Harsh highs is a common claim brought against any AT carts. Some people say the AT440MLb sounds "sterile" or "CD like", which I can understand. As much as I love my Signet/AT140LC, I have to admit that it is fatiguing.
Poor vocals and highs
- Thread starter gb33
- Start date
gb33/ and Quartz Lock try this, get a record that has never been played/new for as little money as possible, doesn't matter if it isn't your favorite music/artist, and listen. I purchased a couple 180gr records and later as I suspected they were played on an ION TT. Both had groove damage/distortion. Possible the cartridge is fine and the records are bad and no amount of cleaning will undo the damage.
gb33/ and Quartz Lock try this, get a record that has never been played/new for as little money as possible, doesn't matter if it isn't your favorite music/artist, and listen. I purchased a couple 180gr records and later as I suspected they were played on an ION TT. Both had groove damage/distortion that wasn't noticed due to poor lighting. Possible the cartridge is fine and the records are bad and no amount of cleaning will undo the damage. gb33 if you have a Technichs SL-D2 I believe it came with a Technics overhang guage, along with the owners manual cartridge installation and alignment instructions and the gauge, about $5 on Ebay or from KAB, overhang and alignment is fast/simple/accurate.
That is what I am going to to try tonight. I bought my first modern (Foo Fighters), new press album yesterday, but haven't had a chance to listen yet.
All of my others I've tried are original "hand me downs" from the 50's through 70's. Great artists , and visually they look pretty good, but time takes its toll on albums.
I also have an older (2005) Pioneer Elite receiver I will try that has a phono input.
Thanks again for the responses.
mprince
Super Member
To clarify/add, poor maintenance and carelessness takes its toll on albums. I have several 40+ year old albums that are in better shape visually and audibly than a brand new 180g record straight out of the shrink.
Well, I tried the new Foo Fighters album at lunch today. For the first several songs I thought that was it as it sounded great. But then I played the acoustic song Skin and Bones in which the higher string notes had that harsh or shrill sound.
It was certainly less noticeable though, but was still there.
It was certainly less noticeable though, but was still there.
I'm going to search, and post if necessary, on the receiver forum. My 771 is still in complete stock never restored status. I don't visually see any popped caps, but I want to get some tips and ideas on what I should look for.
I am going to try the Elite receiver tonight. If I strike out there, I may look at replacing the hard wired RCA cables of the turntable.
I am going to try the Elite receiver tonight. If I strike out there, I may look at replacing the hard wired RCA cables of the turntable.
Best wishes on your receiver and phono cable experiments. For what it's worth, the AT95E is one of those cartridges that I just never warmed up to, finding it to have a thin tonal balance and a rather aggressive, less-than-clean top end. The 440ML tracked better, but I still couldn't keep it on my 'table for more than a month or two because I just found it unpleasant to listen to (again, thin tonal balance, though it wasn't too bad when playing loud rock music). Surprisingly, I rather like the extremely cheap AT CN5625AL. The best bargain in a clean-tracking, smooth-sounding cartridge to my ears has been the Shure M97xE. Depending on the 'table, and I've never heard an SL-D2 so can't comment on what would work well with that, I've sometimes preferred the Sumiko Black Pearl over the M97xE; on my Denon DP-300F, for example, the Sumiko had a more detailed and dynamic presentation while preserving great tracking and a pleasant tonal balance. On my current Rega RP3, the M97xE is the better match.
gusten
Addicted Member
Many ATs are a little less plug and play than others. They really need a low capacitance loading, otherwise there can be a hump in the treble. I usually use 100pF as a total capacitance for ATs, then the freq response is normally perfect, and not a sign of brigthness.
Not to confuse this with mistracking which likely is happening if the inner grooves sound different than the outer.
Not to confuse this with mistracking which likely is happening if the inner grooves sound different than the outer.
gusten
Addicted Member
Indeed, gusten; just goes to prove how many factors and elements are involved in the analog chain...the whole endeavor is far from "plug 'n play"...
I, for one, am experiencing mistracking towards the end of sides, and have since running the AT95e; that being said, my aforementioned Saturday Night Fever reference could also suggest that the master created for this vinyl reissue was kind of cruddy and too hot (which I have read is a problem that plagued the newer CD versions of this soundtrack, so it's probably the same awful master), leading to the "crunchy," sibilant characteristics this reissue exhibits on playback in my system.
Several things contributes to mistracking. The best is to have a situation where SQ is 'only' depending on the record. What is recorded on the record should be what we are hearing. But to get there is a bit of work. For some records it´s not that easy to know what is really just on the record.
Last edited: