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A pitch too High!

Recently, I damaged the V2 MM cartridge of Clearaudio Concept Wood turntable, so had it changed with a Grado Prestige Blue. The VTF for V2 is 2.2g while Grado blue stands at 1.5g. I took someone’s help to fix this. He even made azimuth adjustments and it sounded fine. But I soon realised that the sound had become thinner, voice being the primary indicator and just before the stylus landed on the record, it skipped back a bit then hit the record. Sometimes the tonearm would skip all the way out of the record, backwards. I called the guy back, and he felt the VTF should be fixed to around 2g to avoid the backward skip. He did so and that problem was licked and it seemed the voice thinning issue had also vanished. But last night, I put on the first pressing of Aretha Franklin Amazing Grace, and all along I found her pitch way higher, it was all too high pitched and uncomfortable. Seemed the bass had gone missing a little. On my Boulder 866, I could immediately hear the difference when the track was played through Roon. It was not as high pitched, thin as it sounded on analogue. I intend to call the guy again but wanted to know from experts here as to what the issue could be.
128x128terrible
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,841 posts
 
what do you mean by 'load' them? The link you gave me is way beyond what I can comprehend.
@terrible  "loading" of a cartridge is where a resistance is placed in parallel with the output of the cartridge; IOW from the signal to ground. Many phono preamps have provisions for this. Any high output cartridge will have a peak in its output at a particular frequency which will be at the upper end of the audio band or well past it. The link I provided has the technical explanations of why. Even if the peak is at 40KHz, there is a phenomena called 'phase shift'  which can introduce brightness artifacts in the audio band.


The resistor is inexpensive. The value is probably around 10K Ohms. This is assuming that your tonearm cable is actually meant for phonograph use (such cables are low capacitance to keep the peak as high as possible). If you are using a regular audio cable, you might consider finding one that is low capacitance instead (which is not expensive).


terrible's avatar
terrible OP
44 posts
 
@chakster Of course I don’t know what i am doing. But I am trying to learn as I go along. Those who are explaining things to me in a simple fashion are helping me get there, and i am truly grateful. I have gone through many videos and that’s probably why i am doing stuff I never imagined I would. You too should try doing things you don’t know anything about might just make you a little more helpful. The reason I am thinking of another cartridge like Nagaoka MP200 is because @mijostyn suggested maybe I should get something with 2g VTF. This could be the alternative to decreasing anti-skate.

And probably the right word is scale and not pitch?

@sandstone Thank you for letting me know, tomorrow I’ll check out the RPM adjustment screws. Since you are familiar with this turntable could you respond to my query:

The image below has the anti-skating explanation for Clearaudion Concept. Does turning towards the green arrow mean lesser anti-skate?

https://www.imagebam.com/view/ME4REUFhttp://

How many turns approximately to reach adequate anti-skate for 1.5g? If someone has done this before on this machine, please do let me know. Because clearly, 2g VTF is not working soundwise.

sandstone
358 posts
 
@terrible,
- I just wanted to emphasize that your turntable speed is fully adjustable via the three set screws on the rear, one for each of 33, 45, and 78.  You measured a speed that is 10% over spec.  No cartridge selection or other adjustment can compensate for this effect on pitch, so use your RPM app to reset it and go from there.

- On these turntables, your phono cable is actually a continuous extension of your tonearm wiring, through to the RCA connectors and is entirely suitable.
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chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
The reason I am thinking of another cartridge like Nagaoka MP200 is because @mijostyn suggested maybe I should get something with 2g VTF. This could be the alternative to decreasing anti-skate.


Tracking force DOESN’T MATTER at all.
1.5 or 2g is absolutely irrelevant, every cartridge has a range of tracking force to work with. You can’t damage Grado cart with its aluminum cantilever if your tracking force is slightly higher. Increasing tracking force to the maximum (within manufacturer recommended range) is normal for a new cartridge during suspension warm-up period (20-50 hrs).

You need a digital scale to verify tracking force.

As I told you before you can change just the stylus on your Grado, there are compatible styli to work with higher tracking force (if needed).

But first of all: set your anti-skating to ZERO if your cartridge skip backwards, because this is the anti-skating force. And LEVEL your turntable platter.

ALSO: You might have some dirt on your stylus tip and it can be a reason for skipping and bad sound, clean your stylus tip with stylus cleaning brush (dry) and use carbon-fiber brush to clean your records.

Very low tracking force, too much anti-skating and dirty stylus can can your vinyl playback simply impossible. If your stylus is damaged buy another Grado stylus (it’s cheaper than new cartridge).

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