A Question for Those Experienced with Turntables and Cartridges [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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A35460073B
01-05-2009, 02:35 AM
Hello folks, I have a Pro-ject Xpression MkII turntable with a Benz Micro MC20E2 cartridge. They're both about 2.5 years old now, with modest playing time. Some records play very well. Aside from some staticky pops and cracks, they're detailed (especially after a bath from my Nitty Gritty guy) and pleasantly balanced. They're a tad bright, however, but I wouldn't say they're out-of-balance or fatiguing to listen to. I'd say that the cartridge merely emphasizes details and the upper frequencies. Overall, with a good record, my system sounds decent, to these ears anyway, for a low-end system. That being said...

Not all records sound great. Some sound spitty. Some sound spitty or nasally at the inner grooves, which made me worry about alignment issues (altho I had a pro attach my cartridge who seemed like he could do it in his sleep). And some, as previously mentioned, sound great all the way through. (I've noted inconsistencies in CD playback too. My "ID4" CD soundtrack doesn't sound as good as some of my rock LPs, while other CDs sound just plain fine. This indicates to me that not all master recordings are alike.)

Any theories or ideas? Could it just be that some records have aged or were never recorded especially well in the studio -- as mentioned in the last paragraph? Or is it possible that if there is an alignment issue, it only manifests itself some of the time?? At the inner grooves, the tonearm swings maybe a half an inch or more back after its lever is lifted. But in the outer grooves, it's just fine, going up or down perfectly. Could this be an issue?

I'd hate to have to have this thing realigned or to have to buy a new cartridge and re-digitize all my vinyl (one major reason I bought this Pro-ject guy). But I'm also a perfectionist who simply cannot settle on less than what some hard work and perseverance will produce, so I will ultimately do what needs to be done. But is anything necessary to "do" at all? Are all these inconsistencies typical for the world of vinyl?

Thanks folks.

JohnMichael
01-05-2009, 03:52 PM
Since the quality of sound varies my first thought would be vertical tracking angle. I think your turntable has a height adjustable tonearm. When the cartridge was installed did he do anything to raise or lower the tonearm where it is mounted to the table? The beginning point is the tonearm should be parallel with the record surface. If it is angled down or up too much you will have distortion. The various thickness of records will make this problem seem to disappear with some records and for other records increase the distortion. When you check to see if your arm is parallel use a record of medium thickness. One too thin or too thick will cause problems for the other and once you find a medium thickness album you will not be too far off for the others.

Did he use a guage to align the cartridge? I can mount one quickly but it is a little timeconsuming to check alignment. Another suggestion would be to varify tracking force. If he set that up for you the counterweight could have moved on the trip home. Lastly try the string mounted antiskate weight in a lower setting and see if that helps.

A35460073B
01-05-2009, 09:43 PM
To the best of my abilities, I checked the VTA (by trying to determine how parallel the tonearm was to a record's surface). It seems that there may have been a slight upward incline as you go from the axis to the stylus assembly. However, this was difficult to see in the lighting I had to work with and the tonearm also seems to have a very slight taper as you go from that axis to that stylus assembly. So for the time being I'm ruling this out.

I also fiddled with the anti-skating weight. The pull on the tonearm only got worse, so I put it back to its original tick mark. And yes, the guy who set this up for me used, if memory serves, more than one measuring device to set this bad boy up. He kept making adjustments, went back to protractor or whatever, made another adjustment, back to his protractor, another adjustment and with a speed that looked like he'd had a lot of practice before this.

I think I may have found a way to rule out my turntable (or some other element in my system): I'm taking one of my worst offenders (the Return of the Jedi soundtrack) to one of the dealers in my area. If I hear the same distortion there, then I think it'll be safe to say that the vinyl discs themselves have seen better days. If it plays fine, then I've yet again narrowed my search and will try to see which piece in the puzzle's causing the problem -- hopefully at a minimum cost.

Thanks for taking the time to offer suggestions bro. It seems you're the only one interested in answering any of my questions!

02audionoob
01-05-2009, 09:59 PM
As an experiment I would suggest lifting the anti-skating weight off...just set it on the turntable. Also...just an experiment, I would add a little tracking force. Not a lot...just maybe 0.25g.

Kevio
01-05-2009, 10:30 PM
I think I may have found a way to rule out my turntable (or some other element in my system): I'm taking one of my worst offenders (the Return of the Jedi soundtrack) to one of the dealers in my area. If I hear the same distortion there, then I think it'll be safe to say that the vinyl discs themselves have seen better days. If it plays fine, then I've yet again narrowed my search and will try to see which piece in the puzzle's causing the problem -- hopefully at a minimum cost.

Excellent idea. Distortion on the inner tracks on LPs used to drive me crazy. I tried upgrading my turntable and stylus but what managed to fix it for me in the end was switching to CDs. This was back in the 80's :smilewinkgrin:

A35460073B
01-06-2009, 04:24 AM
LPs have their own charm and fidelity aspects that CDs sometimes lack. But there are more complications with the medium, that is for sure.

Thank you for the thoughts and feedback, folks.