Dynavector XV-1s and JMW 10.5i question

I received the new XV-1s about 10 weeks ago. The friend who set it up had it about 2-3 weeks and 'broke it in.' I think he probably had 50 hours on it. Once I got the table and new cart back in my system, it sounded phenomenal. Rock solid imaging, tons of air. Since that time I really have changed nothing, with the exception that the set-up guy came over to listen and adjusted the VTA slightly (not sure which way). It still sounded incredible. I had about 100 hours total on it by that time. Over the last 2-3 weeks, the imaging has been more blurred and shifted to the right side of the soundstage. Also much less air around instruments and less 'floating' of images.

I've tried listening with no anti-skate and it doesn't seem to change things. I've ordered a Mint Tractor (Series 9 for JMW 10.5i) and it will hopefully arrive next week. Once it arrives and I've had a chance to quickly review the Fremer video, I'll start slowly and carefully trying to tackle this. It's just weird that the sound changed with essentially no changes in set up.

Regarding damping fluid - a silly question:

Where do I put it? Is it on the spindle that the tonearm rests on? No instructions are given in the Aries 3 / JMW manual. Maybe if I put some damping fluid in the correct area, the anti-skate won't be needed, or at least the blu-tak won't.

Thanks for the input and advice. Any more hints will be very appreciated. You don't know what you've got until its gone (regarding sound and a lot of other things!).

Philb7777,

Unless your cartridge is taking an inordinate amount of time to break in, it is pretty hard to account for such a significant change in sound for the worse. Since you haven't been fiddling with the adjustments, aside from trying the setup without antiskating, it doesn't seem to be a setup issue.

By the way, I disagree with the statement that your friend's use of blu-tack on the antiskating weight is silly. Your description of his use of a test record and determination that more antiskating force was needed based on higher distortion levels in the right channel IS one of the better ways to set antiskating. Your friend appears, to me, to be a very valuable resource in ferretting out your current problem.

There is a possibility you have a defective cartridge. Perhaps, something in the suspension has gone bad and the coils are no longer aligned properly causing the channel imbalance. I hope that is not the case. I am assuming that the sound has not changed when other sources are used (thus limiting the possible problem area to the phono gear, including the phono stage).

Does your 10.5i tonearm have Nordost wiring (all silver color and kinda limp) or Discovery wiring (red and white twist)? I have both (two armtubes) and find that the Nordost-wired arm requires the outboard antiskating device, if you're going to use any antiskating at all, while the Discovery-wired arm can have anti-skating applied by twisting the wire in the "time honored" VPI JMW way.

I would definitely dump the Blu-Tak in any event and tend to use a minimum of anti-skating. Yes, you might try some damping fluid in the cup where the pivot (pointy thing) is. You're really going to have to, er, play this by ear.

BTW, If it's the one I think it is, I sure wouldn't pay much if any attention to that test record. Good luck, Dave

Yeah, guys, I value my audio vinyl guru friend's help. I just hate to ask him to come by and check things out again. I think he thinks I am having an 'audio nervosa' attack. I know what I'm hearing is real though.

I hope the cart isn't defective. Interestingly, the imaging issue kind of comes and goes, even during the same songs being played. Nonetheless, the 'density' of the images seem less all the time. Another thing I've noticed is a slight hum (very faint coming from the midrange and woofer) in between tracks and when not playing but the preamp set to LP input. This is new. I do use a grounding cable. When I play the CD it is not there.

I've babied the cart from day one and I'm actually scared of it! I have cleaned it carefully with an Onzow only thus far and clean all LP's with a VPI 16.5.

I have the Nordost wiring on the 10.5i. I think he used the Hi Fi News test LP to help set up anti-skate. I have ordered the Analogue Productions one which should arrive tomorrow.

Check your VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle). It is possible that as your suspension loosened up, the VTA, (measuring to the cantilever), may have changed also.

Just a thought.