Turntable Hum

Did you recently connect a cable TV or other new device to your stereo?

The picture I’m getting is there is no hum until the stylus sets down with enough pressure to move the cantilever and that’s when the hum starts. If so not good, as it probably indicates a fault inside the cartridge itself.

Simple test, watch closely as you slowly lower it down onto the Onzow. If the hum starts the instant it touches the surface then its static or electrical or at any rate something outside and you can deal with it. If the hum only starts after the cartidge is lowered enough for the cantilever angle to start changing though then it seems to me its probably inside the cartridge.

Try the same test on a stationary record, and on the NON moving platter, and on a playing record. Lower it real slow and watch real close to see exactly when the hum starts.

Not sure how experienced you are but there's a normal range the cantilever angle goes through moving up and down. If it goes too high or too low outside that range the same happens at the other end, where there's coils and magnets crammed real close together, just begging for trouble if that happens. Could be one time it got caught on the cleaner or something tweaked it too far and now you got problems. Just a guess at this point.

A few additional points.  There have been no changes to my set up in over a year. A month ago I had a professional audio sales and take repair shop check out my turntable on record store day. Everything checked out fine. The cart is a 2M red with a 2M Blue stylus upgrade (from a year ago). I put the red back in and had the same problem. 

You changed the cartridge? Or just the stylus?

Just the stylus.

Right. So those things slide in and out of the cartridge body. If what I suspect happened it would be inside and changing the stylus won't change anything. Try lowering and watching like I said and see what we come up with. 

Well, if the noise was just random, I'd suggest you have a power supply issue.

Try removing and reseating the cartridge pin leads.