I need help diagnosing a sibilant problem on vinyl

Are the Walls in your room close to the speakers on the sides? Without knowing your room description ..its hard to say. I get this in my room because its small..but I dampin about 20 degrees to the left and right of each speaker and this helps kill any ringing or harsh reflectance. Also, Cables are another thing to consider a bad cable can sound like u describe. I tend to take the easy route first and work up to the more complex fixes.Stylus tracking force and anti-skate are easy to check as well. Also,make sure the cartridge is not near any transformers from other equipment. I would check Grounding or consider running a ground from table to preamp. Table needs to be Perfectly level,check this at the plinth and the platter to make sure.Stylus or cartridge replacement might be in order if these others dont help.

I agree with all the above, and also add if the turntable itself is properly level on all planes and on a solid platform, and do use a record clamp to better couple the record to the platter.

Dougdeacon is it possible to get a list of those records that are hard to track.

Damaged or worn stylus. Harsh tubes?

How many hours do you have on the Elys?

Btselect,

Thanks for asking. For clarity, I didn't mention records that are hard to track. I mentioned records whose HF's (particularly sibilants) are difficult to reproduce cleanly. These are not the same thing, since systems may distort HFs even when the stylus traces them perfectly.

Even distortions that sound exactly like mistracking are often not so. Some phono stage distortions can mimic mistracking even to experienced, professional ears. Frequent contributor Atmasphere has described this on several threads.

A few example LPs:

HARD - Alison Krauss, 'Live at Union Station', MOFI reissue
The inner grooves challenge many systems, though they play cleanly in mine.


REALLY HARD - 'La Boheme' with Renata Tebaldi, London OSA 1299
Mimi's aria at the end of side 1 distorts/congests on most systems. This is one LP I use to test any visiting component or potential upgrade in my own system. I've only heard it play truly clean a few times.


ABSOLUTELY FRIGGIN IMPOSSIBLE - Rene Clemencic et al, "Les Plaisirs De La Renaissance, Danses Et Chansons", Harmonia Mundi HMU 963
The last two tracks on side B will drive nearly any system into fingernails-on-blackboard distortions/congestions. I can empty a room full of audiophiles just by pulling this LP off the shelf, lol. I've heard it play cleanly exactly once, in my system but with a better tonearm than my TriPlanar VII (which is no slouch). Every component in the system must be top class to avoid distorting the closely spaced harmonics of Clemencic's counter-tenor, an alto recorder which doubles him and the many echoes in the stony room where this was recorded. IME, this LP is the acid test for a system's ability to sort out tightly packed upper mids and highs. Try it if you dare. ;-)