@apogeum - Good catch. I reversed the tt leads and the same sound stayed right. So it has to be the Linto I think. As for the anti-skate, I checked the tonearm leads and the cue and I didn't see anything. I ordered a cheap $129 Pro-Ject MM/MC phono stage from Amazon just to totally eliminate the Linto while I see if it can be repaired or it's not worth it. It's a very decent phono stage on the used market.
Strangest Phono Sound I Ever Heard
First of all, Happy TG. Yesterday, the strangest thing happened with my TT. I have a Basis 2001 with a Transfiguration Orpheus, running to a Linn Linto. I've had this setup for well over 7 years without any problems, although I did change the cart once. So the other day I put on a record and I get this strange sound in the right speaker, almost like mistracking and it started happening consistently. I checked all the connections and they were noiseless. I even changed the input on my integrated amp, which works perfectly with my digital. So I figure maybe the cartridge is messed up so I change the cartridge and when I am doing the alignment, I notice an excessive amount of anti-skate, even though I have it set to minimum. So I take the counterweight off the anti-skate and it seems better. I install the new cart and It is making the same mistracking sound in the right channel. Plus, I am getting a sound that sounds like a motorcycle speeding up and slowing down in the right speaker. It is definitely not a 60-cycle hum. It sounds like a recording of a motorcycle varying in speed. I shook all the connections and nothing was loose. The weirdest thing I've ever heard out of an audio system. Any ideas? Again, have a good holiday.