brightpav
Member
Hey folks,
I’ve got an ongoing issue with my setup that I can’t seem to figure out so I thought I’d turn to the experts here at AK! The details of my gear are below but here’s an explanation of the issue:
Long story short, the woofers in my speakers are violently pulsating back and forth both visibly and audibly when playing records. This only happens when listening to vinyl and is not limited to a single recording nor does it happen with every record.
And here’s the real doozy; it even happens when no music is playing!
A video is worth a thousand words in this instance so take a look at the link below to see it in action:
Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tvtxu19x8c5t0k0/Speaker_Vibrate.mov?dl=0
In this video I have the tone arm down, needle set in the run-in groove of an LP (Cecil Taylor - Looking Ahead if you’re curious.) The platter is not spinning.
As I raise the volume on the receiver, the speaker starts to vibrate back and forth aggressively and makes a terrible noise. As you can imagine this sometimes happens when music is playing as well, when a volume threshold is reached I assume. It’s worth noting that the behavior is worse in the right speaker than the left.
Some things:
As for any other possible audio “interference” there is a slight hum that sounds like a ground loop to me, that can fluctuate better or worse. This is only audible on phono and the needle is on the record. Though the electrical is updated who knows if it’s been fully re-wired and what’s going on in the other flats.
Things I’ve tried:
I’m stumped and hope someone out there might have a clue. As mentioned my gear setup is below. Appreciate any thoughts as always.
Thanks!
—
Receiver: Harman Kardon 330 C
Speakers: Klipsch Heresy I
Turntable: Music Hall MMF 2.2
Cartridge/stylus: Nagaoka MP 110
I’ve got an ongoing issue with my setup that I can’t seem to figure out so I thought I’d turn to the experts here at AK! The details of my gear are below but here’s an explanation of the issue:
Long story short, the woofers in my speakers are violently pulsating back and forth both visibly and audibly when playing records. This only happens when listening to vinyl and is not limited to a single recording nor does it happen with every record.
And here’s the real doozy; it even happens when no music is playing!
A video is worth a thousand words in this instance so take a look at the link below to see it in action:
Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tvtxu19x8c5t0k0/Speaker_Vibrate.mov?dl=0
In this video I have the tone arm down, needle set in the run-in groove of an LP (Cecil Taylor - Looking Ahead if you’re curious.) The platter is not spinning.
As I raise the volume on the receiver, the speaker starts to vibrate back and forth aggressively and makes a terrible noise. As you can imagine this sometimes happens when music is playing as well, when a volume threshold is reached I assume. It’s worth noting that the behavior is worse in the right speaker than the left.
Some things:
- The TT is decoupled from the speakers and receiver on its own shelving unit
- TT connections are properly seated & TT is grounded to the receiver
- Speakers are on the floor, roughly 8ft apart (best I can do)
- Floor is hardwood with a crawl space beneath
- Electrical is updated but core building was built in the 20s
As for any other possible audio “interference” there is a slight hum that sounds like a ground loop to me, that can fluctuate better or worse. This is only audible on phono and the needle is on the record. Though the electrical is updated who knows if it’s been fully re-wired and what’s going on in the other flats.
Things I’ve tried:
- Flipped the plug to try to solve any grounding issues
- Reseated all connections
- Auditioned different records and different volumes
- Added a small slab of wood under the turntable to attempt to further decouple
- Moved speakers further away from TT
I’m stumped and hope someone out there might have a clue. As mentioned my gear setup is below. Appreciate any thoughts as always.
Thanks!
—
Receiver: Harman Kardon 330 C
Speakers: Klipsch Heresy I
Turntable: Music Hall MMF 2.2
Cartridge/stylus: Nagaoka MP 110