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My battle with sibilance.

At the minimum sibilance is annoying to me. Its only present on a small percentage of my records. However today I wanted to see if I could improve it. The song in question is Men at Work's "Down Under". The cartridge is an Ortofon Cadenza Bronze retipped by Soundsmith. I went through a lot of the protocols for abating annoying sibilance.
1.My anti skate was not optimally set so I thought and I adjusted to less using a dead spot on a test record. I know some people don't agree with this. I tried Soundsmiths method but until I see a video I won't understand it.
2. I adjusted my VTA to at least 20 degrees. I realized it was off. It was set at 12-15 degrees. I know the Shibata stylus is sensitive to VTA.
3. I checked the VTF and it was set at the manufacturers suggestion at 2.5 grams. Which is dead in the middle of 2.3 to 2.7. I adjusted to 2.62. A lot of people think the higher range is optimum.
3. I made sure my stylus was absolutely clean.
Guess what? After all this, the sibilance was less but still there. As a check I listened to the song in streaming and it was in the recording!!! However not as bad as my record before my TT adjustments. So I'm happy now my TT might sound better on other recordings. Anyway I hope my fellow members here have had some success on sibilance and maybe some will benefit from what I did.

128x128blueranger
unison77
50 posts
 
 Too lazy at the moment to swap the gear, but I will report when I do it.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,175 posts
 
@lewm, yes, Wilson did. I know this for a fact as I ran a test on a pair. They just don't talk about it and very few audiophiles actually measure their speakers. 
Loudness compensation you use to find in some preamps was not very versatile as it was only correct at one volume level. But if you tended to listen at one quiet level it worked fine, until the audiophiles trashed it.
I have a preset with a Gundry dip but for some strange reason I have not used it since I got the Sound Labs, haven't needed it.  
avanti1960
1,405 posts
 
Sibilance is present to some degree but it must be more troubling than usual or you would'nt have asked for help.  
two things stand out to me- retip and VTA.  
I have had Soundsmith retips on two cartridges including a cadenza blue.  they may take 70 hrs or so to sound smooth, if yours is fresh this could be part of the issue. 
Second is VTA.  Not sure how yours is set but to me there is only one way to get an initial reference VTA-  make sure the top of the headshell is level when it is in a record groove.  
You do this by using a small round bubble level and set it on top of the flat surface of the headshell.  
Balance the arm and adjust VTF to what the cartridge uses to compensate for the mass of the level.  Lower it on to a stopped LP and adjust the arm height until the headshell shows level . 
Re adjust VTF and play away.  Most good carts respond well to a level headshell, which is parallel to the top of the cartridge.  
Other causes of sibilance i have witnessed-
too much phono stage gain
bright interconnects, avoid silver or hybrid
too high resistance loading on MCs

blueranger's avatar
blueranger OP
719 posts
 
Thanks Avanti1960. Great points well taken. My Ortofon Cadenza Bronze is probably due for a retip. Even though I have meticulously kept the stylus clean and my records pristine and 99 % of my records have very little pops it might need to go to a cartridge specialist. I’m sure I have 1500 plus hours but from what I’ve read the Shibita stylus lasts longer than most other designs. I do have 3 other cartridges that have about 1/2 their life left. I kept switching for different sounds. The Ortofon black and the dynavector 20x2 and Shire M97 with an SAS stylus upgrade all have their own sonic signitures. I just looked for a stylus replacement for the new Ortofon Black and it’s $799!!!!! Verses a retip on a MC around $450. However the Ortofon Black is suppose to be an upgrade from the original. Thanks again for everyone’s opinions. We have a great group of dedicated audiophiles here that we all can gain a wealth of knowledge from. Happy spinning, streaming or data retrieval from an aluminum disc.
jdjohn's avatar
jdjohn
33 posts
 
Assuming that song is being played off their "Business as Usual" album (not greatest hits, etc.), "Down Under" looks to be track #3, right in the middle of the album, which might not be helping.

Normally, sibilance is noticed more on the inner tracks with IGD in full form.  But middle tracks can also be a problem since they are smack-dab between the null points, where tracking distortion is raised.
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