Crackling distortion


I have a used (new to me) VPI Scout with a new Dynavector 20x2L with a bunch of new vinyl to go along with it. I used the VPI rig to set it up and followed all the instructions on se up, with the amount of anti skate be set right not 100% there. I have a Shure force guage and I'm running 2.2g grams + .1g per VPI recommendation. 2.2 is max for DV cart.

I've noticed on some albums I'm getting a crackling distortion in some high transients and on some vocals - especially the emphasized.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong or what to do next. I did notice that after 12 hours on the new cart I had just a hair more than the 2.3 g of force, so I adjusted that yesterday, but I'm still hitting the crackling. Could I of already damaged the cart?

I double checked the overhand with the VPI and its right on the dot. My VTA is level.

The record is new and freshly cleaned and dry. The needle was brushed and cleaned as well. Both channels seem equal as well.

Any help would be appreciated.
last_lemming

Showing 1 response by manitunc

could be a number of things, but since you seem to have aligned the cartridge properly and the needle is new, I doubt its due to damage to the stylus. Your cartridge may be overloading your preamp on loud transients. If your needle was damaged, you would likely hear a problem all the time. some carts cant track high transients, so it could be a mistracking for that reason. Have you tried a test record to see how the cartridge tracks various levels? what is your phono preamp?