Pioneer PL200 turntable--need help

[RichardSusan]

I am not an audiophile by any stretch, but about a year ago I resurrected my old Pioneer PL200X turntable, and replaced the cartridge with a Shure M97xE. Everything sounded fine, at least to my old ears, until recently when I put on a record and heard normal volume from the left speaker, while the right speaker was barely audible. After tinkering with the headshell wires (two seemed a bit loose), I tried another record and found the situation reversed: strong right speaker and weak left. I continue to fiddle with the headshell wires, checking for loose ones, but the problem remains. Everything else in my little system functions as it should (FM and AM radio, CD player), so I assume the issue is with the turntable. My uneducated guess is that I need to replace the headshell and its wires. Is that a reasonable assumption that is likely to solve my problem, and if so, what should I look for as a replacement headshell?

 

[62vauxhall]

Maybe all you need to do is pull the clips off the cartridge terminals, pinch them together slightly for a snugger fit then push them back in place. Could also be that just sliding them off then on will achieve better contact if there is oxidization present. That's probably the easiest thing to check first. Might also try jiggling your RCA cables while a record plays. Manipulating them might reveal a break or a fault. Could also check that the RCA plugs are inserted firmly into the amp/receiver's input jacks.

Other possibilities remain but that's all I can think of for the glaringly obvious.

You try swapping left and right RCA plugs to see if the dead channel changes sides? Can't really rule out your amp - like maybe the input selector switch. Is there another amp, known to be working, that you can try your turntable with?

 

[restorer-john]

You may also want to check the RCA cables where they exit the turntable itself. They likely go through a cord grip grommet or clamp and these are notorious for crushing and causing intermittent problems. I have lost count of the number of times I have repaired that issue.

While it is playing, wiggle the RCA cable where it exits the rear of the turntable.

 

[RichardSusan]

Maybe all you need to do is pull the clips off the cartridge terminals, pinch them together slightly for a snugger fit then push them back in place. Could also be that just sliding them off then on will achieve better contact if there is oxidization present. That's probably the easiest thing to check first. Might also try jiggling your RCA cables while a record plays. Manipulating them might reveal a break or a fault. Could also check that the RCA plugs are inserted firmly into the amp/receiver's input jacks.

Other possibilities remain but that's all I can think of for the glaringly obvious.

You try swapping left and right RCA plugs to see if the dead channel changes sides? Can't really rule out your amp - like maybe the input selector switch. Is there another amp, known to be working, that you can try your turntable with?

Thank you for your reply, 62vauxhall--I've taken the wires off all terminals, cartridge and headshell, a couple of times, pinched them and checked all for a good tight fit--I just tried jiggling the RCA cables, with no improvement there--when I swapped right and left plugs, the strong channel changes sides--I should emphasize that one channel is not completely dead, but just very, very faint--I do not have another amp to try--my ancient NAD finally passed away a few months ago, and the Onkyo TX-8020 that replaced it seems fine in every respect--I also switched speaker cables, and I'm sure they are not the problem--which brings me back to suspecting the headshell and/or its wires

 

[RichardSusan]

You may also want to check the RCA cables where they exit the turntable itself. They likely go through a cord grip grommet or clamp and these are notorious for crushing and causing intermittent problems. I have lost count of the number of times I have repaired that issue.

While it is playing, wiggle the RCA cable where it exits the rear of the turntable.

Thank you, restorer-john--I fiddled with the RCA cable at both ends (out of the turntable and into the amp) without any change--as you can see from my reply to 62vauxhall, I've tried other things as well

 

[boreas]

Another possibility is the contacts for the headshell and tonearm socket. The ones for the headshell can oxidize and the ones in the tonearm can as well. And since those are spring-loaded, they can become stuck while pushed in and make poor contact. I'd exhaust all he possibilities in the area of the cartridge, headshell, wires and tonearm socket as my first steps. The reason being that the problem switched channels after you moved things around in that area.

John

 

[62vauxhall]

That's a good idea - checking the contacts springs inside the tone arm tube.

Can't say if it's the problem I experienced with a Pioneer PL-630. One channel was not working with the cartridge I wished to use on the factory headshell but was fine on a generic headshell.

To really confuse me, the factory headshell was fine with a different cartridge.

Whatever the malfunction was, it disappeared. Do not know to this day what was going on but I was at those tone arm tube contacts more than once.

May have been lack of spring pressure or maybe not, it's a mystery. But, things have been fine ever since so might be worth a look.

 

[RichardSusan]

Another possibility is the contacts for the headshell and tonearm socket. The ones for the headshell can oxidize and the ones in the tonearm can as well. And since those are spring-loaded, they can become stuck while pushed in and make poor contact. I'd exhaust all he possibilities in the area of the cartridge, headshell, wires and tonearm socket as my first steps. The reason being that the problem switched channels after you moved things around in that area.

John

Thank you, John! and you as well, 62vauxhall! Just poking and pushing the contacts in the tonearm socket has given me a much stronger response from the hitherto weak left speaker--I'm hoping I won't have to try to get at the springs inside the tone arm tube, which is likely a task well above my pay grade--for now, I'm getting two channels of sound I can live with--a hardy Thank You to you both.