Making my record player sound better
 

Laurence Payne wrote:
On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:19:40 +0000,
(D.M. Procida) wrote:

I've recently set it up after a year or so packed away for building
work. But I didn't do any adjustments.

I have noticed this glassiness before, but now I want to do something
about it.


Have you been listening to a nasty cheap digital system while your
"good" equipment was packed away? Could just be something else....

You trying to be provocative mate... :)


--
Bill Coombes

Making my record player sound better
 

Laurence Payne wrote:

I have noticed this glassiness before, but now I want to do something
about it.

Try to pin down whether it IS happening nearer the centre of the disc.

Very difficult to tell. It becomes more irritating, and one notices it
more after a while, and records also typically get louder towards the
end of a side.

If I recorded it, would that help an expert identify the possible cause?

Could be cartridge alignment (don't tell me a Linn owner isn't
equipped to adjust this? :-)

I assumed that the hi-fi shop I bought it from wold have set it up
correctly, and that it won't have moved around very much since then.

Daniele

Making my record player sound better
 

On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:06:31 +0000,
(D.M. Procida) wrote:

Laurence Payne wrote:

I have noticed this glassiness before, but now I want to do something
about it.

Try to pin down whether it IS happening nearer the centre of the disc.

Very difficult to tell. It becomes more irritating, and one notices it
more after a while, and records also typically get louder towards the
end of a side.

If I recorded it, would that help an expert identify the possible cause?


Please do. Save it as wav, not mp3 though.

Could be cartridge alignment (don't tell me a Linn owner isn't
equipped to adjust this? :-)

I assumed that the hi-fi shop I bought it from wold have set it up
correctly, and that it won't have moved around very much since then.


That is a big assumption. Last time I set up my cartridge and arm it
took more than 2 hours. I really can't see any shop taking that sort
of time, care or trouble.

d

Making my record player sound better
 

On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:00:12 +0000, bcoombes bcoombes@orangedotnet
wrote:

Have you been listening to a nasty cheap digital system while your
"good" equipment was packed away? Could just be something else....

You trying to be provocative mate... :)

Just realistic :-) Maybe we can save a vinyl victim here!

Is this the same person who's been storing an antique reel-to-reel
machine? You think the vinyl sounds rough....

Making my record player sound better
 

But be fair. I was quite into music on vinyl when that was all there
was. I'm trying to give helpful answers in that context. But there's
the distinct possibility that in the years away, ears have got used to
cleaner sound.

Making my record player sound better
 

D.M. Procida wrote:
Keith G wrote:

My record player sounds pretty good, on the whole (it's a Linn Basik
with Linn arm and cartridge that I got about 17 or 18 years ago).

However, on some records, it can sound a bit glassy.
Valve amplification and/or phono stage usually cures most ills with
vinyl replay kit, but what cartridge are you using?

It's a Linn K5.

I hadn't thought it would be an amplification problem, but more likely
to do with the mechanical set-up.

Daniele


OK. First step is to try a new stylus - an AT-95E will fit and work
fine, if look a little strange. 22 spons from Mantra:

https://shop.mantra-audio.co.uk/acat...ca_stylus.html


But double check the fit first, to be certain...

Making my record player sound better
 

"Don Pearce" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:43:05 +0000,
(D.M. Procida) wrote:

My record player sounds pretty good, on the whole (it's a Linn Basik
with Linn arm and cartridge that I got about 17 or 18 years ago).

However, on some records, it can sound a bit glassy. I don't know if
that's the right word. In louder passages - especially towards the end
of a side, I *think* - sustained notes seem to have a brittle edge to
them.

Because nearly all of my vinyl records are second-hand, it's hard to
know whether the records are worn or the player isn't playing them well.

Are there some basic adjustments I should check, or would I be better
taking it to a hi-fi shop and asking them to check it's set it up
properly?

I'm quite happy taking things apart and making mechanical adjustments,
but I haven't done much messing about with record players.

Daniele

I think you really need to find out whether it is the discs or the
machine before you get the hammer and spanners out. Do you have any
friends with a record player? If so, take the worst offenders over and
listen.

Unfortunately records that have been played on a machine that can't
reproduce high velocities have bee wrecked by them - the peaks have
been machined off. That can give rise to what you hear.

d

Sensible advice. From the brief description it does sound like end-of-side
distortion which is caused by the lower disc velocity at the centre, coupled
to higher levels...why do composers put the crescendos at the
finale.....which could be exacerbated by a worn and/or incorrectly aligned
cartridge and/or tracking weight and/or bias compensation. If you have worn
records, then that adds to the mix.

If I had your problem, I would first do what Don suggested, and eliminate
the records by checking them on another system. Then, if the records sound
OK elsewhere, realign the cartridge using an alignment protractor which is
obtainable all over the place on-line..just Google...and reset the tracking
weight and bias compensation.
Then if the problem still exists, it's most likely either a worn/damaged
stylus or possibly that the inexpensive Linn cartridge isn't good enough for
the job...as another poster has said, you may just have got unused to the
limitations of vinyl which you previously accepted as normal. Nevertheless,
a well set up turntable is still capable of good results (pace those who
believe it's better than any digital) if not up to digital replay standards,
so you may need a new stylus, or change the cartridge to something
altogether better than the one fitted. Almost any Goldring or Ortofon will
be a better bet.

Good luck.

S.

Making my record player sound better
 

Serge Auckland wrote:

If I had your problem, I would first do what Don suggested, and eliminate
the records by checking them on another system.

I'm not sure I even know anyone with a decent record-player!

Then, if the records sound OK elsewhere, realign the cartridge using an
alignment protractor which is obtainable all over the place on-line..just
Google...and reset the tracking weight and bias compensation.

I did actually start reading about that last night, but when I
discovered that there were several different schemes and methods I gave
up, disheartened.

Then if the problem still exists, it's most likely either a worn/damaged
stylus or possibly that the inexpensive Linn cartridge isn't good enough for
the job...as another poster has said, you may just have got unused to the
limitations of vinyl which you previously accepted as normal.

That's unlikely. I had a CD player for years before owning a record
player. Nearly all of my records were bought second-hand, and many have
their own kind of sonic distress. But I am sure that this unpleasant
glassiness should not be there.

Daniele

Making my record player sound better
 

On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:23:56 +0000,
(D.M. Procida) wrote:

That's unlikely. I had a CD player for years before owning a record
player. Nearly all of my records were bought second-hand, and many have
their own kind of sonic distress. But I am sure that this unpleasant
glassiness should not be there.

Can we hear a sample? This is much easier to discuss when we all know
what we are talking about.

d

Making my record player sound better
 

"D.M. Procida" wrote in
message
...
Serge Auckland wrote:

If I had your problem, I would first do what Don suggested, and eliminate
the records by checking them on another system.

I'm not sure I even know anyone with a decent record-player!

Then, if the records sound OK elsewhere, realign the cartridge using an
alignment protractor which is obtainable all over the place on-line..just
Google...and reset the tracking weight and bias compensation.

I did actually start reading about that last night, but when I
discovered that there were several different schemes and methods I gave
up, disheartened.

Then if the problem still exists, it's most likely either a worn/damaged
stylus or possibly that the inexpensive Linn cartridge isn't good enough
for
the job...as another poster has said, you may just have got unused to the
limitations of vinyl which you previously accepted as normal.

That's unlikely. I had a CD player for years before owning a record
player. Nearly all of my records were bought second-hand, and many have
their own kind of sonic distress. But I am sure that this unpleasant
glassiness should not be there.

Daniele

I agree it shouldn't, but I think the remedy is in the steps I outlined. As
to second-hand records, almost all of mine were bought in charity shops or
car-boot sales, and the quality is indeed rather variable. However, when
cleaned properly using a vacuum Record Cleaning Machine, and played with a
decent stylus, they are capable of surprisingly good results.

Persevere and you will be rewarded.

S.