The following link should take you to a thread on Audiogon that identifies the output of the SHO as 2.4 mV.
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1041440246&openfrom&1&4#1
As TWL points out on that thread, 2.4 mV is high for a MC cartridge. Hark, have you plugged the SHO into the MM input on your AI Mod 3A? If so, your output would be on the low side, as the poster of that earlier thread experienced, and you might want to try plugging into a MC input. If this is already the case and your gain is still too low, I begin to suspect something might be wrong with your equipment. Hope not.
To address some of your other questions, I would opt for getting a phono preamp with good gain. (Of course, plug the cartridge into the phono preamp and the phono preamp into a line level input on the AI Mod 3A.) A good phono preamp shouldn't impact the sound adversely. After all, most preamps are line level only, anyhow. Good luck.
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1041440246&openfrom&1&4#1
As TWL points out on that thread, 2.4 mV is high for a MC cartridge. Hark, have you plugged the SHO into the MM input on your AI Mod 3A? If so, your output would be on the low side, as the poster of that earlier thread experienced, and you might want to try plugging into a MC input. If this is already the case and your gain is still too low, I begin to suspect something might be wrong with your equipment. Hope not.
To address some of your other questions, I would opt for getting a phono preamp with good gain. (Of course, plug the cartridge into the phono preamp and the phono preamp into a line level input on the AI Mod 3A.) A good phono preamp shouldn't impact the sound adversely. After all, most preamps are line level only, anyhow. Good luck.