Jmfawdofile 12-22-2017Joe, the main reason I suggested that you determine what the loading is set to is that it might help in determining the cause of the problem. I’m doubtful that any change you might make to the setting would constitute a solution, although I suppose it’s possible.
Suggestions on loading to address this issue? It sounds fine as it’s currently set.
My original point regarding loading was that when you disconnect and reconnect the cables you are not only physically manipulating the cables and connectors, but in addition when the cables are disconnected you are temporarily changing the impedance presented to the input circuit of the phono stage from a very low value (essentially the cartridge’s impedance) to a significantly higher value (whatever the loading is set to). And it seems conceivable to me that doing so might be allowing the input stage to recover from some abnormal condition.
As you can see in the manual resistive loading is set at the factory to 47K, but DIP switches are provided in the unit which can put resistors of 100 ohms, 1K, and 10K in parallel with the 47K, in any combination. There is also provision for paralleling a resistor supplied by the user, which a previous owner may have done if you are not the original purchaser.
So the overall load resistance may be somewhat less than 100 ohms, or it can be as high as 47K, or it can be at various settings in between. If it is at the low end of that range, the likelihood that my hypothesis accounts for the problem is minimal, since whether or not the cables are connected would make a relatively small difference in the impedance presented to the input stage. If it is at the other extreme, 47K, the likelihood of my hypothesis being relevant would be significantly greater.
But to answer your question, if there is any possibility that changing the loading might be a solution, my guess is that the 47K setting would stand the best chance, if it is not already set that way. If it is not already set that way, changing to 47K would change the impedance presented to the input stage during normal operation in the same direction (i.e., making it higher) as disconnecting the cables has been doing, albeit to a smaller degree.
Good luck. Regards,
-- Al