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Unstable Imaging - Causes?

I've been listening to my Music Hall MMF-5.1 through a Bellari VP129 phono pre for about 1.5 months now, and the whole time I've noticed that the imaging in the trebble likes to shift to the right channel every now and then. The entire soundstage will sound evenly distributed until there is a part in the song with a lot of trebble (i.e. sibilance, cymbals, higher octaves of instruments, etc.) at which point the treble shifts slightly to the right. I've suspected that part of the cause might be that the table and tonearm itself are positioned slightly right of center, and I may be getting some "needle cross talk" (or whatever they call that). I may experiment by putting something in front of the turntable to see if that's the problem, but does anyone else have any ideas as to what may cause this?

Thanks
jwglista
jwglista OP
206 posts
 
From what I've read in the manual for the MMF-5.1, adjusting the azimuth can be a pain. What is a "headshell?" Is that a particular tool for measuring azimuth? Cause I'm wondering how anyone could get it perfect without some kind of tool to tell you if it's out of adjustment...
chashmal
605 posts
 
I am certainly not an expert, but I have noticed profound imaging differences between digital and analogue. Analogue is (for the most part) deeper and more spacious in its effects. It sounds like your room is posing reflections off of surfaces that only the deep analogue imaging gets at. I have noticed this too, betwen my Meridian 24 bit CD and my Linn LP12, both are very good, but sound very very different. If I were you before I spent any $$$ I would simply play around with speaker placement and the furniture in the room, including pictures on the wall (beware of glass!)
wwshull
157 posts
 
have you taken care of your first reflections? can you post a pic at your listening position
rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
A headshell is the unit to which the cartridge is mounted. Some tonearms have detachable headshells, allowing for quick cartridge swaps using mutliple headshells.

-RW-
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,484 posts
 
..an easy way to check for proper azimuth is to use a small mirror (preferably one with the reflective side on the viewing side - a camera repair shop is one place to get such a mirror). Set the mirror on the turntable with the arm resting on the mirror, close one eye... Looking STRAIGHT AND HEAD ON, adjust the headshell to be as perpendicular as possible to the reflection. You're really trying to get the stylus perpenducular, but oft times, its hard to see, and mostly, cartridges are manufactured close enough for you to use the cartridge body as a guide.
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