What could be wrong?

Update...
I changed the turntable connection to a different input on my linestage preamp and there was no change; the right channel was still much louder than the left. I then swapped the left/right channels from the tonearm cable to my phono preamp, and the problem switched sides. At this point, I figured the problem was either the cartridge, tonearm cable (which is relatively new), or the phono preamp. I then swapped back the left/right channels on the phono preamp, and the problem disappeared. Everything is back to normal now.

I suppose I'll just wait til the problem occurs again (if it happens again) to see if I can determine what's wrong. If it was either a cartridge, tonearm, or phono preamp issue, isn't it odd that the problem just fixed itself? Strange.

calgarian

Sometimes cables oxidize, and just by unplugging and replugging, you have cleaned the connection.

Are you using the arm lift to drop the stylus into the zerodust?

If you are hand holding the zerodust and pushing it up on the stylus it will cause the cantiliever to be stressed side to side and can damage the stylus. One of my local dealers stopped carrying these because of his customers damaging their stylus.

Another issue could be the cantilever on your cartridge is out of position. This could be caused either by mishandling or defect in the cartridge.

Get a pair of magnifying lenses and look at the cartridge straight on from the front. The cantilever should be evenly positioned from left to right in the cartridge body with no tilt on the stylus. If it appears off, this could be generating the volume difference since the far end of the cantilever will be out of position inside the body of the cartridge.

If this is the case, sometimes removing the stylus assembly and reinserting (if removable) will correct the problem. Otherwise you might need a new stylus assembly.

Also check the weight and anti-skate settings on your tonearm, and double check the overall alignment.