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U-Turn Orbit Sibilance issues

goldswimmerb

goldswimmerb

Failed out of engineering, but look at me now!
Subscriber
Hello, I recently upgraded my turntable from the stock stylus/cartridge to an Ortofon 2m Red, the 2m has around 7 to 12 hours of use on it as of now I have started to notice some serious sibilance issues. Even things like "Breathe" on my copy of DOSTM are nearly unlistenable because of this. Im trying to figure out why Im getting sibilance all of a sudden. The cartridge is aligned to the best of my ability and the weight is set at 2g (Because it was worse at 1.8g). I also recently switched my pre-amp to the Little bear ver 2.2 Tube Pre-Amp and that made the issue much more prevalent (My old $12 Pyle Pre-Amp had some evry minor sibilance issues with the 2m red, but it wasnt unlistenable, as it currently is)

Thanks guys!
 
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The first thing is to make sure the needle is completely clean, the second is to make sure the VTF is correct, the third is to get a new cartridge.
 
gusten said:
The first thing is to make sure the needle is completely clean, the second is to make sure the VTF is correct, the third is to get a new cartridge.
Click to expand...
This cartridge is brand new. The tracking force is definitely correct.
 
gusten said:
You cannot expect 2MRed not to have sibilances, it always will. Is the needle really clean?
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I use the brush on the needle before each play.

The cart has more sibilance and is awful to listen to (IMO) compared to even the AT91B which is a $20 cart that came with the table.
 
I don't know that Ortofon, but the AT95E that I have on the Orbits at my shop perform well. Simple cartridge that does its job pretty well. I know the Grado Black is an option on these 'tables, I would suggest trying that route. The thing that strikes me as odd is that the original cartridge, which I take for granted was mounted by U-Turn, gave you sibilance. If that's the case, I would look at the rest of your chain; you changed preamps and it got worse. You've tried different cartridges, and it's getting worse. What's your amplifier? Is it possible that you're picking up some distortion there and mistaking for sibilance?
 
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"You cannot expect 2MRed not to have sibilances" so they were designed to be defective? Ortofon is not a fly by night company.
Unless you are referring to some negative synergy between the Orbit & Ort Reds .......................
 
moodydan said:
I don't know that Ortofon, but the AT95E that I have on the Orbits at my shop perform well. Simple cartridge that does its job pretty well. I know the Grado Black is an option on these 'tables, I would suggest trying that route. The thing that strikes me as odd is that the original cartridge, which I take for granted was mounted by U-Turn, gave you sibilance. If that's the case, I would look at the rest of your chain; you changed preamps and it got worse. You've tried different cartridges, and it's getting worse. What's your amplifier? Is it possible that you're picking up some distortion there and mistaking for sibilance?
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The stock cart didn't give me issues.

Also when I get hope I can record and post an audio sample if anyone wants to actually hear what's going on (it's probably the best way to actually know at least part of the issue)
 
goldswimmerb said:
The stock cart didn't give me issues.

Also when I get hope I can record and post an audio sample if anyone wants to actually hear what's going on (it's probably the best way to actually know at least part of the issue)
Click to expand...

Upload a small wav file if You can. Not YouTube.
 
Yes it does sound bad. If the record is not worn and cartridge aligned to spec, I would say that your stylus is either very dirty or damaged.Is the cantilever bent possibly? Personally I would return it if possible and get a Audio Technica AT-120E or much better still, AT-440MLB if budget permits, you'll love the lack of sibilance and tracking distortion with a microline stylus. As gusten mentioned, you can only do so much with a fat elliptical.
 
gusten said:
The recordings are terribly brick-walled. The crest factors are between 8-9dB. It really sounds bad but it´s hard to know why besides the compressed recordings.
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These are as uncompressed as I can make.

So you think its definitely more than just a break in period or a misaligned stylus?
 
goldswimmerb said:
These are as uncompressed as I can make.

So you think its definitely more than just a break in period or a misaligned stylus?
Click to expand...

I think the recording as such is this brickwalled. I also believe it´s possible to get a bit better sound with a better stylus, but maybe not that much. But if we do a cancelling of the lateral readings from the stylus it will sound a bit better, which will indicate it can sound better. If You listen to this file You will hear quite a bit distortion that is mistrackings from the needle.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/39225261/Distort2.wav
 
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