Weak Link in Vinyl Playback

it looks like the iFi Zen that I'm using has a fixed load at 47K Ohms. Am I referring to the same thing you are?

@owl9113 You are. Cartridge loading is one of the more arcane issues of LP playback and it can have a big effect on MM cartridges! Its worth doing. A phono preamp manufacturer is being remiss if this issue is not addressed. In addition to tonal balance problems, the resonance can cause ticks and pops that sound like they are on the LP surface if the phono section has poor high frequency overload margins! Loading the cartridge eliminates that issue- so it can reduce ticks and pops depending on the design of the phono section.

FWIW its far easier to design a tube phono section that has good overload margins than it is solid state.

Some phono sections will have an extra RCA jack which is intended for loading purposes. Sometimes its handled by DIP switches internally. But there should always be some sort of provision, otherwise its impossible to get all the performance out of the cartridge and the phono section together!

@atmasphere so, according to What Hi-Fi my phono does feature cartridge adjustment. Could it be that they're considering the ability to select between different gain levels for different cartridge types as such? Here's the quote from the manual: 

1. corresponds to MM

2. corresponds to MC HIGH

3. corresponds to MC LOW

4. corresponds to MC V-LOW

(>2mV) (≤2mV) (≤0.5mV) (≤0.25mV)

The phono allows you to choose cartridge type and gain level independently, but others online advise against choosing non-cartridge specified gain levels (the 1-4 I quoted are what you can toggle the switch between).

Maintaining both digital and analog systems is quite costly. You have some inexpensive options suggested above, but before spending more on the analog side, consider how such expenditures might improve your digital. I say this because getting analog right can be an unexpectedly expensive endeavor.

I say this because getting analog right can be an unexpectedly expensive endeavor.

It used to be that getting the digital right compared to the vinyl was the expensive bit.

@owl9113 The cartridge gain settings won't have anything to do with loading. You might try setting number 2 and see how that works- you won't hurt anything if you overload the phono section doing so. Sometimes if the gain of the phono is too low, the system can sound anemic. So this might be worth a try.

@atmasphere It looks like the loading value is determined by the gain setting on this guy. I'm trying it at 2 now.