Cartridge for Denon DP 3000 NE
Hello everyone,
I decided to upgrade my turntable in part because a persistent hum associated with the white cartridge wire kept defeating my best efforts, & that ProJect Carbon Debut tonearm wasn't readily re-wireable. Anyway, I got a very good deal on a new Denon as above. I attached my Ortofon 2M Black with some difficulty because it doesn't fit easily into the Denon shell. But I got it in, calibrated. All good. Until I noticed one channel played very faintly. I checked the anti-skate, vertical tracking & stylus force ... nothing had any impact. I swapped the Ortofon for a Grado Gold. That played both channels, but with a terrible hum, which I could not eradicate. Finally I put in an old Ortofon OM which I'd got with my first turntable. That played fine.
Incidentally, (or not), I use a small Parasound phono stage as well, which connects to the aux 1 on my Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II. Connecting directly to the Cronus phono jacks made no difference in how the Ortofon 2M played, but with the Grado Gold the hum disappeared, but it also failed to play both channels. With the Ortofon OM there was a slight hum when connected directly to the Cronus, but which disappeared entirely played through the Parasound.
So I guess my question is, before I go & buy an expensive cartridge that doesn't work right, are there cartridges that simply aren't compatible with a unit such as the Denon? My Ortofon 2Ms (I have the black & the red) were getting due to be replaced at this point anyway, so I don't mind investing in a new one. I just want to be certain it will work correctly.
Many thanks....
Sorry if I wasn't clear about all my efforts to root out the problem. I used new ICs on the turntable. When I switched them from left to right the problem persisted on the left side. When I connected the turntable directly to the integrated amp's phono, bypassing the Parasound phono stage, it persisted there as well. Also, if it's a downstream issue, why is the Ortofon OM playing like a champ? Appreciate the comments. |
Intermittent problems like these are often the most difficult to diagnose and eliminate. Sometimes the physical acts required to change a cartridge or IC, the plugging and unplugging can create or mask the issue. Check the solder joints at cartridge clips. Check also inside your phono stage the connections between internal wires and the hot and ground nodes of the RCA jacks. For example take a tweezers and tug gently on those phono stage wires. Something’s going on somewhere. |
Dear @andykatz : Don´t be so complicated and play with the Parasound with out that tube Rogue and about the Grado in the Denon is almost normally that Grado makes hum with DD TT motor, so forgeret about your Grado and go a head with the Black and its new up-grade replacement stylus. Don't worry it will work just fine.
R. |
Raul, I am not absolutely certain, but in re-reading the OP, it seems to me you can't blame all the problems on an incompatibility between the Grado cartridge and the new Denon TT. Seems he had issues with other cartridges as well. Depends I guess on what phono he is using in his first paragraph. But I agree, if the Parasound has a volume control (and sufficient phono gain), then there is no need for the Cronus to play LPs. |
