit.  Even when the portable player is placed right on top of the stereo unit, there is still some buzzing, and possibly different pitched buzzing when the music is actually playing from the CD.  I purchased a very cheap cord ($1.50), but noticed that there were many that were more expensive, some including some sort of gold that ranged between $4 and $20.  Do you think I'm having this problem because of the quality of the cord, or something else?  Please let me know what you suggest to get rid of the buzzing.  Thank you very much.


Answer
The buzzing has nothing to do with the cost of the cable.

Is the portable cd player running on batteries?  That is the best way. If you are running it off a power pod that can cause a grounding problem between the cd player and the amplifier system you are using  (Aiwa).

The cable you are using should have rca phono plugs on one end and a mini stereo plug on the other end that plugs into the portable player.  If the portable player is battery operated, it would have no buzzing coming from its audio unless the cable is defective and has lost one of its ground connections.

So, give it another try and make sure you have it hooked up according to the above.  Should work just fine; I have done it many, many times with various kinds of equipment myself and have never had a problem.

Let me know how it goes.
C