Seeking help with feedback through audio system


I currently use a high mass, direct coupled turntable and have been experiencing some strange "feedback" type issues - I will explain below.

I'd like to know if anyone else has experienced these type of problems and if there is a potential solution.

Situation:
My table sits on a wall shelf (massive & "home made") which connects/integrates with a load bearing wall. I have it set up this way because I have VERY springy hardwood floors which just don't work with any turntable (suspended or non-suspended).

Everything sounds great but at a certain volume level, I begin to hear what I presume to be feedback. It is a steady upper mid-range resonant tone which does not amplify or get louder, it just remains constant until a few seconds after the overall system volume is lowered. The feedback will continue between songs on a record but eventually gets drowned out by the next song and becomes less audible. I can faintly hear the feedback "within" the next song.

When the volume is lowered, the sound is great - with no feedback issues.

I presume this feedback is caused by the interaction between my room and the cartridge (Shelter 901) - which from what I've read may not be a good match for my unipivot tonearm - further complicating or enhancing the problem. I dunno. I did try moving the table to a different location within the room and the same problem occurred when the system was playing at about the same volume - however I think the frequency or tone-of-the-feedback-tone was a bit lower - perhaps mid-bass feedback.

Again, I'd like to know if any of you have experience anything like this and hopefully you've got suggestions on how to alleviate the problem.
bwhite

Showing 2 responses by dan_ed

Could it be a tube? It's kind of hard to hold it up to the internet so we can have a listen. :) I do also wonder about tonearm chatter with your cart/arm combo, but I don't know if this would be volume related as much as frequency related. You already tried moving the table. This may be totally off the wall but could you somehow dampen the tonearm as an experiment, maybe with a rubberband that you could slide back and forth. Might rule out the unipivot-901 theory.

BTW, very nice system!
Really starting to sound like it is down stream from the TT. Is there any difference in the channels? Does it follow one or the other channel?