Dl110 starting to sound wonky

I love my 110 ! A little background ... I recently tried some other carts with my sl1200 and also upgraded my phone stage .. I tried an ortofon 2m blue and an At440mla and decided I did not like them as well as my 110 which I've had since 2015 Anyway I re installed it on my TT and apparently it seemed to be much harder to install and align compared to the first time I had it in ( i know I should have left well enough alone and all that ! Lol!! ) anyway when I first installed it seemed fine then after a few records I played on certain ones it would literally start skipping as I got to the inner grooves and not play them only on certain records ! I though oh crap it's probably still misaligned I thought I fixed it again and then it started doing it again but not as bad .. Then I re did again ... This time I got major distortion no matter what I played ! So now it was worse! Finally I tried to align it again ! This time all seemed to be perfect ! Except one thing .. On say certain vocals would ever so slightly distort and not on everything it was weird and then once in a blue moon the cartridge would skip during the middle of a song and very rarely like only twice ever my 20 or 30 I would play ... So that's where I am at now .. I am almost at wits end ..!! I don't think my cartridge is shot I haven't had it very long.. I know it should get way more use .. It must be an alignment issue but I can't figure it out .. My VTF is at 1.8 and I set the antiskate arounnd the same .. It's funny Because it will skip in one place on the record I am playing and I will go back to that same track to see if does it again and it won't skip .. It's weird .. I know I am close but if anyone has any tips that would be great! Thanks all

 

It sounds like you need a new one. =(

 

I'm sorry I don't understand. About which cartridge is the OP talking?

 

Denon dl110 ... So it's shot ? Ugh .....any other opinions before I order a new one ?

 

So, all the other cartridges you tried *never* had any problems?

Did you play any of the other cartridges for extended periods or try them on the same record and spot that the DL-110 had problems?

Could be the tonearm/bearing on the 1200.

And, how exactly are you setting VTF? Do you use an actual force gauge?

 

The other carts did not exhibit the same behavior ran each for a few months each before coming back to the 110 .. I think I need to invest in a digital gauge That might help its only 13 bucks on Amazon prime .. Just to make sure before I go spending money I don't have to ...

 

If you don't have a gauge, how are you setting the VTF to 1.8?

Are you balancing the arm to float and setting the tonearm gauge to zero, then dialing it up to 1.8?

If so, are you sure you are setting the anti-skate to zero when balancing the arm?

 

I just ordered a digital gauge and audioquest brush just in case .. If all it is dirt and or alignment issue (which I suspect may be the case) I don't have to spend for another cart !

 

Yes I set the VTF to 1.8 by setting the arm to 0 and getting to 1.8 but I wonder if that is not quite accurate because I have read where you can have that but in reality the digital gauge says its way off ! Something is amiss somewhere I hope it's not a shot cart

 

Checked more records today .. Waiting for the digital gauge .. Not hearing it on those .. Really cleaned the stylus better with my brush Noticed that the records that had some of that gunk on my stylus .. The other records didn't do that .. I'm going to run those other ones thru the spin clean Didn't realize they were that dirty! Still checking my digital gauge tomorrow just in case ..

 

Ugh my Roy Orbison classic records greatest hits vocals and background vocals getting distorted on loud passages .. And my patsy cline 45 rpm AP vocals sounding distorted in louder spots too but only on parts .. It's so weird .. It couldn't be just dirt I wonder if it's an alignment problem .. My CCR 200g Bayou Country sounded just fine Weird I guess I will know more when I get my digital gauge tmmrw It's really intermittent

 

If you have any 'higher end' audio shops around in Vegas, have you considered taking your DL110 in to have it looked at. Maybe they have a microscope for them to examine the stylus?

 

I'd stop playing records until you get the gauge. I've had this exact experience with a technics. Your tracking force is probably about 3x what it should be.

 

You need a gauge to accurately set tracking force. Never trust the counterweight numbers. One other thing to check is that the cueing rest is dropping all the way and not hanging up the arm.

 

So I would guess that if my tracking force is 3x higher than the norm that is why it is causing distorted vocals on some records with louder passages and the records that don't have louder passages it's more inaudible but still probably present I am guessing ? Getting the gauge tonite we will see ...

 

Yeah, it can be hit or miss but this has all the signs. Also the part about your stylus being dirty from records you felt were clean - that would happen to me back when I relied on the "zero out" method with a Technics. I'm not sure if its just removing every trace of debris from the grooves or removing parts of the vinyl, but its a symptom of the too high tracking force all the same.

 

This distortion on vocals has started on my DL-110 as well. I have it set up properly. I'm guessing the cartridge is toast.

 

Beware using a digital gauge with the DL110. Depending on what materials are used it is possible the very strong magnet will be attracted to the plate on the gauge, and throw your reading way off. I use the Shure gauge with the DL110 with good results.

 

That's a very good point: I found that out the hard way!

 

the one I ordered is non - magnetic neotek

 

Some of those Shure gauges have been reported to be ferrous/magnetic.

 

Besides the gauge I would try to get the cartridge inspected like someone said. If there is a problem, you may not be able to detect it with the naked eye. It's also worth noting that suspensions on carts like this are somewhat fragile. Could be toast even if the stylus is still good. Another problem is dirt that you can't remove with ordinary cleaning methods. I do not know if Denon recommends liquid stylus cleaner or not but it's typically a strong solvent and will remove stuff that Zerodust and magic eraser cannot. Alignment is always worth checking as well.

 

Gunk on stylus can cause madness. Make dang sure that’s not the problem.

 

I don't quite understand how alignment could be so hard on the 1200, don't you have the little headshell gauge for setting the overhang? The other part is just visually aligning the cartridge body in the headshell, unless the cantilever isn't straight and you need to account for that...

 

Wtf ! It says I am only tacking at .59 grams ? Is that even possible ? How in the world can I even hear anything altho that might explain why vocals are sounding horrible on loud passages and some vocals in general on certain albums but it's still weird I would have thought going the other way with too much Vtf would do it