Please help diagnose sudden turntable problem


Hi everyone,

I just encountered a very sudden problem with my turntable. I have a fairly new Marantz TT15s1 that was sounding great until yesterday afternoon. I noticed an unusual amount of static, but I chalked that up to the dry air from running the A/C for a couple of days. I used a zero stat gun, and that seemed to help a bit.

Today, however, the problem got significantly worse within the span of a couple of albums. Now, I have significant static and distortion, sometimes completely obscuring the music. It sounds like an amp being overdriven. I have tried two different phono amps and two different preamps, but in every case I get the same sound.

The Marantz has a captive tonearm cable, so I can even swap that out. It's a Clearaudio Virtuoso cartridge that looks to be in excellent shape. The stylus is not bent or damaged. All the leads are plugged in securely. I'm at a loss.

Any ideas would be welcomed. Thanks!
Scott
smrex13

Showing 4 responses by slaw

just saying... possible interconnect issue. Have you tried alternating these or changing them out? Do you have any tube gear?
My experience with Gruv Glide:

(1) In order to hear an improvement, you have to have a very revealing system
(2) This improvement isn't of a nature that over-rides the following negative aspects
(3) The application method (a fabric pad)+(this inherently is a source of static energy)
(4) If you can't find a way of putting but a few drops on the applicator pad, you will have put TOO much on your precious vinyl. Your stylus will pick this up and show it to you as a black blob on it's next visit to a Zerodust cleaner.
(5) The slight sonic benefit, to me, isn't worth the trouble or the cost.
(6) Bad investment... other more important issues await.
(7) I vehemently disagree with Chayro here!
Smrex13: Don't give up on analog dude! It sounds as though some of your purchases were used, therefore makes it harder to diagnose a particular issue. This may be chalked up to a "lesson learned" in the end. In the mean-time I feel your pain and hope it is resolved quickly.
...ny earier post was in reference to "Groove Lube". Sorry if there is any substantial difference.