Please Help How to load my Grado?I am lost.


Hi
I am lost in settings.My Grado Reference MM cartridge manual says this:input load 47,000 OHMS,inductance 45 Mh,Resistance 475 OHMS,Not sensitive to captive loads.

My pentagon phono stage has 8 dip switches per channel.
These are settings for MM Systems (one channel example):
switches 1,2 and 3 (impendance for MC systems) should be OFF.Switches 4 and 5 are amplification and i set them for highest one possible (switch 4-ON and switch 5-ON)
Switches 6,7 and 8 are capacitance level for MM (47 Pf,150 Pf AND 330 Pf).I set these switches for 47 pF (ON,OFF,OFF).
The problem is that the volume on the preamp has to be 40 as opposed to 30 when i was using low output Shelter 501 MC,loaded into 47kOhms.Should i load MM like i did with Shelter MC?
What am i doing wrong?The review said to load it into 47kOhms but on my phono stage 47 kOhms are for MC cartridge so i loaded it into 47 pF (whatever it means)
Any help would be appreciated.I bought Grado MM thinking it will pump up my system with it's 4,8mV output but ended up with even lower volume then when i had Shelter MC cartridge.
Currrent volume levels on my preamp:CD-20,Shelter MC was 30,with Grado i have to turn it up to 40-45.
overhang
Jsman,so you're saying i should load Grado MM exactly the same way i did with Shelter MC?I'll try.I cannot do it on the fly because the switches are on the underside of the unit behind the metal plate.
There are 2 issues involved in your decision: 1)Input load - set it at 47k. Tt doesn't make a difference if it is MM or MC, that is just loading not gain. 2)Phono stage gain - set it on the low setting. MM cartridges are (at least so far as I know) much higher in output and need a lot less gain from your phono stage. Check your Grado Spec's and compare them to the Shelters spec's for gain and the difference will give you a clue.

The 47pf is for loading for Cartridges which need it - most typical MM cartridges, and you select values by calculating the total picofards needed including the IC's to match the cartridge with the phono pre. Grado's and most MC's do not need resistance loading so you can ignor it for these two cartridges.

But do set the gain of the phono pre low. If I'm wrong you've lost nothing except a few minutes necessary to increase it.

Good luck.