Rega P1

[ryanianmckinnon]

So this year for christmas my dad bought me a Rega P1 turntable from sound hounds, and all i can say is that i love it. There is a litte problem i have though, all the lp's i have are scratched and skip or whatever its called when playing them. I have tried playing lp's that have like one scratch that i can see but it still does it, im at the point now where im getting really frusterated cause all i want is to listen to it. So im wondering if its the Lp's that are the problem or the turntable. :confused5:

[Mr Peabody]

Did the store set the table up? If so, I'd think the table would be alright. Any used record stores to get a good LP from to see what happens? Thrift stores can also be places to find used LP's.

What happens when you play your record, does it skip or just make audible noise?

Nice gift hope you can get the bug out.

[ryanianmckinnon]

No the store didn't set it up me and my dad did but when he was there buying it they showed him how to set it up properly, and yeah there is a few i just have to go check them out when i have time off of work.

It like repeats something if i can find a camera at my house ill make a video of it so u can see what i mean.

Thanks i hope i can get the bug out to its driving me insane not being able to just listen to an Lp

Here's a video of whats happening

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTpCgPZWDlE

[poppachubby]

OK I watched your video. It was only somewhat helpful. I can hear the issue but you need to zoom in on the cartridge.

Two things. Firstly you must double check that your arm is balanced. There are videos on YouTube that show this procedure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoIHn2g0398

After this, you must match the anti skate to the counterweight. So if your counterweight is at 1.5g, set the anti skate to 1.5. I am pretty sure those entry Rega arms have anti skate.

Your issue is most likely not enough weight coupled with anti skate issues. Simple fix.

Just be very mindful of the stylus!!!!

[ryanianmckinnon]

yeah sorry about the bad video i dont have my good camera right now so the video was off my computer, and me and my dad check that the arm is balanced and we set it at 1.5g and the anti skate is a 1.5 to


i changed the counterweight back to 1.5g it was at about 2 before and the anti skate which is the little slider right ? its between 1-2 so idk why its not working

[RGA]

Unfortunately I am not home at the moment and can't remember where my Tonearm is set. I had the NAD 533 which is a Rega P2 with a Rega 250 arm.

The Rega Arms are terrific because they're so damn simple. Definitely ask Soundhounds where it should be set because if anyone knows about tables it's them.

As for the skipping - try and get a new vinyl. If you live in Victoria there are several shops that sell brand new albums. Still if it happens to all your LPs then it is something with the table. Bring it back to Soundhounds and they will look into it. When I bought my NAD the table's velvet mat was folded in two and had a permanent crease which screwed up the play back - they just opened another box and took one out. Also make sure your table is dead flat. Use a bubble leveler to make sure it is flat. If that fails check the cartridge again. Some cartridges can be defective from the start.

[ryanianmckinnon]

I hope i can fix it cause im dying to hear some vinyl, that sounds like a nice table, and they seem pretty simple and i will call them i am going to have to call them on tuesday cause they are closed today and monday.

I am going to try and find some new vinyl im going to go to lyle's place and a few others, i bought a jimi hendrix from lyle's place and i thought it was brand new cause it was sealed and everything and when i put it on my table it had scratches on it so im going to see if i can trade it in with something.

I am pretty sure it is level but i havent checked it with anything yet but i will now after u said that and i hope it not the cartridge that would suck

[02audionoob]

I would suggest trying the minimum amount of anti-skating that can be set. Also, make sure you do have enough tracking force. I'd suggest 2 rather than 1.5 with that cartridge, assuming it is an Ortofon OM 5E. I know it's not the customary setting, but sometimes you have to adjust these things.

[ryanianmckinnon]

ok so set the anti skate to 0 ? and set the weight to 2 ? and yeah im pretty sure it is that cartridge and yeah sometimes u have to do alot of adjustments to make it perfect

i just tried that and it didnt work and one thing i just noticed is that when i have the arm down and the cartridge on the Lp the needle seems to turn to the left and almost touch the side of the cartridge

[02audionoob]

Yes...Setting the anti-skating to 0 and weight to 2 is what I had in mind. That helps rule out anti-skating force as the problem. If the stylus is turned horizontally to the left, maybe it's hitting the plastic body of the stylus. Could you post a close-up of your stylus like this, to confirm the vertical tracking angle looks correct? If no, just confirm whether the tip is visible like this.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1262/5154849226_6e838c923b.jpg

[ryanianmckinnon]

ok i will try and do that hopefully that works and i looked at the instructions and the cartridge is horizontill like it should be and i will try to just let me see if i can get a camera to use

[02audionoob]

Also take a look at how much space you have between the record and the cartridge. I think my tracking force was set at 1.9 in that photo I posted.

[JohnMichael]

I could not tell what cartridge you are using. If it is the Ortofon OM5 that will need 1.75 grams of downforce according to Ortofon. If I remember the Rega P1 was designed with that cartridge in mind and with the counterweight all the way forward to the pivot that would be the proper tracking force. I know the P1 has been upgraded so not sure if this is still true. One thing that may cause your records to skip is a scratch but also the need to be cleaned. I would set the tracking force and antiskate to 1.75. I own the Ortofon OM20 and I find Ortofon's suggestions to be accurate.

[ryanianmckinnon]

i will look at it im not going to be able to get a camera till later tonight so i will take some pictures then and post them on here later i really want to get this to work cause it has to be my turntable it cant be any of my other equipment

[02audionoob]

I've experimented quite a bit with my Ortofon OM 5E and I think it responds very nicely to a little more force. Given the way the P1 works, it might not be possible to add as much as I'm using, but I would be interested to know how you were able to confirm it was at 2 in reply #5.

[ryanianmckinnon]

John Michael it is the OME 5 as far as i know so i should set the counter weight to 1.75 grams and the anit skate to 1.75 to ?

02audionoob i have tried to make it work i have changed the settings a few times but i cant seem to make it work.

Also this Lp has no scratches that i can see even in good light so i dont know what the problem is

[02audionoob]

The reason I suggested more force is that it usually tracks better that way. It stays in the groove better. The reason I suggested less anti-skating is that in your video something appears to be kicking your stylus backward, since it's repeating the same music over and over again. Anti-skating is a backward force. With the turntable you see in my photo, I occasionally had a similar problem when I had the tracking force and anti-skating as recommended in the manual. The problem no longer occurs now that I have reduced the anti-skating and increased the tracking force.

That aside, though...Anti-skating apparently isn't causing this, since you tried it at zero. Are the records all hanging up this way? And if so, are they all doing this at a similar location on the record?

[JohnMichael]

Quick set up (factory fitted cartridge only)
Your turntable has been designed to be
very simple to set-up and use.
We have designed this turntable so that
correct tracking weight can be achieved by
simply moving the balance weight as close
to the pivot point as possible. Fig 1.
This will automatically set the arm to within
the recommended tracking range for the
factory fitted stylus. (1.5g - 2.0g)
The Bias slider should be set to the same
figure as the tracking weight.


I would try this method first and listen for any improvement. If the tracking force is too low and the groove is heavily modulated it can throw the cartridge around a bit. I am going to listen to the video again to see if I can gain more info.

[ryanianmckinnon]

i did that i and think the problem is u know the cartridge when u look at it the needle is in the middle of it right ? well when mine plays the need goes all the way to the left if u were looking at it and it hits the side of the plastic and i noticed that when it does that it skips so idk how to fix that

[RGA]

Phone the dealer. Paul and Don can set it up or tell if the cartridge is pooched. It may also be possible to switch the cartridge out for a Shure M97xE which is the first thing I did with the NAD. The Shure tracks much better than the stock cartridge I had on the NAD (made by Rega). It seems like the cartridge is not set properly.

[ryanianmckinnon]

yeah i will call them on tuesday and talk to one of them and see if they can help me fix it im sure they can and yeah it might be but how much would that cost ? cause i dont want to spend more money unless i have to

[JohnMichael]

i did that i and think the problem is u know the cartridge when u look at it the needle is in the middle of it right ? well when mine plays the need goes all the way to the left if u were looking at it and it hits the side of the plastic and i noticed that when it does that it skips so idk how to fix that



Is your turntable level? If not that could cause the problems you mentioned. Do you or your father have a buble level or can you borrow one? If the ttable is not level you will need to make it level so the cartridge will track properly.

[ryanianmckinnon]

im pretty sure it is i havent checked yet, that might cause the problem it doesnt seem unlevel but u never know and im sure he does somewhere i might just have to find it and if i make it level hopefully that fixes the problem

[RGA]

Sometimes Soundhounds gets great deals on gear - they often buy a year old model in huge bulk quantities and then sell them for cutthroat prices. Basically they sell it at normal dealer cost. I can't say about cartridges. I would first make sure your cartridge is alright before exploring alternatives but they may be able to trade straight across for a different one. Of course it is easier to have them set it up in the store - listen to it and then bring it home.

[02audionoob]

It seems like what you've observed...the stylus off to the left...indicates damage to the stylus. The logical course of action might just be simply replacing the stylus. If that turns out to be true it's a 5-second job to pull the old one off and install the new one. And the cartridge body doesn't have to be removed.

[ryanianmckinnon]

Hmm i looked on the rega website and its the up to date model and yeah i think it is it might just be the stylus as 02audionoob stated and i might try and do that see if i can set it up in store then see if they can make it work.

Audionoob i think it is the stylus but i dont want to try and do anything with the stylus myself as i dont know enough to touch it i am just going to call sound hounds and figure out what is wrong with it

[02audionoob]

Yes...I agree with calling the dealer. They'll sort it out easily.

[ryanianmckinnon]

yeah its what im going to do first cause there the experts on that stuff and even if i have to go in and set it up if i have to.

It is probably a simple fix i hope so