2. analog
  3. 1058622462

Anti-skating problem

I have an unusual problem, it does not matter how much I adjust the anti-skating on my turntable (Oracle delphi V - SME309 and Grado Sonata) I can never get the left channel to sound as detail as the right. I must admit that they are pretty close, (same output levels, same amount of details and depth) but if a play a choral work, (like a Bach's cantatas) I hear the "Shh" from the chorus on the right channel, but very little from the left. Can anyone tell me what's wrong? I checked VTA, Tracking force, Azimuth and the level of the turntable and all are correct.

Any help would be appreciated.

Miguel
acmar
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Try a different cartridge...borrow one if you can. It sounds as if antiskating has no effect (too much or too little) so the conclusion must be that antiskating is not the problem.
Post removed 
acmar OP
3 posts
 
Folks:

Thank you for your help. Based of you feedback, I started to check all settings on my turntable. After checking and adjusting all settings, the problem remained. After many hours of frustration, I gave up and listened to my SACD player which I have not heard in a long time. To my surprise, it happened while listening to the SACD!! It was unreal. So I checked all equipment (using a headset with its mini-amp) from turntable, CD, SACD and preamp, and guess what, the problem was not in each device. Only the amp and speaker was left. I checked these by switching channels (left and right) to see if either the speaker of the Amp had a problem. I even pulled out a pair of old speaker to test the Amp. After all this, I had an epiphany, it’s the room. Something with the room make the “Shhh” sound more from the right side than the left. I have an L shape room with the right speaker having wall 4 feet from one side and the back. The left speaker have the back wall 4 feet away, but no wall to the right of it.

Any suggestion how I can tune this room?

Thanks

Miguel
Post removed 
acmar OP
3 posts
 
I appreciate your feedback. Tonight I will do as you suggest and check for any sympathetic feedback. I guess I fell into the pitfall. Further testing using a test CD, I also discovered that the left side produce bass distortion, it sounds lagging, like as it’s inside a box. Today, I purchased a copy of “The Complete guide to High-end Audio” by Robert Harley to read about room acoustics. He wrote about “L” shaped rooms and suggests placing a bass trap at the left corner to resolve the bass issue. However, it does not address the detail issue I outlined above.

Once again, I am humbled by Audio. Just when I thought I had it down, it proved me wrong again. But you know what, I love it thought.

BTW, I really dislike Digital on music. Even thought, I had spend a fair amount of $$ purchasing the latest on digital SACD Player, DVD Audio, decoder, etc. still it does not come close to the satisfaction, depth and level of details analog have, but I am sure you know this.

Miguel
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