moving coil loading

@imhififan If that schematic is correct, that preamp is susceptible to RFI injected directly into its input via the tonearm cable. So the 30dB peak that can result from certain LOMC cartridges would likely cause the phono section to make distortion- which would likely cause it to sound bright.

If you look at the left channel input, you'll see that the input isn't directly inside the feedback network. So when the peak is active (which can be energized and set into oscillation by the cartridge signal) it can overload the input, creating a distortion similar to 'transient intermodulation distortion' that occurred with some high feedback amplifiers made about the same time.

Loading is probably the most practical solution; If the input were modified with RF protection (and stopping resistors in the circuit) it could be rendered immune. But most phono section designers didn't take the significance of putting an inductor in parallel with a capacitance... they figured if they had enough gain and proper EQ they were home free.

I would start with something a lot higher than just 10X (maybe start with 1000Ohms) since what you're up to is killing the RFI generated. The highest value that can kill it will likely also be the best sounding.

@vtacoustatx You are not loading the cartridge to any effect you can hear until the load is extremely low.

The loading resistor is there for the benefit of the phono preamp, which apparently is sensitive to Radio Frequency Interference (RFI).

The cartridge is an inductor and the tonearm cable has capacitance so they have a resonant frequency which is often 1MHz or higher. When energized, this resonance is essentially RFI that can mess with the input of many phono sections; hence the resistor, which detunes the resonance.

So ignore the stuff you commonly see about '10x the impedance of the cartridge'. All that's important for your phono section is the elimination of RFI. So the highest resistor value that does that is the right value.

BTW, when you load the cartridge you make the cantilever stiffer since you are asking more work of the cartridge. The industry standard for cartridge loading is 47,000 Ohm (47K); when you make it drive 400 Ohms you are asking two orders magnitude more work and that has to come from somewhere.

That additional stiffness is decreased compliance so the cartridge may not track as expected in the arm. It also reduces the ability of the cartridge to trace higher frequencies (both measurable and audible) which means there is a risk of the loading resistor becoming a tone control.

If the phono section is resistant to RFI at its input, its plug and play with no worries about loading (this isn't true for MM high output cartridges; that's an entirely different topic).