willboy
Active Member
Thanks for the clarification.
Sibilance / disortion
- Thread starter tw1st
- Start date
Thanks for the clarification.
How did you trace it back to loose tonearm bearings? I ask because I'm amazed.
I had a nice Sony PS-X55 turntable that now is just for cleaning my records because I could NOT fix the sibilance. I suspect it was something like this, and now, it's in a hundred pieces and not worth fixing.
sqlsavior
Lunatic Member
That was an assumption, actually, but my confidence in it is near 100%. It was a new Pioneer PLX-1000. The tonearm bearings were so loose they rattled. Like this:
The same cartridge and headshell had been performing magnificently in my Jelco arm.
Punk_oldie
Active Member
I've never really suffered sibilance issues, but IGD was definitely something I battled with early on with lower priced TTs and cartridges. But (unfortunately for those without the necessary finance maybe ?) since I've been able to spend a bit of money on better TTs and better carts (nothing crazy mind, total outlay on TT and cartridge less than £750), and also learned more and more about TT/cartridge setup, IGD has become a thing of the past. So, from my perspective, what really defeats IGD issues is a combination of investment and experience - which is probably why so many people find vinyl a bit daunting to get right.
freQ(*)Oddio
Super Member
Hi needlestein, my stanton friend! short story, i purchased a nagaoka mp110 mounted and wired from lpgear, i set it up right on the money and have been braking it in on the mk5 for a few weeks, I also just put a new 500AL stylus from pfanstiehl on my 500mkII cart, the tracking says 3-7 grams on the box, also installed some new litz wires on the old cart, i was liking the Nag cart, but to compare i swapped the stanton on quick, and dialed it in and it is the sound i like, it just is, the heavy trackers can be hard you know to dial out most of the sib, but the rest is worth it. I have a new pickering DE stylus i use on the stanton also, with a low 1g tracking weight that is also great, The pickering sounds almost exactly like the nagaoka , very nice, complete and clean. But this old Broadcasting cart with the AL stylus on this table is the perfect hifi sound of the 70s, thats the only way i can explain it, you know what i mean. The low midrange and punch, is so fast, hihats, vocals thick , music sounds "different" like creates instant foot tapping lol, oh well i dont get it .enough ranting from FreQ!
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hifitommy
Super Member
i have found that the inability of a tt to track sibilance or that has inner groove distortion (IGD) needs cartridge alignment and or enough VTF to properly track difficult passages. nearly always, the best VTF is the maximum recommended by the manufacturer.
an alignment protractor can be purchased or for free, you can download one at
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/freestuff.htm.
once done with both procedures, there should be no problem. another part of my experience is that linear tracking arms such as on mitsubishi LT models, pioneer PLL1000A (phase linear 8000) exhibit NO igd and track sibilant tracks likewise do not mistrack.
an alignment protractor can be purchased or for free, you can download one at
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/freestuff.htm.
once done with both procedures, there should be no problem. another part of my experience is that linear tracking arms such as on mitsubishi LT models, pioneer PLL1000A (phase linear 8000) exhibit NO igd and track sibilant tracks likewise do not mistrack.
freQ(*)Oddio
Super Member
yes exactly, some have the means to buy the nice table because of the want to have, but if the table is not a plug and play, its a mess and they end up on ebay, if you started with nothing like some of us did, built tables from junk and learned, and worked our way up , your tables end up sounding better, are adjusted with knowledge of the components and patience. Like all Hobbys. But i like the novice questions here on AK ,it is cool to pass on some shortcuts to the new guys.
gusten
Addicted Member
Yes the only thing that can keep the contact between the groove and the needle, is the VTF.
I'm not that sure about alignments though, there are other factors that will decide small mistracking, as I see it. One thing is that when groove modulations become too steep, the forces for the needle to follow the groove, will be too small. And the resulting force acting on the needle, will point to the pivot.
So, as You say, a linear tracker will have much less problems, as the inner modulations will be less steep.
I we talk about s-sounds with problems, these are nearly always mono cut. Some can be very hard to track, so instead the needle will jump up and down. That is the reason for the special shh sound.
So, as You say, a linear tracker will have much less problems, as the inner modulations will be less steep.
I we talk about s-sounds with problems, these are nearly always mono cut. Some can be very hard to track, so instead the needle will jump up and down. That is the reason for the special shh sound.
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Rentz
Active Member
Glad to come across this topic as I'm currently in sibalence hell
Alightment spot on, tracking force is precise and yet I keep getting that ssssss
And it's been on vinyl I purchased from users who had absolutely no hint of it in their systems. What's really weird to me is I hear the same thing on my backup lp120 table
Picked up an lp gear vividline stylus for my empire 2000/iii and I've only tested it on one track so far (Tracy chapman -revolution ) and I hear those same hard ssss
Alightment spot on, tracking force is precise and yet I keep getting that ssssss
And it's been on vinyl I purchased from users who had absolutely no hint of it in their systems. What's really weird to me is I hear the same thing on my backup lp120 table
Picked up an lp gear vividline stylus for my empire 2000/iii and I've only tested it on one track so far (Tracy chapman -revolution ) and I hear those same hard ssss
gusten
Addicted Member
Sibilance in this matter is mistracking. Seems odd this needle should encounter that. Maybe the records should sound like this.
malden
Addicted Member
What is your main turntable?
Also, what is the recommended stylus force range for your VL?
Rentz
Active Member
Ar xb with morin mods
Amp is a Yamaha ca-810
Tf range is 1-1.5 I've got it right at 1.4
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Rentz
Active Member
1-1.5 it's set at 1.4
malden
Addicted Member
I'm sure the Marc Morin modified arm is worlds better than a 40 y.o. stock AR arm but I suspect that your sibilance problem could be a mismatch between arm mass and stylus compliance. I like to use a medium compliance stylus in my AR tone-arm, but that's just me.
malden
Addicted Member
Case in point. I recently acquired a Shure M55E with NOS stylus. This cartridge tracks between .75 and 2 grams. Mounted in my Technics SL 1800 MKll everything sounded great until I played a complex orchestral recording which sounded terrible during several passages. I swapped the stylus for a new JICO N44G which is also high compliance but there were no improvements. I then substituted a N44E which tracks between 1.5 and 4 grams. At 2.5 grams there was a slight improvement but increasing the tracking force to 3 grams eliminated all of the distortion.
Rentz
Active Member
Suppose I could try my m44-7 from my lp120 just for grins...or mount my old at95e which has a higher trading force
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