Concerningly loud pops in vinyl playback


I have a problem I've been unable to diagnose yet, so I thought I'd gather some ideas. This is for a 2nd vinyl system in my girlfriend's home, not my main system. I've never had any issue like this in the main rig. 

We're all used to annoyingly loud isolated "pops" from surface defects or perhaps static discharge during vinyl playback, but usually these are only truly annoying during quiet passages and tend to become relatively "outgunned" during heavy loud music. However, very occasionally (once every several records) I will get a POP so loud it is concerningly startling, even during loud playback of rock music. I don't like the tweeters being subjected to that, though they're fine so far. And it hasn't tripped the VAC 200iQ's protection circuitry yet, so there's that. Still, I don't like this. It's happened on the left and on the right speakers, so it's not isolated to one channel. Once it occurs, it is more likely to occur again within several seconds (and again), until I take the record off and start over. It seems to occur only starting at a certain high volume level on my ARC Reference 6 preamp (40 and above). The records and stylus are clean, and it's now occurred on multiple different records that I KNOW aren't the problem. So my suspicions are down to: 

  • Static discharge (I have a  record brush with conductive fibers and use anti-static sleeves)
  • Really bad overload reaction in phono and/or preamp, possibly prompted by static discharges and possibly because the gain is set too high in phono stages (I have the Hagerman set to 60dB for 0.8mV which I thought would be OK)
  • Power line noise issue of some kind / EMI / RFI
  • Tubes in the ARC Ref 6 going bad. Maybe PSU tubes? But it really seems to be instigated by a volume level on the Ref 6 going above 40.

This rig is kind of like my playground, so I have lots of gear at my disposal, much from the main rig. I've already swapped out many different components and had the problem reoccur on each of:

  • Different Speakers (Tannoy TD10, Tannoy Glenair 10)
  • Speaker cables (AQ Rocket 88, AQ KE-4/CV-8 biwire)
  • Power amps (VAC 200iQ, Phison A2.120SE)
  • Phono stages (Hagerman Trumpet MC, Herron VTPH-2A)

The consistent gear I haven't swapped out yet has been:

  • Clearaudio Innovation Compact turntable, Universal arm
  • Benz Wood SM cartridge 0.8mV
  • Audio Research Reference 6 preamp

What do you think is most likely the cause, and how to fix it? I'm not real eager to "try" to reproduce the issue, for obvious reasons. But other than this issue, the rig sounds great - really enjoyable. 
 

128x128mulveling

being that the rest of your equipment is megabuck, perhaps a good investment aside from a pro-grade record cleaning machine, would be a CEDAR declicker which in my experience is unexcelled at filtering out loud clicks. the loudest pops get reduced to dull thuds 99% of the time. or if you’d rather stay totally analog, you could pick up a good used specimen of Packburn 323A phonographic noise suppressor which also has a usefully good declicker, that was given an ace review in Stereophile magazine. 

I will tell you Exactly what it is.....I had the same issue. You have the GAIN set too high on your phono preamp and it’s overloading the circuit on the preamp. I had to get a new pre that could handle the input load. First though...try lowering the output gain from phono preamp into your preamp..good luck......

I had a similar problem when I first purchased my JLTi phono pre with outboard PS; the cause was the PS proximity to the (Garrard 401) TT, and was resolved with a longer umbilical between the pre and PS, moving the PS well away from th TT.

 

Regards mulveling:

mbmi may be on the right "track".

There is no recording standard for the maximum allowable value common for cutting LPs. An owners’ setting which is fine on one LP may clip when playing another.

Set up a Goldring 1042 (6.5mv output) for my sons’ Denon DP-60L into a Kyosera A-710 integrated amp. On loud passages there would be a startlingly loud "pop". Checked grounding, added an additional ground from the Denons’ chassis directly to the receptacle, no luck. Swapped cartridges to a Signet TK-5ea (5.0mv) and all was good.

 

Peace,