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Why are the vocals on some records hidden behind the music on my system?

Help! I am new to this forum, but have been into audio for over 45 years and have never had this problem before. I was lucky enough to come into some money and decided to use some of it to up grade my system for the first time in almost 30 yrs. The system consists of McIntosh MC-402, McIntosh C-100, McIntosh MCD-500, VPI HW19 MKIII, Soundsmith Aida, Furutech Ag-12 phono cable, Furutech silver head shell wires, Furutech interconnects and Furutech speaker cables (yes I like Furutech) and Raidho XT-3 speakers. Now on some albums the vocals are buried behind the music and you have a really hard time hearing the singer? Not all albums are voiced in this manner but enough that it is bothersome. I have a large dedicated man room (24 x 27) with minimum treatment. CDs sound just fine so I feel that it is with the phono preamp in the C-100? I have moved the speakers 100s of times and have them at 5' 8" apart and 8' 1" to the focal point and the soundstage is good and the vocals are better, but you still have to really listen hard to hear certain vocals on some albums. Most of my albums are 30 to 50 years old and have been cleaned with a sonic cleaner (best thing ever imho). Even some of my new heavy vinyl has this problem.
scooby2do
williewonka
3,067 posts
 
@scooby2do - In my previous post I mentioned that the top of the cartridge should be parallel to the playing surface to achieve the correct SRA

How do you accomplish that?

Some arms - like the rega has a tapered arm tube, so setting the arm parallel to the playing surface could be slightly inaccurate.

Take a look at this link and then scroll down to "Setting VTA" - it shows a little device I made to accomplish this - cost about $5 :-)
http://image99.net/blog/files/04fdba8476cfd21bdd7a5fdf38c8cdf5-28.html

Hope you get it sorted to your satisfaction

Regards - Steve
scooby2do OP
13 posts
 
willewonka- So after you set the pin to the height of the front you move it to the back and back and forth until they match (same height at both ends, then it should be level (i.e. parallel to the record) at which time you can make your up or down adjustments. Sounds easy enough, thanks for the tip, I'm sure I have stuff lying around to make something that simple. This is what I attempted to do and you are right doing it by eye balling it is not easy. I wish I had a way to add your micrometer adjustment feature (I have two that I haven't used for years)
Ag insider logo xs@2x
cleeds
5,647 posts
 
scooby2do 0cleeds- read the article above provided by willewonka from soundsmith. It states that they think you should start with the tone arm is to be placed parallel to the record surface. Is that not 90 degrees? ... I have no problem attempting a different method if it can give me better results
I'm familiar with phono cartridge set up so I'm sorry, but you're confused. A parallel arm will not give you a 90-degree VTA. It should result in your VTA being around 15 to 20 degrees.

I've previously explained what I think is the best approach to phono cartridge alignment. Start with tools that align the actual cantilever/stylus, such as the Mint or WallyTractor devices. Use a VTA gauge to actually measure the VTA. Then, make final adjustments by ear.
williewonka
3,067 posts
 
@scooby2do ...

So after you set the pin to the height of the front you move it to the back and back and forth until they match (same height at both ends, then it should be level (i.e. parallel to the record) at which time you can make your up or down adjustments.
Yep - you got the idea.

I did look at some of the commercially available products and they all had their drawbacks, especially when it comes to cartridges with angled sides/ends

The only Cartridge this device cannot align with any precision is the angled Ortofon cartridges that have the "drooped snout" look - but then they tend to use a non tapered arm tube, so that can be used to gauge the level.

Good luck with the setup - keep us posted as to your progress

Cheers - Steve




ronco
12 posts
 
FWIW, Linda Ronstadt's 'Hasten Down The Wind' album is a classic example of the singer being lost in the mix.  The musicians completely overwhelm her voice.  I thought it was maybe a pressing mistake, so I sprung for a half-speed Master.  Money well wasted.  Her voice is still buried by the band.  My opinion is that some mixers/engineers simply didn't have a clue or were too high when they made an album.  Others had their act together and put out a well balanced sound.

I've tried equalization and other electronic compensations in the past, but the results were not satisfactory.  If the source material isn't good, I just don't listen to it any more.  BTW, I'm pretty finicky about VTA, VTF, and anti-skating, so those have already been considered.

just my $0.02
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