Serious distortion from Rega RP1


Hi all,

My Rega RP1 has all of a sudden developed some major distortion. It comes and goes quite suddenly. Presumably, this could be anything from the cartridge to the phono stage, but I thought I'd ask to see if you all think one component is more likely than another to be the culprit. I'm using the included ortofon cartridge, the built-in phono cables, and a Red Wine Audio Ginevra phono stage. Unfortunately I don't have other equipment to swap in in order to isolate the problem area, so I'd appreciate any thoughts. Thank you!
lousyreeds1

Showing 4 responses by lousyreeds1

Hi all,

Sorry for the delay and thanks for your responses. The catridge connections all appear very solid. Unfortunately I've only got the one phono stage, so I have no way of swapping it out.

Dougdeacon, here's a bit more info: The distortion is definitely in both channels. It's very noticeable, but it does come and go. It seems to appear during the same passages over and over when I play a record multiple times. Normally I would blame this on a damaged record, but this is happening even on new records that are played for the first time.

Thanks for all your help.
One more note: I know it's often the case that distortion is more common in loud passages due to grooved-out records or toward the end of an album due to cartridge misalignment. This distortion isn't related to volume or location of the stylus on the record.
Hi all,

Well, I've established that the cartridge is perfectly aligned according to a Rega Baerwald protractor I found online. I have no way to test the phono stage at this point (no other turntable to use as a baseline), but my hunch is that someone took a duster to the stylus or caught it on a sweater - could this be the cause of serious distortion? I've also ordered a stylus gauge to get a sense of where VTF is, because I've been reading that Rega's "plug and play" version of a counterweight system is not as accurate as advertised. As you say above, if nothing else I want to protect the records.

I ordered a new cartridge (Soundsmith Otello) so I can try to isolate the problem. It's also a good excuse to upgrade, and the new cart will come with me when I graduate from the Rega RP1 ;)
I wish I could return the Rega, but alas I'm well passed the warranty period. Part of the reason for a new cartridge is simply to have another "baseline" with which to isolate whatever technical problem is going on here, which is difficult to do when I only have one phono stage, one set of cables, one cartridge, etc. So if this new cartridge solves the problem that's great, but if not I've further narrowed the list of what could be going wrong (with the added benefit of owning a very good cartridge). Thanks to all of you for your continued help, and I'll keep you posted.