Ortofon OM20 lousy tracking

[Barry]

Which way does the arm 'skip' - or is it random?

[Svend N]

Thanks Svend, will try this experiment later today.

What's really confusing to me is the sporadic occurrence of the mis-tracking. If the setup was incorrect in any way, then the symptoms would be consistent, no? But the symptoms emerge at random intervals, making me think that something else must be the matter here. Otherwise, why would the arm/cartridge work smoothly on some occasions, and then stop working on some other occasions, etc.?

I'm beginning to suspect that you have two problems, as mentioned above...

a) You have mistracking due to either having your alignment poorly set, and/or AS bias poorly adjusted, as well as a too-high tracking force for the high compliance cantilever on that cartridge; i.e. the very flexible cantilever cannot overcome the excess downforce and when it hits that inner section of a record it sometimes skips. Any alignment and AS misadjustments will exacerbate this, or vice-versa. The inner sections are well known for causing such difficulties, which are heard as inner groove distortion, as everyone often refers to it as. Try setting your VTF at 1.25g using a digital gauge and see what happens. And do try the AS test on a record with a wide lead-out area. And you didn't answer my question re. alignment? What's the scoop there?

....and...

b) Your cartridge lead connectors are too loose, and need tightening. This is what's causing your crackling sounds. Pull them off one at a time, snug them up as suggested....but gently and easy does it, you don't want to collapse them.

[Stryder5]

After all this, the cartridge must be screwed?

[magiccarpetride]

Which way does the arm 'skip' - or is it random?

The arm does not 'skip', it's more that it gets stuck in the groove. You know, like the proverbial 'broken record' that keeps repeating the same thing over and over.

[magiccarpetride]

Have you examined the diamond stylus tip under magnification? It occurs to me that the problem described could be due to dirt contamination or even a damaged stylus.

Yes, the cartridge is brand new and I only play thoroughly cleaned records. After each side I play I use Magic Eraser to remove any debris from the stylus. I'm very anal that way.

[magiccarpetride]

You don't get easier to set up and use arms than the Regas. All very straightforward, positive and easy.

If your arm was working previously, your first step should be to replace the OM20 and try again.

Ha, that's the ironic thing. I dread replacing the cartridge, because Rega RB300 is the absolutely least friendly tonearm for replacing cartridges. There is very little maneuvering space for me to get my fat butterfingers in and connect the wires.

Plus, Rega has this Mickey Mouse anti-skate which many people are not even sure how it works (or whether it actually works). Plus the Mickey Mouse spring for VTF, which rings and interferes with the signal. I'd much rather get a tonearm that allows me to quickly and easily swap various cartridges for auditioning.

[Mike Reed]

I dread replacing the cartridge, because Rega RB300 is the absolutely least friendly tonearm for replacing cartridges. There is very little maneuvering space for me to get my fat butterfingers in and connect the wires.

Plus, Rega has this Mickey Mouse anti-skate which many people are not even sure how it works (or whether it actually works). Plus the Mickey Mouse spring for VTF, which rings and interferes with the signal. I'd much rather get a tonearm that allows me to quickly and easily swap various cartridges for auditioning.

I connect signal wires to the cart. pins before I bolt the cart on. I've only had fixed h/shell arms and I find this much easier/safer. It really sounds like you've developed a loathing for the RB300. Your last post indicates a problem which seems to obviate bias or alignment being the culprit. Back to possible sticky bearings, maybe, assuming the VTA is more or less straight and the cart. rides sufficiently above the record. Also that the arm's traverse is not impeded by cables or anything. This is indeed a poser, but if the manufacturer's rec. max. VTF is 1.5 g, then stick it on 1.5g. A new cart should be very near max. rec. VTF as I've mentioned before.

[Svend N]

Alex, I hate to be a spoiler here, but if you want to keep using the OM20 with a new Jelco arm, then it might well be a mismatch as I believe that arm has a higher effective mass than the Rega. I couldn't find a spec for any Jelcos, but my guess is that it may not be suited to such a high compliance cartridge (in fact even the Rega is possibly borderline too heavy for that cart). OTOH, if you want to use the Jelco with your Denon, then it's a move in the right direction (as several of the guys have noted before), and should work much better with that cart than the RB300.

[Svend N]

Back to your sticky problem with the RB300/OM20 -- did you happen to check whether the arm lift might be out of adjustment? If it's set too high, or the curved arm is bent slightly upwards, then it could well be causing the sticking you describe if the arm is making contact with it while playing. The arm lift height is adjustable with a little grub screw, BTW. Worth checking...

[magiccarpetride]

Alex, I hate to be a spoiler here, but if you want to keep using the OM20 with a new Jelco arm, then it might well be a mismatch as I believe that arm has a higher effective mass than the Rega. I couldn't find a spec for any Jelcos, but my guess is that it may not be suited to such a high compliance cartridge (in fact even the Rega is possibly borderline too heavy for that cart). OTOH, if you want to use the Jelco with your Denon, then it's a move in the right direction (as several of the guys have noted before), and should work much better with that cart than the RB300.

Yes Svend, I am aware that Jelco may be a better fit for Denon. Wasn't aware of the OM20 limitations when used on the higher mass tonearm, that's something to keep in mind.

I like OM20 because it seems to retain some of that mid-bass bloom that DL-103 excels at while providing better detail retrieval. Thinking of maybe upgrading to OM30 or OM40, if those retain the heft and the slam of OM20.