Your Allnic tube pre-pre amp is the likely culprit. Get a good step-up transformer! Any tube gain stage will be inherently noisy when trying to amplify a mc cartridge's typically low voltage (<1 millivolt). Yet the mc cartridge has adequate current output - making it an ideal match for a transformer! I have been using step-up transformers with my mc cartridges for 40 years with NO problems! Perfectly quiet backgrounds to the music from LP's! I'm presently using a Denon 320 with a Denon 103R. Since you have a Koetsu you might consider a Koetsu step-up transformer (after selling the Allnic!) Or for less money a Bob's CineMag would be a good choice! Check out Art Dudley's writings on this subject on the Stereophile site (under "Listening") He believes (as I do!) that NOTHING beats a good mc cartridge and transformer! That is why I have always preferred analog over digital playback!
Pre amp ruining analog
I recently obtained an Audio Research Ref 6 which works wonderfully well for digital but creates such a whine and hum when I try using it for vinyl I can no longer listen to it. I've spent a lot of money on my analog set up and enjoy vinyl enormously so you can imagine how frustrating this can be.
I've tried all the known remedies; cheater plugs. grounding from the tone arm to all components, unplugging my cable box and wireless router(which of course cannot be a long term solution), using different inputs, switched rca and balanced interconnects... I don't have a lot of room in my apartment so I can't go moving components far away from each other. I could go back to ss but I'd prefer to keep the arc because digitally it creates such beautiful music compared to the ss pre I had before. And it would be a hassle to sell needless to say.
My amp is a vtl s200(shortly switching to a Pass 350.8) which created a slight hum for vinyl which was masked by the music but the tube pre makes lps intolerable. My phono pre and head amps are allnics(when replaced with a Shiite the hum was still there. When I had a ss pre amp and amp the allnics created no hum at all.) Turntable is a vpi superscout with 3D tonearm and koetsu blue lace.
Any ideas before I am forced to go back fully to ss? Tubes are so musical and warm but they seems to come at too high a price.
I've tried all the known remedies; cheater plugs. grounding from the tone arm to all components, unplugging my cable box and wireless router(which of course cannot be a long term solution), using different inputs, switched rca and balanced interconnects... I don't have a lot of room in my apartment so I can't go moving components far away from each other. I could go back to ss but I'd prefer to keep the arc because digitally it creates such beautiful music compared to the ss pre I had before. And it would be a hassle to sell needless to say.
My amp is a vtl s200(shortly switching to a Pass 350.8) which created a slight hum for vinyl which was masked by the music but the tube pre makes lps intolerable. My phono pre and head amps are allnics(when replaced with a Shiite the hum was still there. When I had a ss pre amp and amp the allnics created no hum at all.) Turntable is a vpi superscout with 3D tonearm and koetsu blue lace.
Any ideas before I am forced to go back fully to ss? Tubes are so musical and warm but they seems to come at too high a price.