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Denon dp-300f distortion

A

actfray

New Member
I recently purchased this Denon turntable and had no issues with it until yesterday. I put on an album, and my speakers started distorting something awful. I played several different records, and the same thing occurred. I checked to make sure the phono preamp was in the OFF position, and it was. In fact, it had been in that position since I bought the TT a month ago.

I then played several CD's, and they sounded great. No distortion at all.

I've checked all my connections, looked at the stylus, and everything is good. I don't know what could be causing the distortion considering all my records sounded fine up until yesterday.

My equipment:

Yamaha R-V502 receiver
Sony CDP-491 compact disc player
Pioneer Andrew Jones FS-52 speakers

Thanks for any suggestions!

Craig
 
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actfray said:
I recently purchased this Denon turntable and had no issues with it until yesterday. I put on an album, and my speakers started distorting something awful. I played several different records, and the same thing occurred. I checked to make sure the phono preamp was in the OFF position, and it was. In fact, it had been in that position since I bought the TT a month ago.

I then played several CD's, and they sounded great. No distortion at all.

I've checked all my connections, looked at the stylus, and everything is good. I don't know what could be causing the distortion considering all my records sounded fine up until yesterday.

My equipment:

Yamaha R-V502 receiver
Sony CDP-491 compact disc player
Pioneer Andrew Jones FS-52 speakers

Thanks for any suggestions!

Craig
Click to expand...
First thing that comes to mind is to try a different input on your receiver using the built in pre-amp.
 
Yeah, I tried that. No go. At this point I'm going to try and return the unit to the seller. Too bad. This model got great reviews.
 
Did you check to see if your stylus tip is dirty? A tiny dust bunny or other accumulated dirt can keep the stylus tip from solidly contacting the groove walls, and might sound like horrible distortion.

A bumped counterweight or a cueing lever not returned all the way to resting position can also cause a distorted sound. Maybe rebalance the tonearm?
 
illini said:
What type of distortion are you hearing?
Click to expand...

The cones in my speakers (Pioneer Andrew Jones FS-52) are vibrating way too much as a result of the distortion, which sounds like someone is banging on top of the dust cover while the record is playing. The tonearm is balanced at 2.5 (when I had it at 2.0, the tonearm floated too much and wouldn't even stay on the record. That's why I increased the weight).

Keep in mind that this happened overnight after three weeks of satisfactory performance. Nothing had been changed or moved.

I've thought about upgrading the stylus to an Ortofon 2M red to see if that makes any difference.
 
Odd that the stylus wanted to "float" at 2g. If you back the counterweight down to 0, does the arm float parallel with the platter? Or does it want to float up or sink down?
 
Multiplex said:
Odd that the stylus wanted to "float" at 2g. If you back the counterweight down to 0, does the arm float parallel with the platter? Or does it want to float up or sink down?
Click to expand...

When I first set it up, I got it to float parallel to the platter (at zero) as instructed. But when I set it to the recommended 2g, it wouldn't stay on the record. The slightest movement caused the tonearm to jump. That's why I added another half gram. That solved the problem. I know the Ortofon has a recommended weight of 1.8g.
 
actfray said:
When I first set it up, I got it to float parallel to the platter (at zero) as instructed. But when I set it to the recommended 2g, it wouldn't stay on the record. The slightest movement caused the tonearm to jump. That's why I added another half gram. That solved the problem. I know the Ortofon has a recommended weight of 1.8g.
Click to expand...
That is odd. I wonder if the stylus tip or cantilever might have gotten damaged in some way?
 
actfray said:
When I first set it up, I got it to float parallel to the platter (at zero) as instructed. But when I set it to the recommended 2g, it wouldn't stay on the record. The slightest movement caused the tonearm to jump. That's why I added another half gram. That solved the problem. I know the Ortofon has a recommended weight of 1.8g.
Click to expand...

When you dialed in 2G, did you actually turn the entire counterweight or just the front dial that has the scale on it?
 
actfray said:
The cones in my speakers (Pioneer Andrew Jones FS-52) are vibrating way too much as a result of the distortion, which sounds like someone is banging on top of the dust cover while the record is playing. The tonearm is balanced at 2.5 (when I had it at 2.0, the tonearm floated too much and wouldn't even stay on the record. That's why I increased the weight).

Keep in mind that this happened overnight after three weeks of satisfactory performance. Nothing had been changed or moved.

I've thought about upgrading the stylus to an Ortofon 2M red to see if that makes any difference.
Click to expand...
does the distortion happen with headphones? how close is your turntable to your speakers? if your woofers are really pumping, your TT could be picking up sound and vibration coming from your speakers, creating a feedback issue.

also, if you're having an issue with the cart not tracking at the recommended tracking force, have you checked to ensure your TT is level?
 
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