Poor Sound ... needle replacement ????

Hello,

I am completely new to turntable & records. Recently bought a Sony PS-LX340 for $50. It was working fine for a week+. 2 days ago I built a cheap audio rack and moved my turntable, received and DVD/CD player and connected everything back. All of a sudden the needle started skating and I used the anti-skating knob to adjust and its not skating anymore. Then I noticed the sound quality is poor with more static. CDs play very well, its just the turntable. I tried different records and the same result. I have to fess up here I did touch the needle a few times and tried to move it to the right ( aligned to a groove right above it). Ground wire is connected to the receiver. I tried adjusting the sub-weight on the tone arm and it didnt do anything at all. Visually inspected the level of the tone-arm when it was playing and it looks balanced. What could be the reason for poor sound quality ? any other thoughts ? Link to the the pictures of the needle + cartridge (https://goo.gl/photos/aTW7v958x5GmN79SA) . Thanks for the help in advance.

RT

 

Almost certain that your shelf or tack is not level, and by moving counterweight, you have de-tuned your turntable.
Lets sort it. We will require a spirit level, s shure stylus balance would be nice.
Some data please( easily obtained from internet)
We require the reccommended tracking force.
Place record on platter(turntable) place onto this the spirit level( can go directly on the platter ). If the rack is adjustable start adjusting! We require it level in sll planes.if as a last resort you have to pack under the feet then do do.
A wall shelf designed for s turntable would be money spent.
Once level, balance the arm. The counterweight is unscrewed anti clockwise away from arm pivot till the arm is level and floats. If tapped down it should return to level. If not your arm had sticky bearings,
We now zero outer ring. Then rotate counterweight clockwise(viewed from. Rear) to bring it forward.
If say, the manual says 1 complete turn is equal to 1 gram then adjust accordingly.
If you have a stylus balance balance then set to a middle setting ie 1.5 to2.00 grammes recommended , set to 1.75.
Set bias same.
Play and see what happens.ok. Well thats that.
You have tuned your turntable.
Fun?. Well this is s basic setting. You can experiment. Too much weight and the sound is deadened, can become bloated.
Lowering the weight can lighten the sound! Its a balance determined over a period of time of listening! When you find it PLEASE record the weight on your stylus balance for future reference
Look at arm tube. Or headshell and see if its level to record surface when playing. This is also very important-and controls vta or ( vertical tracking angle)

And can on many arms be adjusted.
Contact for more info

 

Eliminate factors first. I would put the turntable back to the location it was working fine in, as close to your original baseline as possible. If it works there, then at least you know it's not the TT / stylus. If the sound is still bad, then perhaps something was damaged when you moved it.

Btw, looking at the photos...I think your needle is bent.

 

Cantilever looks well beyond right.....time for a new stylus

 

Yep, that's a dodgy looking cantilever!

 

Just looked at photo. As others have noted, definitely bent.
Change it and set it up as specified.
If in doubt seek out a seasoned veteran! We are about!
Eventually the knowledge will be within you. Good luck. Mantra may stock your item.
Check or get someone to check tracking weight. Before you use it.
As you have found stylus are easily damaged. Sometimes when making adjustments.
Always a good precaution to unplug. The turntable before hand.
We have all done this kind of thing!

 

Looks terrible, not suprised it sounds bad...