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Where is the problem? Tracking error?

Let say I am listening to a piece of classical music. Full Orchestral. When the strings and everything sounds mushed together especially during loud demanding peaks, what is the likely culprit? cartridge, tonearm, or isolation? During certain passages, is it a tracking problem that some cartridges cannot handle all of the vibrations occurring in the groove and is that being magnified by not enough tracking force, isolation, platter not having enough mommentum? Just curious... I do not notice this when listening to CD's so I know it is not anywhere else. Everything is clear. It has to be occurring on the turntable. Where should I start looking for answers?
tzh21y
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Agree that tonearm and platter both have a huge influence, though not necessarily on tracking error. If you've aligned the cartridge well with a Mint then you've minimized overall tracking error distortion about as much as possible without going to a longer or linear tracking arm. The compression you're still hearing is mostly not caused by tracking error.

What a tonearm and platter do influence is the stray energies coming from the stylus-vinyl interface. These, if allowed to reflect back into the cartridge, muddy the signal and contribute to that compression you described.

Acrylic is not the best performing material in this respect, so you might consider messing around with platter mats. Check the forums for what others have tried with a Scout. I'm not sure what works best, or indeed if any mat is desirable with a Scout. Going the opposite direction, you could try a center clamp and/or VPI's periphery ring clamp. Both improve exactly this area of sonics on my table, but of course every platter reacts differently.

Does your JMW allow for damping fluid in the bearing well? I know some versions do. Unipivots often benefit from this so experimentation may prove enlightening. Be aware that TINY changes in the amount of fluid can have an audible impact. Finding exactly the right amount for any given cartridge requires careful experimentation. (By "tiny" I mean the smallest amount you can add/remove using the point of a pin. Yes, it's nuts...)

Many owners of Scout family tables report good results from the Cloud Nine isolation platform, and/or from replacing the stock spikes with better ones from Star Sound, Mapleshade or Walker. Every reduction you can make in spurious energies reaching the cartridge will help.
tzh21y OP
1,654 posts
 
thanks for your insight.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,515 posts
 
Dougdeacon is exactly correct. Regarding the VPI arm... I use a small amount of damping fluid at the pivot. Start this exersize by knowing full well what the sound of your cartridge is with no fluid. As you compare that sound to that of using a single drop of fluid, you will hear a change. With my Benz LP, I heard the sound solidify and open up...after another drop, additional improvements ensued, until with one drop more, the sound suddenly closed down. I took a Q-tip, removed that last drop of oil, and I was in business. ..another point. I also found that by adding VPI's bias compensator, and having it set up that the little articulating arm was horizontal at the beginning of the record, and as the arm traveled across the record, it raised up to almost vertical at the end, I had to decrease slightly the amount of damping fluid at the pivot. I suspect that bias compensation acts like damping, but it also improved tracking slightly. My cartridge is best tracked at a very specific VTF. ...a bit heavier or lighter is detrimental to its sonic potential. I suspect that each cartridge off of the assembly line has its favorite VTF. Sure, they all work from .75 to 1.50 grams, but there is only one perfect force that is optimum...and that changes over time as the suspension changes, so that I find that I have to "tweek" my vinyl system every 6 months or so. I know it's nuts, but the rewards are high.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,515 posts
 
I was looking at your system, and I certainly would recommend you substituting those Cardas cables. In my system, they produced a congested, tan, muffled sound ...they may be ok in yours, but try Audioquest, Kimber, Anti-Cables and hear if your problem goes away.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Good additional insights by Stringreen.

>> I suspect that bias compensation acts like damping...

Exactly so, as does VTF, and for identical reasons. Both apply a constant force (whether lateral or vertical) which presses the cantilever into the suspension. Pressing a vibrating rod into an elastomer dampens the vibrations. The precise effects will vary by frequency, amplitude and the characteristics of the particular elastomer and rod.

As Stringreen observed, every cartridge's sweet spot for VTF is unique. (The same is true for anti-bias, though the differences are subtler.) The only way to find it is by experimenting. I'd suggested starting with VTF because its effects are the most audible, at least in my setup. I adjust much more frequently than he does, sometimes daily, but for exactly the reasons he described.
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