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I am at the end of my rope, please help

I have a problem that I can not solve and makes no sense to me at all.
My right channel is stronger than my left by a large margin. I can plug my tonearm cable directly into a Fozgometer (measures left and right output) and I get a substantially stronger signal on the right side. I confirmed this with my Voltmeter to make sure there was not a problem with the Fozgometer. So, as far as I can tell, this narrows the problem down to the Cart, Tonearm, Tonearm wire or the table.

Here is what I have tried:
1. Changed Azimuth in both directions. Small change but still much stronger on the right side.
2. Changed antiskating. Very little change.
3. replaced the cartridge. No Change.
4. replaced the tonearm and cartridge. No Change.
5. replaced the tonearm, cartridge and tonearm wire. No change.
6. I have used a second test record. No Change
My turntable is perfectly level.
I simply do not see how this is possible! I have an $83,000 system that I can not listen to. Any ideas would be much appreciated.

My system:
DaVinci Turntable > Lyra Titan i > Schroeder Reference tonearm > Manley Steelhead > Stealth Indra cables > VTL 450 amps > Stealth Mlt speaker cables > Vienna acoustic Mahler speakers
audioraider

Showing 5 responses by sprog

sprog
37 posts
 
"I am going to throw the entire system in the ocean and take up another hobby."

NO!!!!

Give it to me first.

Then chuck yourself in the ocean.

Oh, do get it the right way round Audioraider... ahem ... ;)
sprog
37 posts
 
If you're switching the cartridge leads and the Fozgometer shows the levels switch as well then there's no doubt that both of your cartridges have a faulty channel. It has to be that as there's nothing else connected.

I'd go with Vegasears suggestion. Or borrow a cartridge from somewhere...?

Good luck!
sprog
37 posts
 
By the way I've had loads of cartridges over the years, and still have several, and the same thing has hapeened to me on 3 occasions. I think you're just very unlucky to have it happen to the only two you have!

It may be fixable - Expert Stylus in the UK are very good at openiing up cartrides and fixing these kinds of faults. They can even re-coiul, if it needs it, however it's often a poor connection within the cartridge - to the pins, that causes it.

They fixed the faults they found with mine perfectly.
sprog
37 posts
 
I slightly mis-read your post Audioraider, I thought you had tried connecting the Fozgometer directly to the cartridge pins, rather than just at the tonearm lead ends.

Try taking the cartridge off the arm and connect the Fozgometer directly to the cartridge pins (via some wire, if you can do that?). If the channels switch as you switch leads then it definitely is the cartridge, as I explained earlier.
sprog
37 posts
 
Have you thought about getting your ears checked? I had a right bias in my system many years ago in the way you describe and went to get my ears syringed - and it disappeared.

My left ear had a far greater buid-up of wax than the right, which was reducing the ability to hear high frequencies clearly.

Just a thought...
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