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. |
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. |
Audioraider, the measurements you described indicate a problem with the tone arm cable. The center of the right channel RCA should have continuity to the red lead, ground of that RCA has continuity to the green lead. They should not have continuity to each other. The same goes for the other channel.
The way you described it sounds as if there is a short. Amazingly (and somewhat counter-intuitively), many LOMC cartridges can drive a short fairly well since they are high current and low voltage.
So if you stand by your description/those measurements, get your cables fixed. If I am right about this, the system will sound a lot better when you are done. |
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! |
maybe it is a ploblem with your RCA plugs. just a guess. |
the problem has always been there but I always thought it was a room problem. It was not until I got the Fozgometer that I found out the problem was somewhere between the needle and the RCA plugs on the phono cable. |
It cant be the phono preamp. The tonearm cable plugs into the Fozgometer. The phono preamp and everything down line is not involved in this. My current theory is, I have two bad cartridges. Disregarding the ridiculously small odds that is possible. When I switch the red/green tonearm leads with the white/blue leads the stronger signal switches to the left side. I guess that could only mean I have two bad cartridges with exactly the same problem of a stronger signal on the right side. Makes no sense to me... |
Get the phono pre-amp checked out. If it were me I would buy a very cheap phono stage on the web. Some sites sell them for much less than a $100.00, it may be cheaper then sending back to the manufacturer if it's not under warranty. kabusa.com sells them. |
Almarg is right,never put an ohm meter across the cartridge coils. I never did this before but after Almarg mention it I took one of my meters and turned to ohms on the low scale and checked the voltage across the leads with my second voltmeter and it read 2.6 volts dc. Not good for a moving coil cartridge. |
Normally the Lyra have excellent specs and are robust. Who knows, maybe it fell onto the record or similar and...
Wire
Well, can be possible also, but a wire seldom breaks, I would check the soldering in the RCA plugs.
Don't you have a friend who can loan you a cart? Then you would know it in a few seconds... |
Would demagnetising the cartridge help? There is a way to do this manually using the RCA's of the tonearm across each other (30 secs.),first one way then the other,the centre pin of one crossing the pin and shield of the other.Also it is not uncommon for there to be a difference in channel output even in new cartridges.From my position I would demagnetise and then listen to the playback with and without the tweak I suggested earlier.You should hear a clear difference and decide what to do from there. |
I never enjoy being the bearer of bad news, but I would absolutely not put an ohmmeter across a phono cartridge, or across a cable that is connected to a phono cartridge, especially a low output moving coil. The meter measures resistance by measuring how much current flows through whatever it is connected to, in response to a voltage it applies through its own internal resistance. That current will be very small in relation to the current-carrying capabilities of most devices or circuits that might be measured, but I see no grounds for confidence that it won't be large enough to cause damage to a lomc. Is there any difference between a MM cart and a MC cart that would cause a complete circuit on an MC and not on an MM? Since there are far fewer turns in the coils of a lomc compared to a mm, the resistance will be much less in a lomc. As a very rough ballpark guess, perhaps a few ohms in the case of the lomc, and many hundreds of ohms or more in the case of a mm. Depending on the resolution of your meter, and the resistance scale you are using, the resistance of the lomc may be low enough to appear to be a short even though it is not. Regards, -- Al |
Thank you all for the advice. This all happens before the phono stage so we can eliminate that as a problem. I think, based on how confusing this is, I may be having two problems at the same time. One looks like it may be a cartridge problem. When I use my meter to check the tonearm wires, the positive goes to positive and negative goes to negative BUT when I hook up the cart each wire goes to both positive and negative of the RCA plug. In other words, red lead goes to both positive and negative on the RCA plug and the green lead goes to both positive and negative on the RCA. The same thing happens on the other side. When I remove the cart and touch my meter to the the red and green pins I get a complete circuit. When I touch the white and blue pins on the cart I get a complete circuit. I don't think that should be happening. when I do the same to my backup MM cart I do not get a complete circuit. I am thinking that the cart has a short. Seems a little strange that it would be on both sides but my question is, Before I spend thousands on a new cart, is there any difference between a MM cart and a MC cart that would cause a complete circuit on an MC and not on an MM? Am I supposed to get a complete circuit? |
Try reversing the polarity of one side of the cartridge i.e the right-hand side,at the cartridge.Then reverse the polarity at the right-hand speaker to return to correct polarity for playback and then take your measurements again.This is an old tweak from the glory days of vinyl to help minimise fluctuating polarities that occur inside amplifiers.It is something I do that has improved the fidelity of my vinyl playback.It just might address your problem. |
You posted on VA as well, and I took a shot at it there. But now I see something that eluded me previously. You say both here and on VA that you took your measurements directly off the tonearm wiring. I now see also that you changed BOTH your tonearm AND cartridge, and the problem persisted. If you did these two things simultaneously, that's whacky. Now I see why John Ellison focused in on your ICs. IF you have been using the same pair of ICs throughout, try another set whilst keeping the second tonearm/cartridge combo in place, or simply swap connections at both ends of both ICs, one end at a time. (IOW, at the tonearm end, swap leads between L and R channels. Listen. If the weak channel does not swap sides, then swap leads between L and R channels at the preamp end. Listen.) This will turn out to be something simple and benign, I am sure. Well all of are giving just about the same advice. So we cannot be wrong, can we? |
Try switching right and left cartridge clips to see if the opposite channel is weaker. If not, the problem may be in the phono stage or preamp. Switching R&L cables on those starting at the highest point in the chain will further isolate the symptoms. Also check all cabling for solid connections,. I empathize with you. Sorry to hear your having trouble. |
I knew when I saw "I am at the end of my rope" that the post was going to be a turntable problem! |
Did you perform the checks with the Fozgometer and the voltmeter AFTER performing all the replacements and adjustments that you described, as well as before doing them?
If not, consider the possibility that there may be two problems present, causing similar symptoms. So the replacements or adjustments might have fixed one cause of the imbalance, but not a separate problem further downstream that may be causing a similar symptom.
That would seem to be pretty unlikely, but given all the things you have tried, whatever the explanation turns out to be will probably be something unlikely.
Swapping channels at the Steelhead inputs would be the obvious way of either ruling out or ruling in that possibility.
Good luck!
-- Al |
A. As someone already asked, did this problem just begin?
B. And do you run the Steelhead directly into your amps?
I think you have checked the signal chain thoroughly enough. And I don't think the problem lies with sloppy hookup or wires. Frankly, with that big a difference, I would have been more inclined to first check the components themselves meaning:
1.) The cartridge (which is OK)
2.) The phono preamp. Not necessarily faulty (though possible) but maybe an adjustment or connection got inadvertently changed/switched?
. |
I hope you get it figured out. I agree with above. |
I agree with Marakanetz, check the cartridge leads are correctly connected to the tonearm. My cartridge leads were once wired incorrectly and it presented the same symptoms as you described. |
Is this a new development or has the problem been present since the beginning? |
1. Make sure that tonearm cartridge clips are in place. Some cartridges/tonearms might have its colors messed up. Contact both manufacturers and ensure polarity of each color for each channel in both components or fetch it from the manuals |
