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Inner Tracks Sound Raspy

Thought I'd try vinyl again. I have close to 100 old LPs from the 70s and 80s that I purchased when I was first became involved with high-end stereo. Admittedly, some of the old platters are in better shape than the others.

So . . ., to get started again, I wanted to start out slowly. I bought a refurbished Thorens TD 160 w/ stock TP 16 tone arm, which included a Grado Sonata cartridge. My first reaction, quite frankly, was surprise. I hope this is not audiophile heresy, but my old vinyl sounds better than my CDs.

But I do have a problem with the vinyl playback. It seems that the pick-up on the inner record tracks is a little raspy and distorted, especially when playing complex music such as orchestral.

The TT and arm appear to be working just fine. I double checked and reset VTF. VTA looks ok too. I also went on Vinyl Engine and checked cartridge compliance and I think the Sonata is ok with the Thorens tone arm. Finally, I increased anti-skating force and that seemed to help somewhat, but the problem continues to persist.

My question to my fellow A'goners is whether this is normal in the case of vinyl or is something else at play here?

Associated equipment is ARC PH-7 (phono pre); ARC Ref 3 (line stage) and ARC VS 115 (amp).

Thanks for the advice.
bifwynne

Showing 6 responses by bifwynne

bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
Thanks Misstl. I'll experiment with the tracking force. If centrifugal force increases as the spiral tightens, is it better to adjust tracking with a bias towards more or less force. I assume that the readings on the gauge are just estimates anyway, so I would think changing anti-skating force is at best a rough estimate of what's needed.

I think your comment regarding the condition of my records may be correct. The inner track distortion does vary somewhat from record to record, but even still, there seems to be more distortion coming from the inner tracks of even the better records.

Your comment regarding perpendicular arms causes me to remember the old days when the Rabco arm was the state of the art. However, for some reason, I suspect that even straight tracking arms present their own engineering problems. I guess that's why most arms are still pivot types.

Do you think that a better modern arm, like a Rega RB 301, would do a better job? I was thinking about an upgrade anyway, matched possibly with a Clearaudio Maestro Wood or Ortofon 2M Black cartridge.
bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
Audiofeil and Macd: As I mentioned, the tonearm is the original stock TP16, which came with the TT. Audiofeil, when you suggest that there might be an "alignment problem," what are you referring to? The cartridge, azimuth, overhang??

Thanks for the thoughts.
bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
Thanks Macd. When I called Grado, they said that the Sonata likes a 2 degree VTA, north of 180 degrees - flat. That is, the cantilever/stylus should "rake" a little bit. I'll need a protractor and allen wrenth. I'll report back after I checked VTA and made the necessary adjustment, if needed.
bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
David256 & Syntax: Thanks for the advice. I tried increasing stylus weight by .25 gm. That helped a bit. But I think Syntax may be right -- time to stop nursing the Thorens along and get a new TT and arm.
bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
Thanks Davide256: Your advice is helpful for all A'gon members who own turntables.

As far as VTA is concerned, based on the posts above, I will need to purchase a protractor. Where's the best place to get one??

Regarding alignment, I take your point about a round record and pivoting arm. How do I check and adjust alignment? Because I'm dealing with a stock arm, I assume the only adjustment I can make is moving the cartridge backward or forward in the mounting shell.

Finally, the mat and record clamp are great suggestions. Again, where's the best place to pick up that stuff? BTW, if the record clamp is heavy, I surmise that the extra weight could prematurely wear the TT platter bearing. Do you agree?

Thanks again. BIF
bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
Davide256, thank you very much. BTW, I checked Vinyl Engine for cartridge alignment tools. They have some very helpful and inexpensive tools available there, even some custom set ups for Thorens TTs. Thanks also for the advice on the TT clamp vs the weight. That makes a lot of sense. I'll make the adjustments and come back with a report. I've gotta believe that there are many other folks in the same position as me. So many thanks for the great advice!
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