Help. Wife says Teres 340 Is too bright.

That you're loading at 42 ohms is telling me that there are likely some nasties elsewhere in your system, including (possibly) setup, but likely a component mismatch.

I feel your pain. I've been there.

You mention that this 42 ohm load is unchanged from your VPI days. My sense is that you've been responding to down-stream nasties in your system since your VPI days, and that you've been putting your knee squarely on your cartridge's throat in an attempt to tame these problems.

My take is that the increased resolution of your current 'table is only magnifying what you've been sensing all along.

Palasr, Dre_j and I have been dialoging (independently and together) about this loading thing for some time. I'm coming to the conclusion that (in general) as other things improve in a system, that minimal loading is always better.

This is just another case (as with tracking force and anti-skate), where just enough (erring if anything on too little) is the right amount. Too much (loading, anti-skate, tracking force) always squashes the life out of the music.

This doesn't necessarily mean running an MC wide open at 47K, but at the same time, dropping down to 4-8 times the DCR of the cartridge is (in most instances) to be excessive.

So ... I think you'd be able to get a good baseline by finding a nice 50-60w p-p tube amplifier to borrow from someone local to you. Of course, playing with a phono stage or full function preamp would be instructive as well.

In all cases however, I'd expect you to arrive at cartridge loading in the 100-500 ohm range for your Benz - once you've resolved other system issues.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

I think some sorbothane between the racks and shelves including the tt shelf would be a good starting place. You can get sheets of 30D or 50D by 1/4" or 1/2" thick x 4"x 4" and cut short thin strips, Grand Prix Audio uses sorbothane in a similar way. Find @ dang-good-stuff store on e'bay
I would then isolate the preamp and amp from their shelves to minimize mechanical vibrations.
In you system photo I can't see if the Wright has any isolation under it, if not you might try a small piece of 1" thick acrylic on BDR cones or something similar and similar treatment to the step up transformer.
Try moving the Wright as far away from the amp as possible.
Hopefully you will be surprised and find some of the brightness has been vibrations causing a lack of focus resulting in leading edge hash that is producing a brighter sound to the system.
I think before you go chasing all over the place I would get everything isolated then you will be able to hear small changes to the system and it's a cheaper place to start.
I use the CDP to work on leading edge hash, brightness etc.( it's just a natural at producing this) and get into the ballpark then do last tuning with the TT.
My 2 cents worth hope it helps.
Sam

I have updated and added pictures of my system so you can see it now.

Lewm. Thanks for your explanation about wattage. i should have known that from my days of playing in bands and using PA systems. With a PA you usually run your master volume high and adjust each channel low. I know the reasoning behind the high master but I just didn't put it together. Duh.

Thom. The internal loading of the Benz Ebony L is 5 ohms. I have been told that 10 times that value is an approximate proper loading. Is this wrong?
That said, I never heard a much difference between the 42 and the 470ohms with the scoutmaster. This always made me question the y connector method that I'm using

Samhar. Everything is isolated except the amp itself. Phono pre is on sorbothane. The new TT resides on a new rack I built just for it. it is modelled after the one on the Teres website with concrete in the legs and a sandbox at the top. Also thanks for the heads up on the ebay store

I'm not sure using the Jas 6c33 convinces me, however given the room size and volume, I narrow my suggestion to a moderate power tube amp. Again, less or no feedback is good. A good used push pull amp is fine.

You may find that doing so enables you to move the loading into the range suggested by Thom, which will provide additional sonic benefits.

Hi Art,

Yes, a starting point of 5-10 times the DCR of the cartridge is a good starting point for loading experiments, but I like to do the "unreasonable" and listen to the cartridge running "wide open" - just to set limits and to understand how the cartridge is responding.

I've recently taken to running my XV1s with no additional loading resistors on my Atmasphere MP-1 preamp, for example. Now, in the particular system it's hooked up to, the top end is a bit challenged (5" Lowther A-55 in an Azzolina horn), so I would by no means consider this a universal proclamation.

In my second room I'm running Daedalus Ulysses speakers, and my Artiisan Cadenza (OEM Benz LP) is running through a Quicksilver step-up that reflects a load of about 320 ohms to the cartridge. These speakers have an extended top end, and I find this loading to be fine.

Use the numbers as a guideline or starting point and nothing more. I'd expect that as you sort things out, that you'll migrate upwards of 100 ohms - to as high as 500 ohms, perhaps.

Cheers,
Thom