A Little Distortion towards the end of a Side ?

[RobbieGong]

Can someone please enlighten me as to what might cause this ? I notice that the sound quality is just a little less great towards the end of a side. Can anyone tell what usually causes this. I have my deck properly set up and have used protracor etc to follow arc, Please advise - Thanks :)

[DSJR]

You're playing VINYL FFS and this goes with the territory :D

Side end is the one thing that can seriously affect vinyl reproduction and from the recent cartridge reviews I've read, this is where a well set up fine line tip (or sophisticated alternative) can really come into it's own, since the advanced profile can trace the difficult inner grooves better. Conical tips just get pushed up and out of the groove and the result, if not blatant mistracking, can be reduced high-frequency output which is noticable if you have the CD with which to compare..

Once again, the bottom line is - how good is the turntable being used, how well isolated is it and how resonant is the tonearm? The cartridge - is the tip spotlessly clean, is it tracking at the correct downforce and has the alignment at side end been done properly? Some phono stages overload in funny ways too and a high overload margin, coupled with a graceful clip when overload is reached can transform vinyl listening pleasure IMO..

Good luck. Some more info reminding us/me of the deck and amp you use would help please...

[hifi_dave]

As above. Please let us know what the system is.

[Will]

A 12" arm cured this for me..cant listen to a 9" now.

[Dingdong]

'tis a Teccy Mk5 with a 2M black I believe. The stylus on the Black shouldn't have that much distortion at the end of a side.
I'd be tempted to have a go at the setup again.

[Dingdong]

A 12" arm cured this for me..cant listen to a 9" now.

Which cartridge are you using Will?

[chris@panteg]

You can always get a linear tracker , still it shouldn't be that bad really ? If it's set up perfect .

[Will]

Which cartridge are you using Will?

At the mo I use Beta BX-200C elliptical and Ortofon SL15 elliptical.
If you know anything about Beta Japan....I cant find anything although it came with a Bruel & Kjaer print out and a Alnico sound:)

[DSJR]

A 12" arm cured this for me..cant listen to a 9" now.

End of side shouldn't be any different with a 12" arm, as it's at the beginning of side that the major errors take place with shorter arms - he says with fingers firmly crossed and memories of tracking error charts..... The increased mass of a 12" arm would make a difference, especially with SPU's and Denon 103's etc..

[RobbieGong]

Hi guys, Yes I can confirm it's a Mk5g with 2M Black. Sounds superb usually but I do notice that towards the end of side it is a little less nice lets say. My ears are very sensitive to these things :rolleyes:

[Will]

Its the tighter corners of the end of side grooves and 9" arc that kills it for me...my end tracks are in great condition ha!

[Will]

Hi guys, Yes I can confirm it's a Mk5g with 2M Black. Sounds superb usually but I do notice that towards the end of side it is a little less nice lets say. My ears are very sensitive to these things :rolleyes:

Yes it may be sensitive hearing... at best the sound hardens.