Killing sibilance distortion - VPI & Jubilee

Hi Guys, I have some updates! ;)

a) verify that you've set the correct VTF

Looks good to me: VTF

b) try using absolute minimum anti-skate.

I've actually fiddled around quite a bit with anti skate. Mike at VPI told me that the Nordost wire on the Jmw9sig shouldn't be twisted... so the 2 options are either no anti skate, or using the mechanical piece. I've tried disabling it, and also tried several placements for the rubber washers on the mechanical piece. Things seem to be better with the piece in place, but either way I am getting the sibilance.

d) re-check your spindle to pivot measurement

I went ahead and printed off that hoffman protractor. The arc matches up perfectly with the arc on the MINT, which leads me to believe that overhang is good. Axel - I measured out 17mm from the spindle, and it looks like that is right where the stylus is falling ( : So, I don't know why it looks like the cartridge is too far out... but as far as I can measure, it looks right at 17mm overhang. Maybe the headshell on the VPI arm doesn't extend very far?

Setting overhang with the MINT

Setting zenith with the MINT

It looks to me like the zenith angle looks good... aligning to the cantilever of course.

Doug - thanks for your notes re: the phono stages. Currently I am using the PS audio stage which I hope would be able to handle things! Loading at 100ohms btw.

Still on my list is to try the VPI jig again (granted, I bought the MINT because I was getting sibilance with it at the start), and to also try another cartridge (I have a Benz L2 and a Shelter 901 in house). I'd like to make sure I've nailed setup with the Jubilee before I change carts though.

Anyway, I hope I am making at least a little bit of progress!

I can make another recording at any time, but as of now, I haven't made any changes to the setup.

Goatwuss'
y.s.:
>>> Maybe the headshell on the VPI arm doesn't extend very far? <<<
Must be the case then, not that I like it any much better though :-) sorry. But if that's it, I'll store that in my database.

Next:
"Setting zenith with the MINT" --- that is Azimuth what I see, and it is pretty out in the picture. (Zenith is turning that cart like a dial on a penny)
It looks like the head-shell is closer to the cart on the right?, AND your head-shell/arm is tilted also (bitch to set with that arm, I've seen it). Next thing you play a record, (with or without AS) and it's skew again.
Your call, I say.

Next:
>>>It looks to me like the zenith angle looks good... aligning to the cantilever of course<<<
I can see squat, in fact what I can see, that cantilever is off-set to the right. I mentioned that very thing earlier on, of course the picture may look different than real life...
Take that cart OUT, and look at it straight from the top, maybe make a picture, and be SURE that cantilever is straight down the middle, please. (seen it all before, that's why it's imperative to have the information)

>>> Loading at 100ohms for Jubilee <<<
That's 100% with GCPH, can't do better then that.
(I had both your cart and your phono-pre, plus I had your problem - but not with your VPI rig)

Best,
A.

Goatwuss,

Great information. As others said, you get A+ for diagnostic thorough-osity.

The zenith photo does appear to have been taken from an off angle relative to the null point, so we can't really assess your zenith angle. As Axel said it looks like azimuth is way off, but that could be due to the angle of the photo.

With all your efforts I really doubt alignment is the problem. The track you're having problems with is challenging and all gear has its limits.

I would not expect a Shelter 901 to play inner groove sibilants better than a Jubilee. From my own experience and also from theory I'd expect it to be worse.

IGD was the reason I stopped using my 901. It wouldn't play tough inner grooves clearly on 3 of the 4 tonearms I tried. The exception was a Schroeder Reference, but I'd hardly recommend buying a $6K tonearm just to get a Shelter to behave.

The Jubilee has a better stylus profile. On my TriPlanar it was no worse on inner grooves than any other part of the LP, though as I said before, it never performed at a level that encouraged me to feed it difficult stuff like that Allison Kraus track.

Try the Benz, just for kicks.

Regarding equipment and its limits...

Last night we played Mahler 8, "Symphony of a Thousand", on an excellent German Teldec pressing. Eight operatic soloists, two full choruses, boys choir, big pipe organ and large orchestra - all going full tilt in tutti or fugal counterpoint for four sides. That's more challenging than fifty over-miked Allison Krauss tracks.

My ZYX UNIverse may be the clearest, least congested cartridge on the planet. It plays that AK track without blinking, but it only just kept the Mahler under control. For the first time since I got my Mint the sound occasionally reminded me I was listening to a phono cartridge. It was by no means bad. Darn good actually. But it lacked the last bit of effortless clarity that I'm used to.

I redid my entire rig last weekend and adjusted VTA and VTF specifically for this recording, so it wasn't setup.

We played a lot of music last night and everything else sounded ravishing (a Bach cantata on authentic instruments, Ella singing Cole Porter, a Beethoven Piano Concerto that literally brought me to tears, then the Mahler, then Louis Armstrong's 'St. James Infirmary' and 'I ain't got nobody' on the Classic 45rpm reissue as a nightcap). The Mahler just pushed my system close to its limits. It would have pushed a 901 or Jubilee well past theirs.

Also, VTF can't be optimized by using a scale. It can only be optimized by using your ears.

I doubt that's the cause of your problem, but you should experiment to learn how your cartridge behaves with varying amounts of downforce. Whatever you learn will change as the cartridge ages and perhaps even with the weather. The most a scale can do is get you in the ballpark.

Are you getting sibilance on a "real" lp??? Most test records are designed to make ALL arm/cartridge combinations distort. I would use a test record to minimize and even out left-right sibilance, but wouldn't worry about it further unless I were experience trouble with real music.