Raining on My Parade...

Could those of you well-versed in analog provide some theories for this problem? After several years of being out of analog, I recently took the plunge and got some new gear.

I just received and set up my Nottingham Spacedeck/OL Rega Modified 250 arm/Dynavector 20XH cartridge. My phono stage is an Audio Research PH3, and my preamp is a First Sound Presence Deluxe MK2. All the connections appear to be correct, but when I tried to play a record, there was an immediate loud popping sound--or to be more precise, a double pop, which occurs about once per revolution. At first, I thought the record was scratched, even though I cleaned it thoroughly before putting it on. So I tried the other side and experienced the same loud double pop.

Now here's the really weird part. When I removed the stylus from the record and moved the arm back away from the platter, the popping sound continued with each revolution. Even weirder, when I stopped the platter from rotating, the popping sound STILL continued at the same interval. The only way to stop it is to mute the preamp. I could hear the music underneath the popping sound, but the pop is so loud it overwhelms the music. And it seems very strange that it continues with the turntable COMPLETELY still. Muting will stop the popping, but then when I take the pre back off of mute, the popping does not start again until I try to play another record. Very perplexing.

So, does anyone have any theories on this problem? Is the output on the cartridge (2.6 mv) too high? The AR PH3 came with a kit which would lower the gain if I replace the resistors, but I thought I would be fine as long as the output wasn't 5 or 6 mv. Before I perform surgery on this unit, I want to understand the problem. Maybe it's something else.

Has anyone ever experienced anything like this before? I would be very grateful for any advice or suggestions you might have. My happy reunion with vinyl hangs in the balance.

Thanks,
Chris