[Jazznball]

I just purchased a used Rega RP6 on Audiogon from a dealer.  The dealer also installed a new Ortofon Bronze 2M cartridge.  At the same I purchased a used Musical Surroundings Phonomena phono preamp with battery power supply from a private seller on Audiogon.  I setup up everything and the sound is not good at all.  The volume is about 15 to 20 dB’s lower than other sources I run through my preamp.  Also, I don't have any highs, and the bass and mid sound very muddy and dead.  There is absolutely no sparkle to the music coming from the turntable.  I have tried switching cables from AudioQuest Yukon to AntiCable Level 2 double shielded for phono.  It didn't do anything.  The settings for the Bronze per the owner’s manual should 47 for the gain and 150-300 for the load capacitance.  The Phonomena has settings of 46 and 48 so I have tried both.  For the capacitance I have tried 150, 243, and 280.  I have tried all of these in combination and I have not heard any difference.

I am trying to find out if the problem is the turntable, the cartridge, or the phono preamp.  Did I miss something simple on setup?  BTW – Rega manual is off very little help.  I need to isolate the problem so that I can address it with the correct seller or correct it if possible.  Any suggestions? I have been out of vinyl for about 20 years so I don't have another turntable or phono preamp.  I live in the LA -Orange County area and I am seeking anyone who would allow me to bring everything to them to audition if possible.  Or anyone who thinks they may have a solution.  I have never had a Rega turntable and I noticed that it does not have a ground cable.  Is this normal?

Thanks for any help or suggestions?

[Letitroll98]

My guesses would be phono preamp problem first, with the power supply the first place I'd look, then for burnt stuff inside, leaky caps, etc.  I think that model has an IEC power cord connection?  No it doesn't, just checked.  You'd have to get a 24VDC 200 ma power supply to bypass the battery. Second would be tonearm wiring, check the easy stuff, cartridge wires (are they hooked up correctly) and rca's, then multimeter.  Don't think that's it, but so easy to check.  Is the table speed correct?  Strobe disks are easy to download off the net and strobe lights are cheap.  Last would be the cartridge, it's new, but one never knows. 

Oh yeah, Regas don't have ground wires on their interconnects, grounded internally on the arm.  I don't like it, but Roy does.

[Jazznball]

I actually have the wall wart supply and I tried that.  It didn't make a difference.

[bacobits1]

 Is your dealer local? Take the whole shabang down there.Try changing the cartridge. I doubt it's the table. If it were the table you would have sound or not. Rega grounds the stock arm/cartridge at the arm hidden in the end stub with a clip that fits in the tube. Noise or hum would be a problem if the table in that area were at fault.
If you change the cartridge and the same thing chances are the Pre.
Gain on the Pre should be set between 40 -50 db and default "47k resistance. That is "47k" or 50k Ohms I think it is on there not 47. Big difference between the 47 and 50,000 (50k) settings. I know on a low output MC I was messing with here I had the Ohms Resistance too low and the volume dropped along with all detail etc.

I forgot whats on the back of the Phonomena but lots of settings. DL the manual if you do not have one because there are combinations of switches for the settings not just what is shown. That is, a combination of settings  makes for different resistance settings.

Just looked at the Manual for the Phonomena II it has a 50 and a 50,000 Ohm setting make sure it is on 50,000 (or which is 50k)

Have you tried plugging it in another Aux or Aux2 etc input on your pre or integrated? TRy Tape in too if you have one.
 
I had the Phonomena II and it was excellent. Yours should not be too different they are very good Phono's.

I hope this helps a bit this stuff can drive you nuts!

[tull skull]

Man I hope it's not the case but "no highs" leads me to think it is the cart. Perhaps there is a suspension problem with the cantilever? Can you take pictures of the insides of the phono pre and post it here? Sorry for the hassle you are going through

[jarcher]

Sounds to me assuming the phonomena is working properly that you may have the settings wrong. The phonomena is in my experience a very good detailed, clean quiet phone stage.

I'd run NO capacitance with a 2M Bronze if you could - most cables already introduce capacitance (around 100pf at least), you don't need to add more at the phono stage. Setting capacitance too high will crush highs. Unfortunately with the phonomena your only choice is 200pf (switch #1 off) or 300pf (switch #1 on). Don't turn #1 on. I think Regas have captive interconnects, so not much you can do there.

Also as previously suggested make sure you have the loading set right - ie 47,000 NOT 47. 

As for gain, usually 40-45db is good enough, especially with a 2M cartridge.

So basically for your cart and the phonomena all switches should be in the "off" position except for #8 which should be "on" (for both sides). If it still sounds murky, then my opinion is that the phono preamp may be damaged.

[Jazznball]

I came home tonight disappointed that I could not get my new vinyl setup to sound good.  Then I read the replies and tried what bacobits1 and jarcher recommended and all I can say is wow!  Thank you to all who helped with suggestions.  I just had the settings wrong.  I have been 20 plus years out of vinyl and the last time I had a turntable I did not need a phono pre, so this is all new to me.  The AudioCircle community comes through again!  Now to the sound. I played Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, something I have played a thousand times and I heard new things.  I then loaded the same song in my trusted and valued PrimaLuna CD player.  Just then my teenage son and his friend walked in while I was doing an A/B switch from my Prima Luna CD player to the Rega with both playing Kind of Blue.  They could not believe that the phono sounded so much better than the CD.  I watched their jaws just drop. After about 2 minutes they both started making plans to buy their own LP's so they could play them on my system.  I expected the phono to sound good, but not this much better than my CD player.  I am now very happy again and I have 2 converts to vinyl.

[bacobits1]

Well that's cool!
Glad we could help out 
Enjoy that's a decent setup.

[tull skull]

Great to hear! Enjoy!

[jarcher]

Good stuff - glad we could help. That's a good setup you have there - enjoy!