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High frequency distortion?

Hello all, I'm newish to vinyl, having gotten my first turntable, a Denon DP 300F within the past 12 months. It's been great so far, but lately I've been noticing distortion in both channels, mostly with high frequency sounds, like cymbals, high guitar notes, high vocal ranges, etc. Pretty much anything that comes out of the tweeters. All of my records were purchased new, so they've only been played within 5 times each. Anyone have any idea what could be the cause of the distortion?

Troubleshooting I've done:

  • Hooked up different speakers to the receiver.
  • Unplugged turntable from phono, and into cd, then used the turntable's built-in pre-amp.

  • Plugged headphones into the receiver while playing a record.

    In each case, the distortion persists, in both channels, at the high frequencies. Thank you so much to anyone who can offer any insight.


128x128bizzy
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,435 posts
 
sounds like a setup problem to me.  Check cartridge vtf (and all other parameters as well)
bizzy's avatar
bizzy OP
5 posts
 
Alright, I reset the tone arm and adjustments per manual instruction. The problem has diminished slightly. I will clean the stylus, then retest.
tketcham
291 posts
 

Hi, bizzy, some of the most common problems have been mentioned already but here are a couple more to consider if they don't work...

One of the common but overlooked problems that can cause the type of distortion you describe is a loose fitting in the stylus, cartridge, or tonearm.

Sometimes the stylus assembly can become slightly loose from the cartridge body. To check, you can try CAREFULLY pushing the styus assembly firmly back onto the cartridge. Your Denon owner's manual has a diagram and instructions on how to remove and replace the stylus so you can use it as a guide.

The other things to check are the cartridge mounting screws and the headshell lock nut: make sure they're both tight. Be careful not to apply too much torque, but they should both be finger tight. Again, your owner's manual has a diagram and descriptions.

Good luck in your troubleshooting and let us know what you find out.

Regards,

Tom

bizzy's avatar
bizzy OP
5 posts
 
Thanks to everyone who took the time to offer suggestions, it means a lot and I appreciate it. I'll try them out this weekend when I have some time, and I'll make a post with results in case anyone is curious
halcro's avatar
halcro
2,664 posts
 
You've had the turntable 12 months and never cleaned the stylus....😱
My money is on a dirty stylus as the culprit. Don't you have a stylus brush? It's the No.1 accessory you need for any cartridge. Brush from the back to the front.
Be careful with any fluid. Get some cheap Magic Eraser and do a search in the Archives on how to use it. Onzow ZeroDust is worthwhile as well as long as it's not a London Decca cartridge.

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