Tremendous RF problem -- phono stage is a radio

The various suggestions that have been made are worth a try. However, let me note that low impedance/high current circuits, which means a MC pickup and solid state amplification, are less likely to have your problem.

As noted above, it is an absolute "must" that you use shielded cables. Also, if you have your cartridge "unloaded" (e.g., 47kohms or higher) you might try a lower figure (higher loading), such as 1,000 ohm or 150 ohm, etc. Higher loading attenuates high frequencies that may be overloading the phono stage or otherwise causing it to act up.

A friend had this problem with a Transfiguration Temper V cartridge, but not his Lyra Titan, and the difference was the lower source impedance of the Transfiguration cartridge. The Hovland preamp he was using has a factory default setting of 100kohms. Choosing a lower setting (higher loading) cured the problem.

Hello everyone, I have a similiar problem but more problematic? as I have a radio station coming in on one of my Lowther Mau horns! I dont think it is just on the phono but I will confirm that? by switching to tape or something? As long as I have my amp on its there everytime. The real problem is I dont have a Tuner hooked up? Seriously I dont even have a tuner in the house! Could my speaker wires be acting as in attenna? and the amp amplifing the signal? Its odd that it is ownly one channel? or is that a sign that maybe it is a tube? Please can someone help as on very quite pieces of vinyl it's disturbing when you hear a radio station in the middle of say Chopin Etudes! I'am using a home built 2A3 amp and a MC cartridge if that matters? Thanks Daren

The first place to look, if my experience is anything to go by, is cabling. Sometimes moving your phono cables, orienting them differently, will solve an RF problem. If you haven't done so already, make sure that if they cross AC wires, they do it at right angles.

If that doesn't help, your phono stage or amp may need better RF isolation, or you may have a tube that is particularly sensitive to RF. Also check your AC line for proper grounding. To isolate from RF, you can cage the amp with wire or a metal box, and ground the cage.

Let us know what you discover, if you get the chance.

Changing the loading of the cartridge made a colossal difference. At 500 ohms it essentially went away. Also, I cut up my sheet of mu metal and placed it around the phono preamp (bye bye aesthetics), and that helped too. So the problem is more or less "solved." Thank you all for your suggestions. It turns out that the radio station I was receiving so well recently went from 1 KW to 10 KW (it is less than a mile away), and that certainly did not help matters either. In fact that probably was the major culprit.