Yes, you will hear a noise in your speakers if you tap on your tone arm. It is like a microphone! You cartridge is a transducer and very sensitive to vibrations. It turns mechanical vibrations recorded in the groove into an electrical signal. Even very tiny vibrations. If it didn't make noise through your speakers when tapped on the arm I would suspect a dead cartridge. DUH.
Tonearm Noise
Hi. I am curious if anyone can tell me if it's normal to hear a loud noise when lowering or lifting the tonearm. The sound my tonearm makes is similar to a mike being tapped or dragged, however, once the stylus hits the record its very quiet. Do I need to apply lubricant or oil to it to reduce friction, I've read somewhere here that doing so will create more problems because oil or lube will attract dust. if it helps my TT is a Nottingham Interspace Jr with a Interspace arm. Thanks.