Problems on record "inner tracks"

mikerm

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I'm just starting to get into vinyl a little more seriously & setup an old Akai AP-D210 turntable in my work office. I'm really pretty clueless when it comes to turntable setup, but it "appears" to be working fine except that when listening to a album the sound quality starts taking a dump as the stylus gets closer to the center of the record. It's as though the outer tracks are high quality recordings & the inner are low quality - they lose detail, more prone to skipping, etc. I have 4 different albums at the office and they all exhibit the same behavior on this table. They all work great on my Pioneer table at home.

Any suggestions or ideas on what might be going on?

Thanks!
 
Google "inner groove distortion"...it's a well known problem inherent to vinyl playback. There are ways to mitigate it (e.g. careful set up and cart alignment) but the only way to get it down to a manageable level where it's not really noticeable is to use a cartridge with an advanced stylus. What cartridge are you using now on the Akai? What cart is on the Pioneer? How many hours are on each cartridge?
 
Double check that the cartridge is aligned properly. This is very likely to happen when you use an elliptical stylus, and it isn't sitting perpendicular to the groove. Also, some cartridges track poorly on the inner grooves, when mounted on certain record players. I had a certain grado cartridge which I could never align on a certain pioneer player, no matter what I did. Also, a worn stylus may sound bad on the inner grooves first.

What kind of cartridge do you have on the AKAI, and how was it aligned?
 
This sounds like as the arm moves toward the center of the record something is changing
. Pull the bottom off and check to make sure the arm is no being hindered in any way by wiring.
 
I'm just starting to get into vinyl a little more seriously & setup an old Akai AP-D210 turntable in my work office. I'm really pretty clueless when it comes to turntable setup, but it "appears" to be working fine except that when listening to a album the sound quality starts taking a dump as the stylus gets closer to the center of the record. It's as though the outer tracks are high quality recordings & the inner are low quality - they lose detail, more prone to skipping, etc. I have 4 different albums at the office and they all exhibit the same behavior on this table. They all work great on my Pioneer table at home.

Any suggestions or ideas on what might be going on?

Thanks!

First - make sure the tonearm isn't binding (check for dried up grease, and the anti-skate, as both can cause a bit of a problem with skipping as well as sound. Obviously, you need to check your realignment as well as the stylus to see if it is worn/bad.
 
Google "inner groove distortion"...it's a well known problem inherent to vinyl playback. There are ways to mitigate it (e.g. careful set up and cart alignment) but the only way to get it down to a manageable level where it's not really noticeable is to use a cartridge with an advanced stylus. What cartridge are you using now on the Akai? What cart is on the Pioneer? How many hours are on each cartridge?

The Akai has a Shure cartridge with the number S0515 on top. I'll need to check the Pioneer when I get home. Pioneer stylus was replaced recently by Fred Longworth @ Classic Audio Repair in San Diego and he "setup" the table for me as well. The Akai is a Goodwill find so I have no idea about the age of the stylus. What would be a good recommended budget stylus? I'll do some searching for cartridge alignment instructions, sounds like that's something I need to check.
 
To the OP, I have never been able to completely eliminate the lesser sound on inner grooves, but have learned to work around it. Best thing I can recommend is what others have said. Make sure arm is moving properly, alignment is a bit of a science, but at least strive to get the basics correct.

Finally, moving to higher quality stylus' helped me substantially. Lots and lots of great threads and tips here.

Do some reading, and best of luck, sir.
 
That’s ridiculous. That table is fine. Has to be the stylus or alignment.

Actually I've encountered certain cartridges which never sound right on inner grooves with certain record players, but work fine on others. An example is a grado black I had, which refused to align well on a cheap pioneer, and always suffered from inner groove distortion, but when I put it on an SME arm, it worked great.

For an inexpensive Japanese player like the akai I think the natural match is an inexpensive Japanese cart like an Audio Technica. I bet the OP isn't using an audio technica cartridge, I've never really had this issue with AT cartridges even on cheap turntables.
 
Alignment can minimise your problem. Using Stevenson alignment, biases it towards better inner groove performance. However, a better stylus shape may be necessary to completely eliminate inner groove distortion. One of the best is a line contact type , especially microline or microridge - but they are not 'budget' styluses.
 
Regards mikerm:
Your turntable's tonearm is shown to have an effective length of 220mm, overhang of 17.5mm. Familiarize yourself with these terms. The Akai is an inexpensive unit but not incapable of reasonably rewarding performance. I'd suggest you first check for the 17.5mm overhang. If it's correct then either alignment is off or the stylus is worn.

Here's a visualization: As the tonearm traverses the lp, the arc described dictates that the stylus tends to first "point" towards the rim of the lp. Once the tonearm passes the middle of it's arc the stylus' correct alignment transits more towards the spindle. If you are hearing distortion in the outer tracks, turn the cartridge towards the spindle. Conversely, if distortion is greater on the inner tracks then twist the cartridge towards the lp's rim. These are minute adjustments, listen for results between each. If overhang isn't correct you'll not achieve optimal alignment for your TT.

In fewest possible words, establish correct overhang. For inner groove distortion turn the cartridge counter clockwise. For outer groove distortion, clockwise. These adjustments should be minimal, a little goes a long way.

(Edit): Go to. Vinyl Engine, print off an alignment template using the above effective length/overhang figures.
viewtopic.php
If still observing distortion, replace either the stylus or cartridge.
 
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I'm just starting to get into vinyl a little more seriously & setup an old Akai AP-D210 turntable in my work office. I'm really pretty clueless when it comes to turntable setup, but it "appears" to be working fine except that when listening to a album the sound quality starts taking a dump as the stylus gets closer to the center of the record. It's as though the outer tracks are high quality recordings & the inner are low quality - they lose detail, more prone to skipping, etc. I have 4 different albums at the office and they all exhibit the same behavior on this table. They all work great on my Pioneer table at home.

Any suggestions or ideas on what might be going on?

Thanks!

Mike, go to vinylengine.com, sign up, and download the owners manual. Follow the instructions to set the VTF (pressure) for your table. Also google and print off one of the cartridge protractor diagrams so you can properly align your cartridge. If you need instructions for that just youtube or google it.
 
The Akai has a Shure cartridge with the number S0515 on top. I'll need to check the Pioneer when I get home. Pioneer stylus was replaced recently by Fred Longworth @ Classic Audio Repair in San Diego and he "setup" the table for me as well. The Akai is a Goodwill find so I have no idea about the age of the stylus. What would be a good recommended budget stylus? I'll do some searching for cartridge alignment instructions, sounds like that's something I need to check.

You can probably find a replacement stylus for that Shure. All bets are off with a used stylus until you get it under the microscope. I would stop playing records with that cartridge immediately, as there is a risk you're damaging them if the stylus is really worn.

Post some pictures of the cartridge and make a new thread specifically asking about styli for an unknown Shure cart. You'll get more detailed responses that way. And yes you need to learn how to align a cartridge. I would recommend a Stevenson protractor for that. Likewise, if you don't have a digital VTF scale, get one. If this is too much trouble for you, just take the whole Akai table into the repair shop and have them deal with it.
 
Thanks everyone for the information! I've downloaded the owners manual from Vinylengine, will print off a protractor and attempt to align the stylus. I'm inclined to replace the entire cartridge if that's possible & can be done for a reasonable price. Like I said, this turntable is in my work office and doesn't get a whole lot of use, but I'd like to make sure it isn't damaging my records & sounds as good as it's capable of sounding.
 
Double check that the cartridge is aligned properly.
:thumbsup: I had same issue until I got cart set better. The inner grooves were intolerably sibilant.

I also found the Shure carts were more user friendly for me until I was a bit better at set up. You can start out pretty affordable with these and move up if you like them. The 97 and even the V15 series are FS a lot here and elsewhere.

GL and be patient. Also as others have said stop using a stylus that may be shot and could damage records and surely will never sound right.
 
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