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Can my new needle be causing an unbalance?


mark heija

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Hello Klipsch Forum Folks,

with my new SVS sub-woofer added to my LaScalas (thanks for the great suggestion!) my dear wife saw how much I was enjoying revisiting my music collection (CD's these days).

She surprised me by having my long disabled turntable repaired and the needle replaced for Christmas. (Pioneer PL-630 & Grado G+ bought in the 70's). Upon listening to my early Mobile Fidelity discs I was left with the nagging feeling the stereo was leaning to one side. Listening to other sources of the same albums did not have the same unbalance. After some trouble shooting I'm thinking it may be that the needle/cartridge needs adjustment. I've done some research and see a wide variety (and price) of devices for this purpose. So, I guess I'm looking for some confirmation that I may be on the right track ;) and then some suggestions as to a good way to start the process of making things right.

Thanks for your thoughts, Mark 

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A new needle is not going to overcome the fact that your cart is 50 years old. Either borrow a newer cart from a friend  to see if the problem persists, or get a new one. Tell me this are you wearing 50 year old sneakers, you changed out the shoe laces for new ones and now you think they are good to go?

 

Also check  and clean the cart wires. They could be oxidized, hanging by a thread, loose, whatever.  Then there are little things like anti-skating etc. Go to Vinyl Engine, sign up and download the manual for your table.  It will tell you how to set everything up properly. Also there are free cartridge alignment patterns you can download, print out on photo paper and use to align your cart. 

 

 

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Hey sorry for calling the cartridge/needle assembly just the needle... the whole thing was replaced and installed by a turntable specialist.

But, I'm not sure how much attention went into its alignment. I will check the connections. Headed now to the Vinyl Engine and will let you know how things go. Thanks!

 

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19 hours ago, glens said:

A "kid" at work last night commented on my Carhartt vest.  He was in kindergarten when I got it.

 

All the "working" stuff is in the stylus assembly.  Likely is an electrical connection issue.

Yes and no.  The mechanical stuff on a moving magnet is in the stylus, but the coils etc. can oxidize, short whatever over the years.  I have about 25  carts here and most of the older ones I would never mount again.

 

One thing I forgot to mention is to simply swap the cables from the table to the phono section and see if the weak side switches. If it does then the you've eliminated the phono stage as a a problem, and narrowed it down to the tone arm wires, cart, and stylus. If not then your culprit may be the antiskating or the phono stage.

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Has anyone come across references to moving magnet cartridges losing their magnetism over time?  Since the magnets are part of the stylus assembly, it's considered a reason to replace the stylus after a period of years, regardless of how many or how few records it's been dragged over.

 

Is this for real, or just a ploy to sell you a new stylus?

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I think Thebes is on right track the phono wires going to your amp are bad or the connections are dirty. Get Deoxit and clean them. Switching them around to see if it follows the wires good idea also. You didn't say what you are using for amp could be the selector switch is dirty if its and older unit. Cartridge alignment tool is pretty cheap and maybe get some kind of tracking force gauge.  https://smile.amazon.com/Professional-Turntable-Backlight-Cartridge-Jewellery/dp/B00KMJXEBQ/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1548061025&sr=8-9&keywords=turntable+tracking+force+gauge

https://smile.amazon.com/Turntable-Phonograph-Cartridge-Alignment-Protractor/dp/B079ZBLJ4M/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1548061104&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=turntable+alignment+tool&psc=1

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Well first thing I'd do is swap the cables going from your turntable to your phono preamp. If the problem changes channels then you know the problem is turntable related. If it stays in the same channel the problem is in your phono section.... always narrow down where a problem is before trying to fix it. 

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I swapped the phono cables and the unbalance did not switch with this change (still heavy on the left).

I've Deoxited the RCA connections. I've assembled the necessary tolls to go for cartridge alignment and will go ahead with this process... cleaning as I go.

Thanks for the help.

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So, had some fun today aligning the cartridge/stylus, leveling and checking the tracking force with good success - sounds pretty sweet over the whole album. Except...

But back to the sound leaning left (or weak on the right). I tried swapping between the two phono inputs with no improvement. Tried spraying Deoxit on the source selection switch (pulled the knob and sprayed from the front panel - can this help?). No help. Guessing it's something inside the tuner (1976 Sansui 9090DB). Should I open the unit and try cleaning the switch from the inside? Any other ideas? Thanks.

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If it's indeed the switch, likely you'll have to open the switch itself to clean it properly.

 

Here's a thought (for test purposes only): without equalization it'll not sound good, and without proper gain it'll be very quiet, but you could try plugging the phono cables into a tape monitor input and see if the channel imbalance is still present.  Just don't forget to turn the volume back down afterwards!

 

I'm thinking with that vintage equipment I wouldn't rule out electronic components drifting apart (right-to-left) in the phono pre-amp section itself.  By using a tape monitor input you can bypass both the phono stage and the input selector switch (the last, of course, depending how the tape monitor loop is implemented).

 

Good luck.

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Thanks, I'll give the tape  monitor a try to check the balance. Not sure I'm ready to take any switches apart. I do have a nearly identical Sansui 9090 (a year older 1975) I can bring home from "work" (I'm retired but still volunteering at the Boys & Girls Club)... while I pick one of the local vintage repair shops to check things out.

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Well, while the receiver's being checked out (found a near by technician working from home) I'm using my older Sansui to play vinyl through  the LaScalas & SVS subwoofer. (forgot how heavy  these receivers are - 50 lbs , especially with three flights of stairs!) Though the Geodisc (found used on eBay) helped with the initial cartridge adjustment and smoothed out the pretty harsh sounding highs I'm feeling it went a little too far and I'm missing out in some respects. Downloaded another protractor from Vinyl Engine which I'll try today - sifting through a lot of info. Hope to zero in soon.

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