Grado Red and inner groove distortion - how to troubleshoot?

I have been using a Grado Prestige Red for 20 years on my Pro-ject 1.2 ( also 20 years old! ). I've replaced the stylus before. But last year it broke again from dropping it on the turntable.

I tried to save some $$ and put in a Grado Blue stylus. It sounds the same, but I notice inner groove distortion is especially bad. I am not sure if it is because of a setup issue ( everything seems aligned, though I am no expert in alignment ). Or is it because I used Blue instead of Red stylus? Or are Grado Prestige series notorious for inner groove distortion?

 

Check the alignment again.

 

Will do, but which variable in the alignment is most important for fixing inner groove distortion?

 

Azimuth, SRA, and null points. What protractor are you using?

 

I am using the one that came with my Pro-ject turntable back in 1996! Is there a new and improved tool I should be using instead?

 

That should yield the right alignment...

Have you checked VTF? (Grados like 1.6-1.7g.)

Are the arm bearings ok?

 

Try mucking with your antiskate, too. I run my Gold at 1.7g tracking and 1.5g antiskate, but some people have reported that setting it low or turning it off altogether has a very positive impact on the sound of their Grados. YMMV, as always.

 

Yeah, I find that using more than about a 1/2 gram of AS chokes the soundstage on Grados.

 

I've created a sound file that demonstrates the inner groove distortion. This is from the Beatles Revolver album, the mono 2014 reissue. This is probably one of the worse sounding songs. Do others have better sound quality? Perhaps it is a pressing/mastering issue?

 

Anybody get a chance to hear the video I posted above? The last 10 seconds show the most distortion. Below are pictures of my null point measurements. I am using a "stupid protractor" printed off the web. I've tried adjusting VTF and Tonearm height. None really have any effect on this distortion.

 

I haven't yet, but I will................one observation first.

The alignment looks good, but unless I'm missing something, your overhang is way off. The tip of the stylus should be on the crosshairs, and your stylus looks to be well forward of the intersection between the single horizontal line and the grid lines.

 

The picture was misleading so I updated the picture above. The tip is on the cross-hair.

 

Then your alignment is off at the second null point, based on the new set of pictures you posted.

 

I'll see if I can fine tune the alignment more . But it seems aligned near the inner groove. I hope someone can watch this 30 second video and tell me the sound is indeed bad. Or does this song sound bad for everyone ( Beatles Revolver - She said 2014 mono reissue ):

 

FWIW, my 2014 Mono Revolver sounds a bit distorted.. I think it's just the mono mix or the pressing itself. This is with my Grado ZF1 w/ 8Mz stylus.

Just listened to your video.. Not quite as distorted as yours but still a bit distorted.

 

Thanks for the "data point". I listened to the same song on the Beatles mono reissue website. It sounds very clear there. See: The Beatles Mono Vinyl Box . Click on Play song. So it must be a pressing issue?

 

I'm using Grado Gold with Grado Green stylus (IMO sounds great, gives more bass than orig. Gold stylus) . Actually I'm using a P-mount version with adaptor in standard mount shell. VTF is 1,75 gr. antiskate is 1,75 - everything sounds great, no distortion.

 

I took my Pro-ject 1.2 to my local hifi shop . They spent nearly an hour adjusting everything. The biggest problem they found was the head-shell was bent 5 degrees down . So they bent it back straight. Now it sounds much better! Most of the inner groove distortion is gone . I am not sure how I didn't notice the bent head-shell. I must have thought it was part of the design..