So Weird- No Stylus Contact Woofer Pumping with Hana ML and Elac PPA-2

Gremlins.
Is the turntable spindle - bearing assembly - bearing housing (somehow) connected to the ground? If not, could you try to conjure those gremlins and lead them away by connecting the bearing housing to the chassis of your amp? 
I had problems with static buildup, especially in the winter months. My TT is a big chunk of Delrin... If I didn't touch the LP first then lower the cartridge on it, there would be audible (and scary!) discharge. On the end I approached the problem in the same way as I did the power surge: if it hurts my system, it hurts every other device in the house. So, I bought a new and much better humidifier (at the furnace, whole house). Humidistat is set at 30% in the summer and 45% in the winter - and tweaked from there. Someone already commented that humidity in your house is low. Even 5% makes a noticeable difference. And yes, there is that damn "sweet spot" even with that...

@holmz 

This makes zero sense to me…

Agreed

The cart is generally a thing that generates a current, and the electrical field would seem to be difficult to get into a twisted set of differential wires.

And to get enough charge on the LP to merry-go-round in a pile of electrons, and generate a magnetic field, would be difficult.

And to do it with Every LP you tried? 
 

Yes
 

And even a just with a mat alone?

Yes

And never without a mat or LP?

Never, no movement at all

I think I am back to the @lewm idea of oscillation in the phono stage. That would either need some different loading, or to block the low freq with a high pass capacitor in-line.

The PPA-2 has an 18hz Hi Pass filter which has been engaged for every experiment . It apparently does have any effect on a signal that operates as a sloping sine wave in the cycles per minute domain. I say that as a guess.

@noromance I also used an AQ anti static brush while touching the tonearm.

@bato65 I just moved into this house so it’s one thing at a time. If I were to add a central humidifier I would lose the experience of dry cracked skin, sinus trouble and static electricity discharges that leave scorch marks on my dog.

I’m thinking an SUT might be a solution. Any thoughts on that?

Pixies for sure.

since no hypothesis offered so far really holds water, who is to say that a step up transformer would not eliminate the problem? But do you wish to continue to operate in balanced mode? I thought you got rid of the problem simply by converting to single ended mode. If you are happy with single ended mode, why think about a step up transformer.?

Is it really the case that you’ve been using a hi-pass filter operating above 18Hz in all cases? You earlier stated that if you move the platter manually at sub 33 rpm, presumably at and below 18 rpm speeds, the pumping occurs with frequency proportional to platter manipulation. That seems impossible so I must misunderstand.

@mitchellcp

Your problem is definitely one of the most baffling I’ve ever read about! Wow. I’m struggling with a different but also baffling problem in my 2nd system - exceedingly loud occasional POP noises during playback - and it’s with records that don’t do that in my main system, and I’ve also swapped out just about every component trying to isolate or affect the behavior, and tried all kinds of static control measures, and power conditioning, to no avail yet. I don’t want to keep subjecting my tweeters to this crap.

It’s down to either the cartridge somehow being at fault, or the fact that my main rig’s VAC phono stage and SUT (since you mentioned SUT) is somehow protecting or not exacerbating these kinds of issues. I’ve long used a SUT in my main rig and perhaps it has some positive protective benefits beyond just the sound quality (which I also like - it adds warmth and body). Surface noise and pops have always been kept to a very reasonable minimum level in the main rig. An excellent analog experience has long been easy peasy, in that rig. I just bought the VAC phono and SUT over to the 2nd system; fingers crossed.

My issue has driven me bonkers, and I’m sure yours has done so as well. Hope we make some headway soon!