Fuzzy distortion on vinyl........Stylus issue?


Need some advice from the Turntable & Stylus crowd. I have an issue whereupon my vinyl has a tiny bit of fuzzy distortion when playing. This happens on brand new 180g albums as well as my collection from the 70's-80's.
Is this a stylus issue? or my cartridge (Ortofon Red MM)? Streaming & CD/SACD sound fine.

128x128badger_erich
This really could caused by so many things. Is this a new problem, or have you experienced this before?

It could be a worn or dirty stylus or misaligned cartridge or pickup arm. It could be dirt on your LPs. It could be an issue with your phono stage.It’s difficult to say without more details.
Clean your stylus after playing every side! Make sure the tracking force is set right. Too little can cause mistracking!
Hi,
it could be everything, start afresh re aligning your cartridge first. See how it goes. You said that happens on both new vinyl and older one, so dirty records are out. Fuzzy sound comes from misalignment and dirty/bad stylus.
One time in college the phone rang, same problem no idea what is going on heard you know this stuff can you help me please? So I asked this total stranger three questions experience had taught me are critical in solving such problems: Where are you? Do you have beer? Is it cold?

Thus having ascertained the essentials I came over, quaffed the brew, flicked the dust wad off the stylus, and joined the party. WSU, 1977.

You cannot believe how much easier it was to do this before the internet.







@badger_erich

how close are your speakers to your turntable?
what sort of rack is your turntable sitting on?

assuming you know that this vinyl has not already had the grooves damaged.......

that fuzzy sort of sound might be an extreme case of feedback from the music. one easy way to check that out would be if you have a set of headphones that you could listen to the vinyl playback with your amplifier off and your speakers silent. if you still have that fuzzy sound then it’s your cartridge or set-up, or maybe a bad bearing in your arm, or even maybe the arm bearing is not properly seated in the bearing cup....or the tone arm base might be loose, or the arm board might be loose.

anyway, those would be the first things i would check.
My first step would-be to clean the stylus dipping it gently into a Magic Eraser 2-3 times and then brushing it off with a stylus brush (gobs of info as to how to do it safely in the A'Gon forums).

If doing so is not a remedy then go from there.

What you describe is the typical sound a caked/dirty stylus/needle.

DeKay
Your problem takes me back to the bad ole' days, the 1950's-1970's.  When no amount of cleaning of the stylus would help and no loose screws needed to be tightened I knew it was time to just get a new needle.  I must say, too, that some of my old 45 rpm singles have always been so afflicted.  It's one of the banes of analog existence.  It's one of the reasons that other formats came to pass.
Could be non-fill issues on some of your records.....With good light you can see non-fill on the surface, many people say it looks like a strand of pearls.
My turntable is a Pro-ject Carbon Debut. As I recall, I purchased it back in 2015 and the cartridge was installed from the factory. I did follow the guide when setting it up, it doesn't skip tracks, but doesn't sound exactly "clean or clear". I have cleaned the stylus, maybe I should jump to an Ortofon Bronze?
badger_erich,

honestly you are giving Wisconsin grad vinyl lovers a bad name.

did you read any of the suggestions and check any of the ideas suggested to check? or do you just post a question and then ignore it all?

is anything loose? did you even look? tug on things? look for cause and effect?

come’on man, let’s get with it!

or maybe just stick with digital.
Assuming alignment is correct, and you cleaned the stylus, you should also be careful playing your vinyl with that cart just in case it is extremely worn or chipped. Try to verify for damage with magnification. Sounds like a new cartridge might be in order.
You can upgrade to a Blue by replacing the stylus but not a Bronze as it has different innards.
Put a few drops of 91% isopropyl alcohol on a Magic Eraser. Drop and raise the stylus (with the cue) into it a few times.