Arrowheadrss, I could have been off a bit in my estimate of course. Maybe 5 or 10 percent. Also do not forget, I buy mostly used records as well, so that would increase the likelihood of buying worn records or records with worn grooves. You cannot tell 100 percent if a record you are buying is worn, as even some that look pretty good sometimes have some wear in areas. I disagree about bringing it to someone with a million dollar set up (exageration) as some suggest, as it is a set up I will never own. My turntables are all highly reviewed samples and 2 of the three cartridges are brand new and also highly regarded. The eroica is original to the mmf7 with no more than 100 hours, as it was in storage for years. The alignment parameters were all exhaustively checked and are as close as can be with human hands and eye. The fact that the effected records are all used would substantially increase the percentages of getting a worn record. Also from reading here, it seems there is an abundance of users that are having the same issues. They have listed in their posts countless record titles that have some sibalance. No one I know unfortunately is into audio as I am in my immediate circle. Most if not all audio stores have closed there doors in my immediate area. Sure there may be one maybe 100 miles away, but honestly it is not worth it to me to drive that far. Again, I have a very hard time believing that all three tables and cartridges producing the very same sibilance in the same areas of the pressings can point any where else but the pressing itself. Likewise, if all three are aligned that badly, then it would reason to say that far greater amounts of my collection , if not all of them would behave or play badly, which is not the case. Some play astonishingly. Lastly, the manufacturers of these tables and cartridges are not as rigid as some here as to how to install a cartridge on their particular arm. Some of them even provide a protractor with the table. I do not believe that any of them anticipate that the user is going to use or have to use a microscope to set it up. There is some give or take or tolerances present in the set up process. I do believe that people make much to big of a deal out of it, as long as it looks right with whatever it is you are choosing to align it with, then it should sound fine. I don't think these companies could stay in business if it were not the case. Too many dismiss the pressing as the cause, and some claim to have 100 percent rid themselves of the sibalance issue. I find that way too hard to believe personally.
