2. analog
  3. 151898-22568

Slight Hardness on LP's

Hello FriendsI'm very happy with my set up, but on some LP's, and maybe overall, I found the sound, a bit harsh, e.g one some live records, the clapping, of the audience, is not natural!!, but at the same time the Bass, is great!!, my phono stage, and preamp, and monoblocks are all solid stage!!, do you think, maybe to go with a "tube preamp", might solve this!!, or will it spoil the great bass!!, Friends I live down on the far south coast of Australia, my closest Hi-Fi shop is 3 hours drive, from me!!, Is there a tone control, unit out there, or will this, smudge the nice cymbals??Hoping someone out there, can help??, My System is bellow, thanks in advance!!Source: "Once Analog" TT, "Aust" made, mated with the "Wand Tonearm" New Zealand, made, with a Dynavector DV-20X2L low output cartridgePhono Stage: Vacume tube logic made in Switzerland (solid statePre Amp: P.S Audio, and Dac, in one unit!!Mono Blocks: "Channel Islands", which I love!!, they are rated approx 170 WPC per channel, maybe this might be the problem, as the speakers are rated at I think 98 ohms, too much power??, I think they were designed, for fewer watts??I don't know!!, someone told me you can never have too much power, regardless!!Speakers: Zu Soul's MK 2Cables: Telos speaker cables, PAD and Harmonic Tech interconnects, RCA's, from TT, to Phono Stage, RCA's from phono Stage, to Pre Amp, Balanced from pre to "Mono Blocks"Friends, I know, this a long question, but want to get everything right, as we all "Enjoy the Music" !!ManyThanksDavid SpryAustralia



128x128daveyonthecoast
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
Record quality varies from abysmal to sublime. And has always been so! Just get used to the fact that some will send better than others. Rock recordings are particularly egrious regarding sound quality due to multi-tracking and studio trickery (compression and EQ'ing). 
Ag insider logo xs@2x
drrsutliff
860 posts
 
Before purchasing anything I would revisit the cartridge setup. Specifically from your observation of a “hardness” or unnatural sound in clapping ect. if the general alignment is correct I would focus on reevaluating your SRA.  Last evening I remounted my Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum. After a careful alignment the final adjustment was to finalize the SRA. Initially I had a lack of naturalness in cymbals and clapping with an unsettling hardness.  After many slight adjustments (less than 0.5mm) both up and down, on the tonearm base I found the natural presentation I knew was possible.  This is a slow and painstaking undertaking. Same song, same passage to compare, multiple tries.  You could think you are correct but go one more adjustment.  You may be going back or find additional improvement. You may have to go back to original setting and go the other way.  Listen to cymbals for naturalness of attack and shimmer. If they are correct the rest will follow.  This is an investment of time that should be explored before an investment of money. Also be sure your stylus is clean. 
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,820 posts
 
I’d avoid using a tone control. It seems like a band aid. Elizabeth’s suggestion of hardwood blocks may help. Support materials are critical. You could also try different platter mats. Cork or leather may help. Try out various home made testers to get a feel for the changes.
Try adjusting VTA. The Zu speakers can be a bit hot. If toed in, try moving them slightly out.
erik_squires
16,118 posts
 
Room acoustics.

As a cheap experiment, get some blankets and pillows and try between the speakers and behind the speakers on the floor.  This is an often neglected area.
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Living in a remote location where trying gear is expensive and time consuming the last thing you want to do is throw ideas on the wall to see what sticks. Which is all you can do here.

Only advice worth getting is do everything you can with what you have right now. First, to figure out what sounds like what. To narrow down as much as you can to the culprit. 

Try different speaker locations. Try different interconnects. Or if you don't have spares try moving around the ones you do have to see how they sound with different components. Try tweaking your turntable, cartridge, shelf, footers, etc, etc. Try listening to a lot of different recordings. They are not all the same you know, and you did say "some" LPs.

Then you might try a few things that are cheap and easy and known to work. A sand bed under the turntable, cost next to nothing to try. Piece of sorbothane or other squishy material under the turntable or other component. Not offered as solutions, just some stuff to get you going. The more of this you do, even if you don't solve your problem you definitely will learn a lot more about your system and what affects the sound and what does not. So at least then if you still want to change or upgrade something you won't be totally in the dark any more.
More to discover