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Why does my vinyl sound so bright?

Michell Gyro upgraded to Orbe Platter with DC motor, etc. Zeta tomearm, Sumiko Blackbird, into PS Audio GCPH. I'm not looking for a world beater rig, but boy it's kind of bright during playback. Wasn't always this way, so something must have changed, but the only thing I've changed is moving it onto a wall mounted shelf, at least that's the only thing that I've changed on purpose. Any tips on where to start troubleshooting this?

Complete vinyl imbecile here, so be gentle and talk slowly...thanks for any help!
arthursmuck
piedpiper
753 posts
 
Sounds like damage. Is the cantilever straight? If not, that would be an indication that the suspension is shot. If you have a 50x or higher scope for viewing the stylus you may find that it has been chipped. I suggest NOT playing any LPs until you figure this out.
arthursmuck OP
451 posts
 
Cantilever appears straight and I don't have 50x of higher. I'm going to take it in to a place that does tomorrow. Yeah, I am NOT playing any LP's based on how this sounds. Chipped might make some sense as it would play, just terribly...
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
I've got a Blackbird and it is very sensitive to VTA; however, your adjustment and the resulting unsteady sound makes me thing that something happened in the move.

Use canned air to blow out the cartridge. Don't put the nozzle too close because the parts are sensitive, but see if that doesn't help. If that's no good, then completely dismount it and inspect it with a magnifying glass. If all appears ok, then try to remount it one last time. Be careful not to overtorgue the machine bolts holding it to the arm or headshell.

Try a cheap MM cartridge in the arm to make sure that the arm is ok. There could be some binding that you don't feel, but I really doubt this possibility.

Dave
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