Grade prestige output vs ADC

[Bolan13]

We have a turntable where I work that started buzzing pretty bad. But not like a grounding buzz. Figured out the stylus got damaged and wasn't sitting correctly. The turntable is a Sanyo Plus q25. ADC cartridge with a a QLM 32 mk iii stylus. I put on an an old Grado prestige green I had with a brand new green stylus. Now The output is about 10 to 12 db quieter.

Curious to know if something is going on with tonearm or headshell. Or if this is just a quieter cartridge than what I have been used to with this turntable.

 

[wualta]

The 32 Mk III specs at 1.3mV per cm/sec groove velocity, where 1.0mV would be about average. Not shoutingly loud, but a little louder than most good-quality cartridges of the late '70s. The earlier Grado I have, the MF3, specs at just over 1.0mV per cm/sec, so there shouldn't be anything like a 10 or 12 dB difference if everything else is normal... and it appears that it isn't.

 

[Bolan13]

hmm, not sure then what would cause this disparity. The only thing that changed is when I removed the headshell wires could have loosened. However I feel like there is either continuity or there isn't.

The grado sounds good, just much quieter

 

[wualta]

The first thing I'd do is swap cartridges back to see if the ADC is still louder. Do you have separate headshells for the two cartridges?

 

[Bolan13]

Interesting, I stayed a little later to swap the cartridges to compare and the ADC is definitely much louder. I may be wrong about '10-12 decibels', as I am going by the volume number on the receiver. I am not used to digital number representations for volume. My receivers at home are from the early 70's. This receiver at work is a newer Onkyo with all the new digital features (including an MM phono stage luckily enough). When using the ADC at volume '40', to get the same level on the grado I have to turn it up to about 52. I actually tried two different Grado cartridges, a red and a green with the same results.

 

[wualta]

Sounds like you haven't done anything wrong, and nothing seems broke, so unless you're hearing audible hiss from the phono stage because you have to crank the gain (volume) up, I'd live with it. If the extra volume is bringing bothersome noise, it would be nice to have an explanation. Grado owners might have some ideas about, maybe, the newest models having lower output than the older ones.

 

[marcmorin]

Sounds like you haven't done anything wrong, and nothing seems broke, so unless you're hearing audible hiss from the phono stage because you have to crank the gain (volume) up, I'd live with it. If the extra volume is bringing bothersome noise, it would be nice to have an explanation. Grado owners might have some ideas about, maybe, the newest models having lower output than the older ones.

the model grado he speaks of is a 4.5-5mv cart. The QLM 36 I had was a good bit louder than my grado carts. I found it to be a bit "shouty"