Ok a couple of thoughts...
First of all what you need to do is simply adjust the tonearm lift. There is a hex set screw that adjusts the height of the lift and you simply need to get that hex key from Rega. I suggest you contact your local dealer or if that doesn't work, email me off list and I'll get one for you.
It is not terribly unusual for a Rega table to come in with the lift a little off. Sometimes in shipping things move around, etc. It's a quick fix and not a major problem.
Second of all we sell Rega and Grado (among other cartridge brands) and we sometimes put a Grado on a Rega table. The combo can be very musical. Aside from the hum (I'll get to that in a moment) I do not know of any real problems with Grado/Rega combinations.
As for the hum... yes it does exist in some systems. We always test first. Part of the problem with the hum has to do with the fact that Rega arms have no ground wire. But the important thing to remember is that the hum does NOT occur during playback. I do not mean that it gets drowned out sonically. I mean it actually does not occur when playing, only when the stylus is off the surface of the record. Don't believe me? Try putting a humming Grado/Rega combo on the lead-out groove of a record. No hum - dead silent. For whatever goofy reason, as soon as any signal passes through the stylus, the hum is blown out of the circuit. I do not have a good explanation for this, but it is not B.S. when I tell you that the hum only occurs when the table is idle. Most customers see this demonstrated and then they don't care.
