the "my first turntable thread".....

[jaybee]

I've raided my daughters' neurofen stash!!

perfect!

[jaybee]

so.....

something's not quite right....

phono stage arrived today...

baerwald rega alignment complete...

brand new oil int bearing....

brand new belt fitted

turntable level....

brand new 180g RTI pressing of Astral Weeks spinning away....

low level detail is beautiful...

but when Van belts it sounds distorted and there are a lot of pops and the odd crackle...

more than I was expecting like!

Any suggestions????

Looks fabulous spinning away mind you!!

[jaybee]

*facepalm*


tracking force at .5 instead of 1.5....

much better.... still some surface noise but now.... well...

sounds like I hoped.... of course there'll be a new cart soon enough... may give this one a month!

was fixin on a Grado for its warmth, but have heard there may be an issue with shielding and ac motors?

[cybot]

Glad you got your tt issues sorted :) That happened me once. The Shure balance I was using should have been placed on the bare platter (despite the photo on the box showing otherwise!). This give me a false reading (too light) and it was certainly a hard earned lesson. Still I was shocked as I didn't expect that to happen. Then I discovered that the Shure was actually off too! Long story but I fixed it....There's a lot to be said for arms with the proper markings on them for setting the downforce/bias :) But they could be inaccurate too. Welcome to the crazy world of tt setup :)

[MooseTrackz]

Any suggestions????

Looks fabulous spinning away mind you!!

cut some photies out of your favourite mag and stick em to the platter, add some disco lights + bevvies of your choice and feckin enjoy yourself (select a few cd's and you're away)!!!

just suggesting like.......

[jaybee]

sounds terrifying!!

maybe purple haze would work well

[jaybee]

quick chat;
bottle of wine to go very nicely with some rare BBQ lamb

cart is identified as likely culprit...

home made cleaning kit...

hybrid of magic sponge and brushing

ccd cleaning pad ( digital camera sensor )



interdental brush




and the Rice Krispies are gone (well... mostly), stylus must have been manky

Thanks Ivor!!

[Ivor]

the other side of that converstion....

Smiling vaguely familiar man walks into a wine shop...

"howareye Ivor?... jasus I can't get get that turntable right at all"

"errr...." followed by 20 seconds of brain turmoil followed by " ah JB it's yerself!" and a quick conversation on cartridges and their dirty dirty habits.

[jaybee]

unfortunately a little further reading would appear to indicate that my choice of cart ( Grado Prestige) is particularly susceptible to hum from unshielded ac motors...!!

So back to square one for a budget cart...

Is the ortofon 2m red the way to go? or is it the "flavour of the month" like mission speakers used to be on what hifi?

I'm really trying to avoid anything bright...

[cybot]

unfortunately a little further reading would appear to indicate that my choice of cart ( Grado Prestige) is particularly susceptible to hum from unshielded ac motors...!!

So back to square one for a budget cart...

Is the ortofon 2m red the way to go? or is it the "flavour of the month" like mission speakers used to be on what hifi?

I'm really trying to avoid anything bright...

Where did you read that about the Grado? Methinks you worry too much! I had one and had absolutely no problems with it. It's very, very smooth. Too smooth for my tastes however. I can't stand brightness of any kind including the dreaded sibilance. I currently use a Goldring 1006 (tried them all) and I think it's a fantastic little player. Never liked Ortofons but I believe the Reds 'n Blues are pretty good. Have a look at the link below and see what you think? Any luck with phono stages? Not to worry horse before cart(ridge) coming soon :)



http://decoaudio.com/deco_audio_cartridges1.html