help mc cartridge playing up

[claretplace1]

Hi
Ive just connected a Dynavector 23rs
For some reason it wouldnt play out of one channel (it was very low then didnt play then low again)
anyway did all the checks and finally checked the impedance out put of both channels
R= 96 ohm(very high and moved around a bit before stabilising
l= 32-33 ohm-approx the correct impedance of 35ohm
why is it so much higher
also I have put 100ohm load against the cart as specified by manufacturer
Is the fact that the load resistance is set lower than the output showing on the very high output of R?/
any help or reason for the big difference is appreciated
cheers

[cloth_ears]

Hi.

Are you measuring at the pins of the cartridge, or at the end of the tonearm cable?

If it's the former then the cart is most likely faulty and will need specialist repair.

If the latter, then it could be the tonearm cable. Can you try a different cart?

[Owen Young]

As cloth_ears sez... :(
Personally I tend to be careful when putting meters on MC carts but a modern DVM should be harmless. Measure without any loading, just at the pins.

[Owen Young]

Maybe I'm fretting a bit here, but technically the danger of putting a ohm meter on a MC cartr is that a MC has very low resistance & ultra thin wiring & some (older?) meters output signif current that could cook the coil wiring.

So, the suggestion (see post #18 of link below) is to measure through a resistor (say 1kohms) or...

Safest option is to just listen & swap over phono ICs at TT end & then at preamp end in order to eliminate an IC or preamp problem. Do the exercise of swapping headshell leads too, to eliminate any tonearm problem.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=375188&page=2