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Arm resonance and other questions..

Hello to all out there! I have recently acquired a Rega 25 with a Dynavector Dv-20x and its running threw a Monolithic ps-1, hc-1 power supply combo. This replaces my old luxman. Why did i not do this years ago!!!! It sounds MUCH! better in every way than my Adcom gcd-600 cd player. I will be putting a Heavy weight on and play with the endless other things i can do (keeps me off the street at night). But i digress(perching to the choir). I do have two questions.
When i put the needle down on on a record with the sound off i here the normal sound of the needle playing the groove, but it is much louder at the bearing end than the cartridge end. Is this normal? do i need to try and dampen the arm, or this part of Rega’s thing and i should stop being anal and stop listening to the turntable with the sound off! ( girlfriends suggestion)
The other question is ...... I just bought a Dave Brubeck “Time Out” Columbia “six eye” mono (cl-1397) that looks clean, black and little played.... $10. Very excited, i come home, go strait to the turntable, give it a dusting, carbon brush it, ....ahhhhhhh looks good for a first play, drop the needle, quickly sit down ........ Well, its like sticking your head in a bowl of rice crispes ..... no make that like dragging a rake down a gravel road. Not just the random clicks, pops, and hiss of a dirty groove but a constant, and it gets louder and softer with the music. clearly not just dirt! ............... I slump in my char and a tear comes to my eye. I have not cleaned it properly yet but i have a sinking feeling this is not the problem. The odd thing is that listening threw the gravel every thing sounds wonderful. Bass is full and tight and the cymbals ring clear .... and i can here the brass. All better than either of the other Time Out’s i have ....... i think??? Is it posable to damage the groove so that it sounds like its raining pebbles and still have everything else sound fine?? Any thoughts on what this could be??

Thanks....... Bill
bkcme
pbb
1,140 posts
 
I am planning to listen to CDs through some rake and gravel noise to see just how good or bad CDs can sound. Face it, an LP is a mechanical device and if the groove is gone, it's gone. You can clean it, wet dry, chemicals no chemicals, 'till the cows come home, it will always sound like drek. Now, if you are single-minded enough to say you can listen to, and actually enjoy, the sound coming through this, you deserve the PBB Analogue Achievement Award. Nobody said the road to vinyl/analogue Nirvana would be easy.
twl
3,251 posts
 
The arm does resonante with the energy fed back into it from the cartridge. This happens with any arm, but it is not a great thing. A little damping can help, especially at the headshell. Try some self stick felt on the headshell and on the sides of the cartridge itself. Not alot of it. This worked for me.

As for the Brubeck album, it's trashed. The sound of the grinding getting louder and softer with the music, is the tipoff. Played on a "vinyl lathe" as I call it. Nothing can be done about it.
basement
245 posts
 
That's very perceptive of you to notice that.
Whenever I hear a description of a turntable functioning I get excited and giddy. I go into this sort of change, everything else seems not to exist and time stays still. I think it is because with every single element of function that a turntable does, there is a way to get evan more fidelity out of what is already the highest fidelity known. To hear elements of performances of the greatest musicians known to man, To realize artifacts of sonics that reveal the humanity of talent that evan possibly was not noticed during the origional performance. To transmit information through sound that was never heard, or thought could be, laying bare the souls of poeple the transcend sound into a living, breathing, piece of emotional history of passion, exitement, soul!
Anyway, you have my curiousity. It is normal for an arm to carry resonences from the cartridge, in fact, it is desirable for the arm to transfer energy from this back through the arm and away. But I have never heard an arm be louder at the bearing than the cartridge. Usually, when these ideals are met more the cartridge actually gets softer sounding. (thats what I have perceived). I am curious as to whether my rb-300 will do the same thing, as I have never thought to listen to this on it.
I wonder, could it be the coil spring that controls the trackong force resonating? Could it be that energy is being trapped at the bearing because it is not being absorbed by the plinth? Could it be soundwaves escaping from inside the armtube and that is the easiest place to hear it?
Whether or not these are true does not nessesarily mean that there is something wrong with your arm, though, so don't misunderstand my thoughts. I would not take it as something that must be alleviated. (provided everything is sounding the way you think it should). Luckily, some things that might alleviate it are things that you would want to do anyway, like the heavier counterweight, which will change the spring pressure, adjust or experiment with the tightness of the mount, stuff the arm with foam, and last but not least, the HIFI mod, which I have tried and found to be worthwhile. Contact the very same TWL above. (TWL, aren't you curious as to what your HIFI would do for his desribed condition?, anyway, if I were in his shoes, thats what I would do).
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