Sounds light on bass

[indus]

Chris, I'm sorry but I genuinely don't know what you are getting at.

Andy/Martin

The phono pre should be on the right settings. I set it at 47k load for my previous cart which was the Stanton 500 II and haven't touched it since

I'll recheck the arm set up again tonight to ensure that I haven't cocked something up.

Thanks again

[Marco]

Hi David,

You could just be hearing the difference between the Stanton and the Audio Technica, which I why I said before that the latter would not be an overall upgrade.

AT cartridges do tend to sound somewhat bass-light (and a little bright and forward), which is why I generally don't like them. I'd refit the Stanton, setting it up properly again in the process, and see whether the bass weight you're missing now returns

Marco.

[Dinodale]

I think my AT120E does have a lot of bass

David, what cables do you use? I have tried 4 different cables and it was amazing how different the sound was and how much bass you heard from cable to cable.

Now I don't know how light the bass is but was it possible that the cartridge needed some "burn in"-time?

[Marco]

I think my AT120E does have a lot of bass

It's all relative (subjective), and system-dependent (particularly with speakers), Claus. What may be "a lot of bass", to you, could be 'bass-light' to David, particularly when he's used to the powerful and weighty sound of the Stanton, when thumping out dance music!

The AT is liable to sound a little 'anaemic', in comparison.

David, check that you've wired the cartridge correctly, too. I've heard cartridges sound strangely 'weird', tonally, and not just out of phase, when the blue and green earth wires (for example) have been mixed up.

Marco.

[Dinodale]

It's all relative (subjective), and system-dependent (particularly with speakers), Claus. What may be "a lot of bass", to you, could be 'bass-light' to David, particularly when he's used to the powerful and weighty sound of the Stanton, when thumping out dance music!

The AT is liable to sound a little 'anaemic', in comparison.

Marco.

Yes, no doubt it is dependent on the system, the location, what kind of music and sound you are used to hear etc.
Almost everytime I have made an upgrade especially on my Techie I have heard a change in the sound. Some vinyls became much more fun to listen to while others became dull. Later again after a new change it became the opposite.

That only makes it so hard to try to help David when you can't hear his system

[Wakefield Turntables]

Hi David,


AT cartridges do tend to sound somewhat bass-light (and a little bright and forward), which is why I generally don't like them. I'd refit the Stanton, setting it up properly again in the process, and see whether the bass weight you're missing now returns

Marco.

You sure about that Marco, mine sounds like a sledge hammer in yer face

[RobbieGong]

Personally i think the Op needs to re-address set up and try to get that right, we know it can take time. Secondly he has stock arm so should be able to play with vta quite easily. Off my head I know that there's a point where too much one way and the treble will dominate ie less bass, too much the other way and the bass will dominate instead. More tail up causes one effect, more tail down cause the other - one of the guys will remember which does what - The Ops trick would be to listen and find the balance between those two points somehow - Hope I'm making sense .

[Marco]

You sure about that Marco, mine sounds like a sledge hammer in yer face...

Lol - well yours is a much higher quality AT cartridge, on a very different T/T (modification-wise) from David's! Besides, you might think that until you heard the difference, say, a Zu or Denon DL-103SA made, in comparison

Marco.

[synsei]

The 440mla is particularly sensitive to VTA so spend a while to get it right before you ditch it for the Stanton. Marco is absolutely correct about the sonic differences between the two carts. The 440 can sound horrible if not set up correctly and in a system that errs towards brightness. I'd also argue that the standard Techie arm is not an ideal match for the AT...

[Stratmangler]

Chris, I'm sorry but I genuinely don't know what you are getting at

A picture paints a thousand words.
There might be something very obvious that can be seen but is not being mentioned.