Hi Art,
I missed any reference to your using step-up trannies. Which ones are you using? Step-up ratio (or alternatively, dB of gain)?
So, if your cartridge is seeing a 42R load (and assuming you are loading the secondary of your step-up trannie), this would mean that there's a loading resistor in the 4K7 to 5K range.
You might try a higher quality resistor. Some of my customers report pretty good results. Loading the secondary however (the side of the trannie that "talks" to the phono stage) is less affected by resistor quality than is loading the primary (different values would be used for the primary, btw).
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I'm familiar with two of George Wright's phono stages - both of which were derived from your model. One of them is the phono stage in the WPP100c and the other was a stand-alone model - the number which escapes me at the moment.
Both of them had very high gain for an MM but not quite enough for a low output MC. I'd say that they were ideal with a medium o/p cartridge - say in the 1 to 1.5 mv range. On both of these units, he had a pot to adjust the gain, but frankly, it was too twitchy. At the price point, George was trying to anticipate too wide a range of cartridges - an impossible task - to try to be all things to all people (cartridges). I think he was facing resistance to step-up trannies and trying to deliver an honest product at a price point (which he did).
George put out a great value product for the money - not in the class of even a Hagerman Coronet-I, but still an honest and musical product.
Rest in peace, George ... you were one of the good guys and we all miss you.
I still suspect a new phono stage is in your future ;-)
Cheers,
Thom