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Cartridge problem...

N

NearysEpiphany

New Member
First post here. Cool forum. Gotta cartridge problem. Here's the deal:

Picked up a Kenwood KD-5066 at an estate sale for about $15 bucks. Nice little score. Now I can listen to rekkids!

Take it home, hook it up, throw on a 30 year-old LP and it sounds pretty good. High frequncies sound pretty distorted but otherwise pretty nice. Needs a new cartridge.

So...I order me up a Shure M97xe. It arrives, I take off the old cartridge, stick on the new one. Four colored wires go to the correct colored pins on the back of the cartridge. Play an LP and...

Where did the bass go? Mids and highs sounds sweet and smooth as silk, but low end is seriously lacking. There is some bass, but no way can this be right.

Any ideas? I'm sure there are plenty of possible explanations but this newbie doesn't know any.
 
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Allow 50-100 hours of break-in for the cartridge and stylus suspension to loosen up some. Your bass will finally start to come around then. Also, your mids and highs will become smoother as well. ;)
 
It could be a few different things all rolled into one. Most likely though it is that the cart needs to burn in. It will take a bunch of playing, depending on how much you spin. I only use used carts, so no idea as to exact length of time. The other things will be tracking force, you should pick up a Shure stylus force gauge, best 20 or so bucks you could spend. Depending on the arm you have, you may be able to adjust the Verticle Tracking Angle. If the arm allows you to raise or lower it at the pivot point, it usually needs a bit of tail drag to get the bass going. Other things to look at are the over hang, where the cart is mounted in the slots, adjust to taste if you don't have a protractor to start with. However, I would give it a week or 2 of heavy playtime to see if it basses up.
 
You guys are great. Thanks for the welcome and the info.

I kinda figured there would be burn-in time required. Wasn't sure though. Read something earlier today about incorrect polarity or something or other. Hope it's just burn in because I really don't like words like "polarity".

I'll pick up a tracking force gauge. The arm doesn't have a verticle adjustment.
 
I took my V15xMR quite while to burn in, 50 or more records at least, I agree with others give it time.

X
 
My 2 cents is that so much bass loss is not just burn-in. I've never had a Shure m97xe that didn't provide instant gratification that was further deepened with burn-in.

It is more likely your VTA. Gently rest the tonearm on a record with the stylus in the last groove. Take a lined note-card and place it behind the tonearm. Is the tonearm level? If not, that is your problem...you need it level at least as a starting point to see whether the base returns.

If possible, add or remove spacers to achieve the correct arm angle.

Dave

PS Tracking pressure will also affect VTA...pick up the Shure Gauge quickly.
 
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