2. analog
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Vinyl and slurring S'es

I have been listening to a lot of vinyl for the past for months and have been considering a new turntable. But I have a question. I have noticed that when listening to my vinyl the s'es sound "slurred". I'm not really sure how to put it any other way. This is with new and/or older records. My question is; is it the recording? Do I have something set wrong on my turntable (anit-skating, ect)? Or is it my electronics. I don't notice this when listening to CDs. I have several on CD and vinyl and the CDs are crisp and clear. I have had two tables in my system in the past two weeks and both do it; a Denon 47F and a Basis 1400 w/300 arm. On both tables was a Grado Sonata cartridge. I am using a Black Cube running into a Classe CP60. The amp is a McIntosh MC300 and Thiel 3.6 speakers. I really prefer the sound the vinyl gives but those s'es can really make it fatiguing sometimes. Any insight someone can give on this matter would be appreciated.

Thank!
Tim
mitcheft

Showing 2 responses by bob_bundus

bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
The sound that you are hearing is formally known as "sibilance".
A number of good possibilities are mentioned above; may or may not be the issue here, so you'll have to experiment.
The cause may also be dirty/un-conditioned AC power, the wrong interconnects, high-level overloading of the phono input stage lineup, the wrong AC cord.
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
agree that a VTA adjustment would be in order if you are previously optimized for standard thickness LP's. Be sure to note the ajdustment wheel location / measure / or mark your present VTA position on an index card before you change it, so that you can get it back there easily.
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