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Distortion/too much bass from turntable

Hi I recently acquired a Sony PS-LX7 turntable and everything appears to work fine except I'm getting some distortion. It sounds like it's either too much bass or the sound is too loud and thus distorting.

I'm using a Sony Moving Magnet XL-200 cartridge and a Sony ND-200 stylus. I have it hooked up to a Sony TA-F45 amplifier and have the ground and RCA connections in place correctly. The Cartridge Load switch is set to MM at 180pF.

Incidentally I tried hooking it up to a USB sound card that has specific ground and phono amp specifications and the same thing happens, so I'm assuming the distortion is coming from the turntable itself.

Any suggestions on how to get a clean sound? I have also tried isolating the power plug to reduce/eliminate electrical interference but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Thanks.
garfycat
middlemass
868 posts
 
Too much Sony.
giantsalami's avatar
giantsalami
208 posts
 
Is this volume related, garfycat?
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 
That's an old/lowcost/cheap cartridge rig. Any number of things could be wrong but it's either a worn out/damaged cartridge or a worn out turntable. Most likely the cart. 
garfycat OP
3 posts
 
@giantsalami I don't think it's the volume - it seems like it's too powerful in the low frequencies. Mids and highs are just fine.

@russ69 Yeah it's as old as I am so I know I'm probably expecting a lot. Judging by the user manual it's not the original cartridge at least. What causes a cartridge to wear out though? Just regular wear and tear over the years? 
simao's avatar
simao
1,713 posts
 
Since that cartridge is essentially one out, it could be a number of things within it. Anything from the suspension being worn out to the actual stylus to simply corroded internal wiring. Those cartridges are pretty achieved if you want to go that route, but there's some comparable priced - about $50 or so - MM cartridges that will easily sound better.
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