Stylus skipping across lead-in grooves

No everyone is not saying it is AS.
It can be a Dirty stylus but many needles have problems with this type of tracking.

 

Yes and tried 1.8g and 2.2g and now back at 2

 

What could have caused the damage to the stylus? I never had any moments where I thought something bad may have happened..

 

You're right, not everyone, but it seemed the majority of the replies were about antiskate.

 

Do I eyeball this while the record is playing or while the stylus is cued above the record? What exactly am I looking for? That the stylus is pointing straight down towards the record and not towards the spindle or outer edge?

 

That doesn't make it more right.

 

FWIW, I have that same stylus, but not on that TT. I run mine at 2.10 gms, which seems to be a real sweet spot for it on my TT. My take is that the issue isn't A-S at all, and that the TT maker telling you to drop the VTF to 1.8 gms is kind of the tail wagging the dog - they don't get to dictate that. I'd be checking azimuth, alignment, VTA, and rechecking my VTF with a scale (which is exactly what you may be doing - I can't remember if you said that or not). I do find that some records are prone to this - the slope of the vinyl from the edge to maybe 1/16" from where the track grooves start will have a definite slope to it, and if the needle drops too fast, or too far out toward the edge, it will run over a few tracks and slam into the main track area, which sounds horrible. I'd also check and recheck the TT leveling - perhaps right there in the first inch of the record where the stylus contacts it.

That's all of the annoying second-guessing I can think of. Good luck and keep us posted.

PS: Now that I have taken the time to re-read your OP and a few others, I see that you've been pretty thorough. I've now concluded that your TT is possessed, and that it must be burned and then buried.

 

i have a bunch of records where the lead in is pretty much crap. Just a big radius that slopes down to the first song and some that are almost angular and just are pointless. Recent example of excellent lead ins on new pressed records are the zeppelin reissues. TONS OF LEAD and totally flat. Might want to grab a record that is actually pressed flat out to the lead in and where it's also longer than most records like on the zeps. Then make an assessment based off that. Unfortunately the lead in on most records is an after thought as far as if it's flat or whatever, even if the rest of the record is flat and centered.

 

What about the Beatles mono reissues or the Neil young 140g pressing? I have an MFSL Blood on the Tracks too. They all skip through the lead in. Do you know if those are as flat as the Zep reissues?

 

this will not be resolved until a different cart is assessed; it still feels to me the cart is faulty.

 

How exactly do I check azimuth?

Also, if I drop the stylus using the cue lever in the lead-out groove area it will usually skip over those grooves as well (I always keep my hand on the cue lever to pick up the stylus before it gets to the label). But if the record plays all the way to the end, the stylus stays right in the groove and behaves perfectly. What do you make of that?

 

I agree. I think I'm just going to have to suck it up and buy an AT95e or something. Why did I sell the OM5E?

 

Would a cheaper replacement stylus work, or do you think it's the cartridge itself and not necessarily the stylus?

 

If you dont want to spend too much i can wholly recommend the Sumiko Pearl. I prefer it over all my previous more expensive carts. Good luck

 

I would not like to second guess this one, sorry

 

Fair enough!

 

As a matter of interest has anyone else
Fitted a different cartridge successfully to this arm .

 

Weird. Do the arm pivot(s) feel nice and supple? Is it possible that the A-S mechanism was installed or adjusted incorrectly at the factory, and that it's causing the arm to get yanked around? (Almost like instead of having anti-skate on your TT, you have a skate feature, and it's turned WAY up, pulling the arm toward the center. Not sure what that TT's mechanism looks like.) As for azimuth, other than a more accurate method, one should be able to get at least a decent idea if things are wonky by just eyeballing it from the front of the cart as the cart gets close to the record surface, and when it's actually playing.

 

Gotcha. I'm eyeballing whether the stylus is pointing straight down or whether it's pointing towards the outer edge or spindle hole of the record, correct?

The arm moves very freely in all directions. The cantilever also remains parallel to the cartridge body when playing a record, which would suggest that there isn't any extreme skating or anti skating force in action. I'll check azimuth tonight, but I think I'm going to have to try a different cartridge at some point to isolate the AT cart or the TT.

 

Hi. Me again, i have been speaking to a number of really good Hi Fi dealers in the UK on your behalf. I gave them a brief synopsis of your problem. The general view was if its not a question of anti skating or a damaged arm bearing, the only option is to try another cart. If that fails its a problem with the arm, which is unlikely. all the best and good luck. Bye he way, these dealers have NO interest in your money, just great enthusiasts who care about music

 

Hey, thanks for doing that! Much appreciated. I'm thinking that I'll get an Ortofon Super OM10 to test. That way I at least have a reputable cartridge that's very upgradable and not just a $40 troubleshooting tool.

Fortunately, I bought the cartridge from Crutchfield, and they tend to be very good with customer service. And if the problem points to the arm after testing another cart, I'm sure U-Turn will be more than accommodating.

I'll keep you all posted! Thanks for all the replies and suggestions from everyone.

 

Is your conclusion this point that the new AT cart you bought might have a defect that is causing it to be too "springy", and thus, kinda bounce and float around even when the VTF is accurately set? It would have to be the cart, because otherwise, why would a TT arm not be able to work with what is essentially a pretty standard cart?

 

At first I thought it was pretty unlikely that the cart was defective. I'm still unsure, but testing another cart is the only way to verify that. If another cart doesn't exhibit this problem then I'll talk to Crutchfield about a refund for the AT. If another cart does behave the same way, then I'll get in touch with U-Turn about having them take a look at the table / arm.

 

One other thing I may try is aligning to Stevenson geometry just to see if that changes anything

 

The vinyl dam is definitely a problem and probably nothing but a high anti-skate level and tracking force could stop it.
I often raise the anti-skate adjustment when playing an old record which may be damaged or one which skips. An anti-skate adjustment is very important and is included in most good turntables.
If there is a problem with the stylus, it would probably skip all the way across the record, including if it had a dust ball on it.
The vinyl dam is there for automatic record changers, so the stylus doesn't bounce off the record on set-down. If you notice, on older pressings, there may be a vinyl dam, but a slope continues into the sound grooves, sometimes for almost an inch. Many of the newer audiophile pressings don't have a vinyl dam.