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Analog Help Please

I have been getting quite a bit of mistracking at the beginning of many of my Lp's just recently. Bought them used, and I am wondering if it is because they are wore out?

I am wondering though if it is something to do with my cartridge/VTF/VTA. I even realigned my cart today with no improvement. I increased VTF with no success. It seems like this problem has been happening more and more and sometimes even on Lp's that it never happened to before.

Please note that by the second song or so, the mistracking noise is generally gone completely and everything is fine.
I've visually inspected the cantilever and needle, they seem fine as far as I can tell. I've cleaned mu Lp's thoroughly.
I've played around some with antiskating to no avail.

One thing I have not done is lower VTF. Maybe? Then again I am not even sure if the sound I hear is mistracking. I can only describe it as a "flutter" or "shutter" evey revolution at a certian place in the Lp.

I just tested an Lp that is had never happened to before on and is is definately there. here's a funny thing though. The "mistracking happend last night on one Lp. So I put another on. No mistracking sound. So I put the previous one on and the mistracking sound was gone. What's up with that? The sound did not appear the rest of the evening but has been present all day today. Bummer.

Any suggestions. I'm stumped.

The arm is triplanar, the cart is ZYX Atmos, proabably 40 or so hours on it.
mariasplunge
markd51
763 posts
 
Tough to evaluate, but I will comment a big "no" on your last sentence. Unless you are saying that with your system "muted" it still mistracks? Tough to understand your last post, can you elaborate better please?

Without better isolation, I doubt it would make a difference if the Turntable is all the way across the room if your system throws enough SPL's. Do you have Headphones? Try playing as loud as you like, or at different volumes through the Phones.

This will at least eliminate any acoustical interference.

My System is nowhere near as expensive as yours, just a measly VPI HW-19 MK-IV, with AQ Arm, Ruby 3 Cartridge, etc, but running two Mac Amps, four JBL Speakers, and a Sunfire MK-IV Sub to boot, I know I can have that Stylus fly off the record as if I dropped a brick on the Table, with such wake the dead volume. lol
Mark
headsnappin's avatar
headsnappin
295 posts
 
You can also slam your car door if you like.
jtimothya
612 posts
 

... watching the needle through a mag glass and seeing it mistrack with certian responses with the speaker.

... When I lowered the volume some, did the same process, no mistracking.

... my speakers, for the time being are maybe 5 inches feom my table.

It kinda sounds like you diagnosed your own question.

dcstep
1,518 posts
 
Does it mistrack through your cans? If so, then it's a tonearm/cartridge problem. Since you say you've realigned the cartridge, then I'm thinking it's the antiskate, either not set at the right level, or binding. Is the mistracking always in one channel? If so, then it's too much or too little anti-skate.

The fact that it can be intermittent makes me thing its some binding in the anti-skate.

I don't know how, but the other night I noticed the anti-skate thread that holds the weight was out of its loop. It was binding and at times and causing similar issues to yours.

Dave
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
It certainly sounds like acoustic feedback. The Atmos, being almost fully nude, is likely to be sensitive to that. It gave us no problems on our rig, but I can bounce up and down next to our table with no audible feedback, certainly no skipping. Speakers 5" from the tonearm? Yikes!

You need to address those issues I guess. You could confirm the diagnosis by listening through headphones, as Markd51 suggested.

P.S. to DocSavage
There's an easier way to adjust the a/s initiation point on a TriPlanar. Don't fiddle with the set screw holding the fishing line. You're as likely to break the line as anything, trust me! ;-)

Just adjust the pin sticking out of the front of the bearing cage (just below the dogleg). Swivelling that pin up or down controls the a/s initiation point.
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