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  3. 146909-74221

Not Enjoying My Turntable

I purchased a u-turn orbit plus six months back to get into the experience of vinyl and collecting again. So far I have enjoyed the process of album buying and the tactile experience of vinyl. However, I just am not happy with the sound. Generally I have always enjoyed playing music with the treble turned up. Maybe because of some hearing loss I don't know. Also, I have had some problems with the turntable. The needle skips and to me the sound is muffled.

I am sure I could fix some of these problems with a equalizer and some troubleshooting with the turntable but am I just chasing the dragon here? In short am I doing something wrong.
128x128brimel1974
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
@elizabeth Don't sell yourself short, you ARE recognized genius. At a minimum, acknowledged pragmatic enthusiast.

@gorgeousstyle When it comes to ticks and pops one can't underestimate the impact of super clean records and controlling static electricity via humidification and anti-static brushes. You don't need to spend a bunch of money, but you've got to actively attack those issues. It makes all the difference. Cheers,
Spencer
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
I don’t know how many people realize that if the tonearm and cartridge geometry is off by only 1/10 degree distortion doubles. What chance has the ordinary Joe Blow have? 😳 No wonder so many people in the first wave gave up on analog and went to CD at the very first opportunity.
inna
7,135 posts
 
Aligning cartridge by ear is theoretically possible but would take a lot of time unless you got very lucky. I thought about it but abandoned this idea.
If someone doesn't tolerate ticks and pops and crackles and scraping and whatever at all, better not go into vinyl. The best sounding pressings I have are not in best condition, but I prefer listening to them to other copies that I have that sound worse, even slightly worse.
I don't really enjoy vinyl routine but I do what must be done, besides, I am a tape man not vinyl man. Records do feel better than tape, though.
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whitestix
697 posts
 
My advice is to forget about analogue.  Start with as good as a CD player as you can afford, then get a good-to-great DAC, and subscribe to Tidal Hifi.  Otherwise, you are wasting you money.  
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