@jji666 I can vouch for the cable from turntable to phono stage make a big difference. My Music Hall mm5-3 came with its own, directional, RCA cables. They’re the best I own, and, I think, play a major role in the sound quality of the vinyl on my system. My phono stage is rather modest, but I’m not getting any distortion of which I’m aware. Good luck sorting your situation.
Ortofon carts are too hot for my phono preamp?
When I need hardware advice, I always come to Audiogon for the true experts. Thanks in advance and happy Easter!
So after much trial and error, I THINK I have deduced that my Ortofon 2M Bronze and 2M Black cartridges are too hot for my Avid Pulsus phono preamp. Some softer recordings are fine, but I think I am hearing some distortion with loud transients and even sometimes on relatively loud vocals.
I have a Pro-ject tube phono preamp I swap in and I don’ t hear that distortion. I never hear that distortion with other sources.
Given my investment in 3 Ortofon 2M carts (1 Bronze, 1 Black, 1 Black SE) and the Pulsus, is there anything I can do to step down that signal from the carts without doing any damage to the sound?
Any other thoughts?
(BTW the 2 turntables I am using are a Rega P3/24 and an older Rotel. Meridian preamp has variable gain settings on inputs and I can hear the distortion at any setting.)