What's causing distortion at musical climax?


Problem description:
When playing vinyl, I can hear distortion on otherwise "clean-sounding" records when the music reaches its loudest point. This happens most often with orchestral music when the full orchestra comes in loud.

I'm hoping some of you vinyl gurus can help pinpoint the offending component in my modest system.
I have a Technics SL-3200 turntable with a Ortofon OM-5 cartridge. The phono preamp is a cheapy from Radio Shack.

What component is most likely causing the distortion?
1) The record itself
2) The cartridge
3) The turntable
4) The preamp

Thanks for your help!
Mika
mwaller
It's not likely to be the turntable. Has the setup sounded OK in the past? If so, your arm and cart may have drifted out of alignment or the stylus is worn. OTOH if the rig has always done this, check arm and cart setup anyway, but check the phono stage first. Swap in another (maybe less cheap) phono stage and see if the nasties are still there.
The problem is overload of the signal strength.
My first guess is that your cart is too high an output for the phono pre..
(the RadioShack phono pre should be going into a line level input in your preamp, not a "phono" input!!!!)
Get a cheap used 'audiophile pre' here for $100.
Your amp may be the problem (unless it never happens with CDs)