S.O.S - This system - what is going wrong?

[Casar]

Hi folks,

I´m pretty chuffed with my current new rig and I´m trying to figure out where the problem lies and how to resolve it.

System
NAD Preamp
NAD Amplifier C272 X 2 (bi amp configuration)
NAD CD Player
Rega Turntable Longplayer P3 Silver
Grado Signature Pickup
Monitor Audio - GS-60 Loudspeakers

The first time I put on the vinyl it immediately blew my top speakers by just dipping the needle. They said that since I had connected it to MC inputs on the preamp instead of MM, it overloaded the signals etc. Well, thanks for telling me...had no idea of those things. Anyway, I got my speakers repaired and while running the system for a few days, it worked but I noticed that the speaker membranes were significantly hit every time I dipped the needle.
By a slight disturbance (some records fell and slightly nudged the Rega vinylplayer) at very low volume - they blew up again. The problem here is that I got the various pieces of equipment from different retailers.
It appears this problem is related to the Rega/Pickup in some way but how to determine that and what to do about it? My speaker dealer said everything must be grounded but there is no particular grounding cable to the Rega player. The pickup and the regaplayer is quite expensive stuff and I´m still in slight chock over all these issues. Any suggestion how to put an end to this nightmare while retaining the gear? Are any of these products known to have had issues before? Especially Rega player and Grado pickups? Or the NAD amps?

Thanks for any help,
Robert

 

[Gimpy Ric]

You NAD Pre amp should have a grounding lug right next to the phono RCA's. At least my retired NAD 1122 did. The RCA cable for the turntable should have three things; two RCA plugs, left and right, and ground wire bare on the end to attach to the preamp. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!

Hope this helps

 

[no. 5]

Muting the volume before putting the needle down, perhaps?

 

[Casar]

Well, this last time they blew up with 1. very low volume. 2. No audible movement of the pickup. This is not making any sense. Grado, the pickup manufacturer, said that when using MM inputs, overload is normally not possible. Thus, I should be able to thump, dip and even scratch the vinyl without even getting close to blowing the speakers, and especially not at these low volume levels. The turntable grounding is said to be embedded in the main cords, using the preamp in some way to receive grounding. That sounds odd, doesn´t it?

Thanks
Robert