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Vinyl and slurring S'es

I have been listening to a lot of vinyl for the past for months and have been considering a new turntable. But I have a question. I have noticed that when listening to my vinyl the s'es sound "slurred". I'm not really sure how to put it any other way. This is with new and/or older records. My question is; is it the recording? Do I have something set wrong on my turntable (anit-skating, ect)? Or is it my electronics. I don't notice this when listening to CDs. I have several on CD and vinyl and the CDs are crisp and clear. I have had two tables in my system in the past two weeks and both do it; a Denon 47F and a Basis 1400 w/300 arm. On both tables was a Grado Sonata cartridge. I am using a Black Cube running into a Classe CP60. The amp is a McIntosh MC300 and Thiel 3.6 speakers. I really prefer the sound the vinyl gives but those s'es can really make it fatiguing sometimes. Any insight someone can give on this matter would be appreciated.

Thank!
Tim
mitcheft
mitcheft OP
9 posts
 
Thanks for the resonses so far. I used two different cartridges, one was a high output the other low. The low was on the Denon and the high was on the Basis. Both were bought around the same time and are 2 or 3 yrs old (I think). Since I have two I have considered getting one retipped or just biting the bullet and getting a new cartridge; maybe go for a different brand. I thought about adjusting the VTA on the Basis (cant do it on the Denon) but wanted to put this thread out first to get some thoughts on it all.

I appreciate all the input so far and any that follows.

Thanks guys!

Tim
paulwp
585 posts
 
Not sure what you mean by slurring, but if you mean instead of ssss you get thh or stch or anything like a lisp, the vta may be too low or the records were damaged by tracking too light. If you get a zzzz sizzle, the vta is probably too high. Mistracking in the 5-8 khz range can also be caused by an incorrectly aligned cartridge, incorrect overhang and azimuth. You have to get everything right to make a cartridge work right.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
just a tip for the cartridge:
benz cartridges i believe are the champions in longetivity and reliability. with proper handling they could play upto 15000 hours.
detlof
1,899 posts
 
Paulwp has said it all in my opinion. I would have told you exactly the same. Cheers,
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
The sound that you are hearing is formally known as "sibilance".
A number of good possibilities are mentioned above; may or may not be the issue here, so you'll have to experiment.
The cause may also be dirty/un-conditioned AC power, the wrong interconnects, high-level overloading of the phono input stage lineup, the wrong AC cord.
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