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Turntable sibilance

First of two queries by me today....

I have a VPI Classic 3 with Soundsmith Zephyr (original) cartridge and MMMicroOne speakers (just upgraded significantly (I hope!) to Sonus Faber Olympica III’s, which I received today but haven’t yet plugged in). While listening last night, I noticed some audible sibilance (hissy S’es) on vocals. Never noticed that before. If it had been occurring before, I probably would have noticed: turns out I’m fairly sensitive to sibilance, I guess...

I noticed it when listening to multiple "reference" records, all of which are well cared for and good pressings. It’s still minor, but is noticeable. It is not limited to the inner grooves.

From reviewing various past threads here, I gather there could be several culprits: a worn stylus, or incorrect VTF or VTA. As to the latter two: Can those "drift" over time on a VPI Classic 3? I ask because if the problem was the VTF or VTA, the sibilance would not have appeared spontaneously last night, but would have been there from setup. Once I initially set VTF and VTF, I have not changed them and the screws are locked down tight. I do not have any anti-skate on, per VPI’s recommendation (I realize that many disagree with that recommendation, but it’s been working fine for me til now; in addition, as noted above, the sibilance is not limited to the inner grooves.

As to the former: I bought the cartridge used here on Audiogon, but it had had a "complete rebuild" by Soundsmith. I bought it about 18 months ago, but have only put about 1000 hours on it. (If I’m lucky, I get to listen about an hour or two per day. Taking 2 hours daily 7 days a week for 18 months = 1095 hours at the absolute most, and realistically, it’s probably less than that since I don’t always get two hours of listening every single day). I’ve read that a good cartridge should go about 2000 hours before any noticeable wear.

I realize that the easy solution is to dismount the cartridge and send it to Soundsmith to check. Before doing so, I will re-check VTA and VTF. Any other advice is appreciated. I’d hate to have the cartridge out of service for several weeks, having just gotten new speakers.

Thanks!

chipcarterdc
chipcarterdc OP
22 posts
 
Stringeen,

Thanks, but I noticed the sibilance with the old speakers, before I installed the new ones (also, I never found the zephyr to be bright, with either the old or the new speakers).

Update: I checked VTA. I had originally set it at 2.0 grams, which is right in the middle of the recommended range for this cart of 1.8-2.2.  When I check it today, it was *2.4*!!! It's odd to me that it could drift that much.  In any event: I adjusted the counterweight to get it back to 2.0.  The sibilance is indeed lessened, but not gone, so VTA doesn't appear to be the entirety of the problem.  

As a side note: setting the VTA back to the correct amount significantly improved the bass on the new speakers.  I'm still getting them dialed in: the initial sound was pretty good even in just a plug n play configuration, but everything is getting more impressive as I get the toe-in, distance from walls, (and now, VTA) set right...
dekay's avatar
dekay
5,604 posts
 
Checking VTA via a weight measurement?

chipcarterdc OP
22 posts
 
Checking VTF via a calibrated digital scale. If I said VTA earlier, that was a typo. But you probably already knew that.  So I don't know why you felt the need to comment.  
halcro's avatar
halcro
2,664 posts
 
I think you should listen to Peter....
Not only is he one of the world’s leading experts in cartridges....it’s his damn cartridge FFS.....🙈
You’re an optimist to consider 2000 hours the norm for a stylus life expectancy. 1000 hours (as Peter says) is industry standard with some manufacturers recommending as low as 500 hours‼️
If you’ve been playing for 1000 hours without proper antiskate, and you have no idea how many additional hours the previous owner put on it....it’s a safe bet that your stylus is damaged/worn and the sibilance is telling you this.
If this is the case, you could well be causing permanent damage to the walls of your record grooves..😱


inna
7,296 posts
 
I suggest you stop playing that damn cartridge immediately ! Send it to Peter. Even if in some cases 1000 hours is not maximum, Peter must know what he is saying. In any case, the number of hours is very high. You may be damaging your records already. Why would you want to gamble with this ?
No anti-skate is another interesting  point.
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