cartridge for rega planar 3 - 800 range

tom, the only hum in my system is audible with the tt off. it can be heard when NO source is playing if i turn up the volume past 2:00 on my melos preamp. it may be very mildly present before the stylus makes contact with vinyl, but is not there in the silences while music is playing; or between cuts for that matter. thanks for any and all info/opinions, etc. jim

thanks for the info everyone! dave, i owe you one...
i mounted a grado reference master last night. there is no hum from it whatsoever.
the sonic improvements are vast. soundstage many times deeper and wider. bass is no longer over emphasized which may only be because of it's relationship to the mids and highs, which are much clearer/more transparent and extended; but in any case bass is also much tighter, and no "boominess".
everything resolves faster.
the single most striking thing may be the amazing sound of vocals (cause the mids are so wonderful?), especially in relation to each other during harmonies. the harmonies on abbey road are beautiful. i have the mfsl cat stevens teaser and the firecat. it never blew me away and i always wondered why it's a TAS pick. last night i found out why (holy harmonies, vocal fans). johnny hartman w/trane moved BEYOND the sublime, and ella's cole porter was NOT just one of those things.
cannonball's solo coming in after coltrane on all blues is 100 times as lyrical as it sounded before (it never made me think of desmond before, even for a second. the experience hendrix remake of are you experienced sounds like a different mix entirely. sorry for running on, but all this before its even broken in is pretty exciting. anyway, thanks again kids...