Well, for a start this is what I have.

Pioneer PL-530 table

Sansui G-5500 receiver

Jamo E 660 speakers

Everything works perfectly.

Occasionally when I listen to vinyl, the right channel will distort.

Any suggestions on why that is?

First thing to check is the anti-skating adjustment. Excessive distortion on the right channel means you don't have enough anti-skating. (Perhaps you have none).

I'm not familiar with your Pioneer turntable, but if it has a calibrated anti-skating dial, start off by setting it to the same value as the tracking force, then adjust from there by ear. It's rare that the optimum anti-skating setting exactly matches the tracking force, and in any case these dials are not usually calibrated accurately. On the other hand, if it's got a thread & weight arrangement, try moving the thread further from the arm pillar and/or increasing the weight.

There are other possibilities for this distortion. If the cartridge it not perfectly perpendicular to the record surface (ie. so the stylus is "cranked over" as you look at it head-on) that might cause this problem. Or perhaps the stylus is worn only on one edge.

If these LPs have been previously played on other turntables of unknown provenance, it could simply be that the right-hand groove wall is damaged due to mistracking on previous plays.

Hey, thank you.

The LPs are new, and so is the cartridge.

I do recall changing the weight on the side of the arm, I'll see if that fixes it.


Thanks again for the help.

Bear in mind I don't know this turntable...

I found a picture of it on the net, but it was fairly low-res. The weight hanging off the arm pillar looks to me like one of the "dynamic stabiliser" things that were sometimes found on arms of this type. I think it's to do with correcting a weight imbalance between the two sides of the arm. The arm appears to have a rotatable counterweight, which presumably sets the tracking force.

That leaves the dial mounted horizontally to right side (looking from the front) of the arm piller which I would guess is the anti-skating adjustment. Then again, it's also possible that this dial is used to set the tracking force. In the picture the dial is labelled with some writing, but it's not legible. What does that label actually say?

The dial you are talking about is labled anti-skate.

I currently have it set at 0.

I played an album earlier and it sounded fine, I haven't adjusted anything yet though.

If you'd like, I can take a picture of it so you can see how I have everything set.

Try the anti-skate at 1.75 to 2 for starters.

There are also a whack of 'How-To' videos on You-Tube on the topic, not all are on-target, but most get the point across.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_quer...mp;search_type=

With regards to the stereo; ‘way to kick it old-school!’ You'll surely enjoy loads of great tunes on it!

Andrew D.
www.cdnav.com

OK, this is almost certainly your problem. You have no anti-skating. As the other poster (digital) says, you need to set it to something. Without knowing what your tracking force is, it's hard to recommend a value. Assuming that the rotatable counterweight (which sets the tracking force) is also calibrated, the best starting point is to set the anti-skating to the same value as the tracking force. But be prepared to listen and tweak the setting by ear.


This could simply be because that particular album is fairly easy to track and therefore no mistracking occured. You are most likely to hear the right channel distortion on loud sections of music (ie. the parts which are most difficult to track). But I wouldn't try any more experiments with no anti-skating. Every time you mistrack a vinyl record you run a risk of permanently damaging it.

Alright, here's a picture of what I have everything set at.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3029/234403...cb5d5c820_b.jpg

Let me know if I need to change something.

Thanks again for the help.

From the picture, it appears that you have the tracking force set at under half a gram(!) If that is actually true, I'm surprised it will track anything at all. Therefore it's more likely that the calibration ring on the counterweight is wrong.

Many arms of this type have a separately rotatable calibration ring. Here's how it works:

1. Set the anti-skating to 0, and then turn the counterweight until the arm is perfectly balanced (ie. so that the arm "floats" horizontally). This is a tracking force of zero.
2. Now, without turning the counterweight, rotate the calibration ring so that it shows 0 next to the marker on the top of the arm tube. There is usually some amount of friction coupling between the counterweight and ring, so be careful.
3. Now turn the counterweight and ring as a single unit. The figures on the ring indicate the tracking weight that you're dialling in. The actual tracking weight to use depends on the pickup cartridge. Check the recommended range for your cartridge and set the tracking force to the top of that range. For example, if your cartridge has a recommended tracking force of 1.25-1.75g, set it to 1.75g. If you don't know the recommended range, come back here with the make and model of your cartridge and someone should be able to advise.

Now you've set the tracking force, you need to set the anti-skating. Start it at the same value as the tracking force. Now listen to some records - choose loud sections. If you hear distortion on the right channel, increase the anti-skating. If you hear distortion on the left channel, decrease the anti-skating. The aim is to arrive at a setting where there is no audible distortion on either channel. However, if you're used to CD replay, you may be aware of a small amount of distortion regardless (due to the inherent nature of vinyl replay - it always has a bit of distortion). The aim here is to get equal amounts on both channels.

Good luck.

Alright, everything is zeroed out!

My cartridge is a "Shure M91ED"

My needle says it has a tracking force of 1 and 1/4 grams.

Do I set my tracking force to what the needle says, or to the cartridge?

Thanks.

Sorry for the delay in responding - the Easter weekend is a holiday break here in the UK.

The Shure M91ED has a recommended tracking force of 0.75g to 1.5g. Shure say the "optimum" force is 1.25g, but in my experience most cartridges work at their best near the top of the range. I suggest you try it at about 1.4g.

Note: the M91ED is a pretty old model from the 1980s, so the cartridge cannot be new. Perhaps it's *unused* rather than new. The equivalent modern model is the M97xE

Yes, I meant unused.

Do you suggest I purchase an M97xE as compared to a new table all together?

Will there be a significant improvement in the sound with the new M97xE cartridge?

I had one other problem just last night, I was listening to an album, and all of a sudden the the left channel completely went out.

I don't think it was the receiver, because both channels both worked when I had my iPod on.

I removed the head on the turntable to take a look, and all the wires to the cartridge seemed to be fine.

I placed the head back on and everything was ok again, but I wasn't sure what would have caused this.

Thanks.

I wouldn't suggest you do either. I don't have any personal experience with the PL530, but it has a very fine reputation.


Unlikely. The designs are probably very similar. Just because a cartridge design is old doesn't mean it's poor. Some people think the M91ED was a very fine cartridge.


Sounds like a bad contact somewhere. it could be a headshell lead (the thin wires connected to the cartridge pins), the interconnect cable, or the phono socket on the receiver. It might even be a dodgy channel in the phono preamp in the receiver. (Your iPod plays through a different input on the receiver, so the fact that it works only shows there isn't a problem in the receiver's "back end" (ie. the bit from line level onwards). To test for a dodgy cable, try wiggling it as you play something to see if you hear any crackling.

Hi man, get yourself one of these:

http://www3.shopping.com/xPC-Shure_Shure_S...ing_Force_Gauge

You (might) even be able to borrow one from a local hi-fi shop (?) or a local audiophile...

By the way, here is the full spec-sheet with recommended tracking etc., for your current cartridge:

http://www.shure.com/stellent/groups/publi..._27a883(na).pdf

...and here is the user's manual for the Shure SFG-2 device should you get your hands on one:

http://www.shure.com/stellent/groups/publi...ro_sfg_2_ug.pdf

Worst comes to worst, and you can't find one in your neighborhood, PM me and I'll arrange to loan you my SFG-2.

Andrew D.
www.cdnav.com