Since the gain setting effects whether the sound exists or not, it seems likely the problem's in or after the gain stage. Occam's Razor. Try removing and reinserting the tubes in the Cortese. Or ship the Cortese to me and I'll study it for awhile! I'll loan you my old Phase Linear pre. Maybe the scratchy gain control has cleaned itself up since it was last plugged in (1991).
This just seems more likely than FB in the cartridge/arm. They don't know where gain is set unless its set to atmosphere/room shaking levels. The fact that the sound continues betwen tracks makeas a cart/arm problem even less likely IMO.
Try asking on the Supratek threads if you haven't. Maybe somebody there actually knows something useful.
This just seems more likely than FB in the cartridge/arm. They don't know where gain is set unless its set to atmosphere/room shaking levels. The fact that the sound continues betwen tracks makeas a cart/arm problem even less likely IMO.
Try asking on the Supratek threads if you haven't. Maybe somebody there actually knows something useful.