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VPI Setup - What Happened?

I moved.

Now that I'm settled in (ya right) I wanted to spin some vinyl. It's my birthday so I was treated to 6 new albums. I'm excited to hear them. But they won't play.

I cannot find my stylus gauge. My "little one" I'm betting "modified my settings which probably weren't all that good anyway. Point is, The tonearm just runs to the middle of teh album and all I get is distortion with a small amount of music buried within the distortion.

VPI Scoutmaster with a Dynavector MXV Mark II cart and JMW9 tonearm (or something like that).

I've checked the level and, as best I can without the aid of tools, alighned all the parameters which should have been good from the start. What bothers me is the amount of distortion I'm getting. Could something else be broken or does this sound like a completely hosed setup issue?

Tracking force? No real clue. Probably on the light side as I'm starting with 0 force and dialing the weight towards the cart.

Why does it constantly want to run toeards the finish line. I have the tonearm wire twisted in the proper direction so what gives?

Until I find my feeble stylus guage, I'd just like to know that there's still health with my table.

Oh ya, PS Audio phono stage. Drives through an Allnic L3000 pre which gives blessings to a Pass X350.5.
128x128desalvo55
desalvo55's avatar
desalvo55 OP
257 posts
 
I found the Soundsmith website who will retip this cartridge for between $150 and $350 depending on the grade chosen.

Needledoctor, it seems, doesn't have this option. So through a leap of faith, off it'll go for the full-on $350 upgrade which supposedly is a "true" upgrade to the stock and now broken stylus. I'm looking at an 6 to 8 week leadtime. Ouch.

At this point I think I'll need to invest in a guage and possibly the LP Mint protractor. I honesly don't know what arm I own. Bought it used from a dealer who was NOT very helpful. I watched him setup this turntable which turned out to be so far off, you couldn't have performed this worse - even my 18 mo. old could have dialed in better.
How does one know the difference between the JMW9 or 10 tonearm? Where is it measured from?

In the meantime, it's back to streaming or spinning those little silver discs.

I could ask for one those "inexpensive" cartridges you good folks have mentioned. Hello Santa?

Thanks for your help!
actusreus
733 posts
 
Another possibility -- you lost all or part of the diamond from the end of the cantilever. The symptoms you describe suggest it.
How do you "chip" diamond on vinyl? Considering diamond is the hardest mineral in existence, probability of chipping it by dropping the tonearm on vinyl is less than unlikely. You'd snap the cantilever first or perhaps you might dislodge the diamond from the cantilever, but I don't see how you can lose part of the diamond.
desalvo55's avatar
desalvo55 OP
257 posts
 
I don't have a loupe so I can't fully confirm the damage but the action suggests that there's no longer a tip to follow the groove.

Soundsmith didn't return my call.
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