2. analog
  3. 133781-46

Gonna have to ditch the Soundsmith Carmen II

I've given this cart the benefit of the doubt and then some, but it's going to have to go. 

the sibilance on s's is just to much. The sound isn't distorted, just way louder than the rest of the vocals. This happens to one degree or the other on all records with vocals. Sometimes it's barely noticeable sometimes it hard to bare. other than the sibilance I love the sound, I love the live nature of the music.  so I hate getting rid of it. 

So so the things I've done and made sure are dead on:

alighnment - that means SRA, VTA, TF, Azimuth, anti skate (per,SS), platter level, checked mounting hardware, checked tunntable . . .etc

my Denon 2x20L doesn't do this.

it may be there is a bad combo with some piece of equipment or loudspeaker and it just doesn't jive with the rest of the rig. 

My system:

VPI prime
Parasound JC3+ Phono pre
PAD phono cables
Decware integrated SET tube amp
Zu Omen Def MKII with Radian tweeter upgrade. 

So the question is what cart, around $1k will give that live dynamic sound, tracks well, but does emphasize the S's?

ones I'im interested in but have no way of hearing:

Ortofon Quintet Black
Audio Technica ART 9
???


last_lemming
last_lemming OP
639 posts
 

If you track at 2.0 you might find things dull out a bit.  It's hard to give good advice not being able to hear a person's system.  There are just too many variables at play.

Can you compare against a CD of the same album to see the net difference?

It seems odd that the VTA swings to one end or the other without there being some middle ground the setting must pass through.

Capacitance does seem like a logical place to look.  Does your phono pre allow adjustment?

schubert
7,386 posts
 
You might and you might not , takes all of 5 minutes to see .
helomech
1,738 posts
 
^Unfortunately, my phono preamp does not allow for capacitance adjustment. I think total capacitance with my preamp is probably around 300pF. 
kevemaher's avatar
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kevemaher
106 posts
 

@helomech Your recent post is the first time that I've read that the alignment can affect the sibilance. I know of course that alignment determines how the geometrical distortion is distribulte on an LP.

I have sibilance problems with some LPs. I exclusively use Lofgren A alignment.

Can you explain how the Stevenson alignment reduces sibilance?

Thanks.

kevemaher's avatar
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kevemaher
106 posts
 

@helomech Your recent post is the first time that I've read that the alignment can affect the sibilance. I know of course that alignment determines how the geometrical distortion is distribulte on an LP.

I have sibilance problems with some LPs. I exclusively use Lofgren A alignment.

Can you explain how the Stevenson alignment reduces sibilance?

Thanks.

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