Unsolvable Woofer Pumping (Phono only)

Little pieces of this puzzle keep coming in. I can’t afford and don’t have the equipment to drive a subwoofer...but would a more full range (i.e. floor standing) speaker be a better choice when I do decide to upgrade next?

When the subject is cost-effectiveness then:

Skip the filter, waste of money, won't improve the sound in the least. The clamp will, but only if you get a good one. 

Always in my experience the most cost effective upgrades are tweaks. By tweaks I mean attending to every single facet and component of the whole entire system. Things like Orange fuse, Cable Elevators, HFT, ECT, PHT will bring improvement far beyond anything you can get for the same money the usual way.

You could for example replace fuses in three components with SR Orange, add Cable Elevators, and a full compliment of HFT, ECT and PHT all for about $2k and no way no how will you ever find any turntable or cartridge or anything else for $2k that will come anywhere close. 

Then factor in that these are all "lifetime" in that they will all work wherever you go and whatever you buy forever. Its no contest. Nothing else even comes close.

Also power cords, interconnects, speaker cables, Cones, and Shelf. Same thing. You simply cannot find any component anywhere for say $500 more money that will do what a $500 power cord (or interconnect) (or speaker cable) will do for what you already have. Well, from Synergistic, I should hasten to add. Not that there aren't others this won't work with. I just happen to have 30 years experience that tells me with SR you can throw a dart. Everyone else you pays your money....

Note: not idle speculation- I have TRIED! Compared. Home auditioned. Put a $300 Synergistic Master Coupler on a phono stage, you won't get another phono stage that good (without the pc) until you're into it for three to five times as much. If even then.

My system is heavily tweaked out with all this and more. I've done demo's and removing even one or two of these people notice right away. Heaven forbid I should remove it all, let you hear what the same components sound like the way most people do. Shudder. Cue Brando: "The horror... the horror..."

@psag just the turntable, no other sources!

@millercarbon I see what you're saying, but I don't *think* that my base system is at a level (at the current moment) to benefit from such tweaks, save for the stand and cones.  The whole thing is worth about $4000.

Is it consistent with all records or worse on some than others? If its the same it could be a bad or dry platter bearing. Check the bearing and see if it needs lube or if there is play in it. Also check to make sure the TT is perfectly level, measured on the platter. Its also good to have a test record to check the performance and setup of the table. Spend some time checking the table for proper setup (or have a dealer help you). Its the only way to get the most out of what you already have. Some how very low frequency info is entering the system and a bad bearing is one posible cause. Better quality TT’s have better bearings. Good luck!

@sonicjoy I've just finished doing some more experimenting...and I think that after alllllll of this, it is just record dependent.  I'm relieved, but not overly happy that it's something so simple!  My Hotel California LP must be particularly bad, especially the way I was playing it with loudness on.  I found that if I moved to certain records and cranked it (with loudness off of course), there was very little/no woofer pumping.  I still would like to try a filter to get rid of it, just for peace of mind...but now I'm not so worried.

It was set up by my dealer, so I'm not worried about that.  They're experienced.  I do intend to get a test record one day though.