Kleos Sibilance


Hello Folks,

I posted this in a Delos thread but I thought I'd better start it's own thread.

I have a new Kleos in a JMW 9 Signature on a Scoutmaster. I am getting sibilance on vocals beyond what I have heard with either a Shelter 501 II or a VPI Ortofon on the same table. My dealer put the Kleos on the wand I had the VPI cart on. I have gone to 1.8g and did not solve it and I have checked the alignment. I brought the rear of the arm down as well. It may be less pronounced but it is still there. Otherwise the Kleos is quite nice. It has 3 or 4 hours on it now. I do not hear misstracking on high level passages, just sibilance and sometimes some grunge on male vocals. It is not on all vocals but it is fairly common.
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xrobob
Robob, I haven't read all the replies, but I have been suprised to find the same sibilance on the cd-meaning that it was in the recording(overloaded mikes?).
"Robob, I haven't read all the replies, but I have been suprised to find the same sibilance on the cd-meaning that it was in the recording(overloaded mikes?)."

Thanks, I may have to check that out. Which recording are you referring to? I am getting the sibilance on most lps.

"someone mentioned earlier of a standard mount, i do not know if that means an SME mount will work for more tonearms than just SME, Rega mount etc. "

As Bill (Audiofeil) said there is no standard mount. However, some arm manufacturers use the SME style slot and some use the Rega hole because those are common. SME has been around for a long time and Rega sells in volume.

Ditto on the lack of VPI documentation. Had I know about the Rega compatibility, I might have tried one of the non-Rega arms that fit that hole.

BTW, I think HW was calling Bill a moron not me. VPI may want to keep in mind that Dual was once the number table. And probably Garrad before them. It's easy to loose one's way while selling lots of product. Ask GM.

Y'all be cool,
Robert
PS: Like a child before Christmas, it is difficult to wait on my new table/arm.
Robert-

Just curious. When you said you checked alignment, how did you determine and set azimuth? Excuse me if you've already answered this question.
He said morons plural, not necessarily directing it at you Robert but he just should not have said that. If that arm will only work best with MM cartridges, why not say something like MM cartridges recommended for the JMW 9, signature etc. It obviously has difficulty tracking with demanding cartridges. I think people should be aware of this so they do not make the same mistake as me. If you just plan on popping on a mm cartridge and listen occasionally, it probably is good enough for others. I just get ticked off when I take my sibilance and distortion ridden records to a friends house, and he plays them on a 30 year old turntable and they sound amazing, no distortion or sibilance. Why is that? He is using a Lyra cartridge as well. It tracks like a train on his table. If you were to see this table, it is not as nice to look at as a VPI, but it sounds great. I have never seen his table come up on the gon for sale. Its an old Mission 774 or something like that.
Before I upgraded from my Scout turntable with the original JMW-9 arm I used a Lyra Argo cartridge and also a Lyra Skala cartridge with the JMW-9 arm and I got excellent sound with no sibilance or other problems.
The Argo weighs only 6.4 grams but it tracked well and sounded great with no added weight on the headshell.