Help! My turntable skips in exact same spot! Any record!

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Bill Why Man, Apr 7, 2017.

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  1. Bill Why Man

    Bill Why Man Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Fellow music fans,

    My Thorens TD-160 is skipping (playing same groove over and over...) near the end of each record.

    I hadn't played it for about a week. No one's touched it. Last night, it began to skip as mentioned above. I tried thin records, 180 grams—all repeating the groove in the same spot. If the side is shorter, it locks in the beginning of the deadwax with no runout.

    The stylus seems fine. All other parts of the record play and sound fantastic, as usual. I poked around the cueing lever to no avail.

    This turntable has been playing flawlessly for months and months. I don't get it. It just doesn't want to go further like it normally should. And normally, this 'table is a tracking beast, flawlessly plowing through records that my last turntable often couldn't.

    Does anyone have experience with a similar problem—or perhaps know the solution to this mystery? Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

    Thanks,

    Bill
     
  2. Skipping is when it skips grooves. What you are describing it sticking.
    Make sure the cue lift is all the way down and not interfering with the tone arm's movement. Anti-skate could be hanging up. Over time, tone arm wiring stiffens up and impedes the swing of the tone arm. Tone arm bearing could need cleaning and lubrication.
    Can you manually move the tone arm towards the center of the record?
     
  3. BrentB

    BrentB Urban Angler

    Location:
    Midwestern US
    Check for binding of bearings near this point. Also you could have an anti-skate issue. Anything external causing arm interference as in the lift asm not seating all the way own.
     
  4. nolazep

    nolazep Burrito Enthusiast

    My old Dual had this exact problem, but I never sorted it out (sold it).
     
  5. Bill Why Man

    Bill Why Man Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I just tried to manually move the tone arm towards the center as you suggested. It won't move past that spot. Is this the Tonearm wiring or bearing? Both? Or something else...
     
  6. delmonaco

    delmonaco Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sofia, Bulgaria
    see this discussion about the same issue:

    Thorens TD 160 tonearm problem - Vinyl Engine

    "It could be that the position of the bearing housing is preventing the arm moving all the way across?

    I think you should find one or 2 grub screws at the bottom arm pillar that if you loosen them slightly they will allow you to adjust the height and orientation of the arm."
     
    Bill Why Man and John Buchanan like this.
  7. Gretsch6136

    Gretsch6136 Forum Resident

    My money is on tonearm wires being incorrectly routed in the plinth and getting caught up on something.
     
  8. This Heat

    This Heat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    I have a TD160. You should be able to adjust the arm distance.
     
  9. Beattles

    Beattles Senior Member

    Location:
    Florence, SC
    Also while checking the wires from the arm into the plinth, check the wires from the cart to the head shell to see if they are close to contacting the record. Had that happen and had skipping issues but not at a particular spot. The wiring from the arm through the plinth or a problem with the anti skate is more likely to cause this.
     
  10. DrZhivago

    DrZhivago Hedonist

    Location:
    Brisbane Australia
    Does your TT have an anti skate? If yes, try reducing that first. ;)

    Cheers
     
    Rick Bartlett likes this.
  11. Rick Bartlett

    Rick Bartlett Forum Resident

    what he just said, or is it a BSR, may need a spring adjustment
     
  12. It sounds like something is catching. You might have to look underneath the chassis. Remove the hardboard bottom cover and observe what is going on when you move the tone arm back and forth up to where is hangs up. You might want to remove the upper platter so it doesn't fall off when you tilt the assembly up. If there is nothing under the chassis that can catch, it's probably in the tonearm support that allows it to swing back and forth across the record. Make sure that the tone arm wiring isn't catching somewhere and that is is loose and has play.
     
  13. Gretsch6136

    Gretsch6136 Forum Resident

    If you take the bottom off the turntable to look inside here's a tip. Put a mirror, face up on the workspace. Put 4 cans of soup or whatever on the mirror. Put the turntable on cans. Now you can see what's going on under there with out lifting up the turntable.
     
  14. John Buchanan

    John Buchanan I'm just a headphone kind of fellow. Stax Sigma

    This is the most likely solution.
     
    Bill Why Man likes this.
  15. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    +1. First thing I thought off. Made same error when installing an SME arm. Arm needs loosening and turn pillar a fraction so tracks to end of dead wax (locked groove).
     
    John Buchanan likes this.
  16. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    Check EVERYTHING again, level antiskate..everything. Then go from there. Mine did that once and somehow things were askew.
     
  17. Lord Hawthorne

    Lord Hawthorne Currently Untitled

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Happens a lot.
     
  18. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Fact it is near the end of each record suggests the ark of the arm is hitting its end stop and won't track any further. Anyway wires can easily be checked at same time as this adjustment.
     
  19. Bill Why Man

    Bill Why Man Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Well, it wasn't the wiring and I didn't need to take apart the chassis. I brought into my hifi guy and he simply tweaked the screws around and adjusted the cue. It took about 5 minutes, and he did it free of charge. I'm back in business, baby!

    Thanks for everyone's assistant and suggestions. Much obliged, fellow audiophiles!

    Bill
     
    Bubbamike likes this.
  20. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    Your anti-skating was out of whack. On a blank record, the single runout groove should have carried the cart toward the center unless a centrifugal force greater than the friction of the groove. I bet the technician just set your antiskate. Next time, set your tracking weight to zero, move your tonearm to the center of the platter and let it float out of your hand. If it zings to the right, antiskating is too high.
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2017
  21. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Clean your records in that exact spot. Report back results.
     
  22. DrZhivago

    DrZhivago Hedonist

    Location:
    Brisbane Australia
    :D
     
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