How many skips do you have on your vinyl playback?

Hi Guys!

About three month ago I bought a new cartridge:

Audio Technica VM95ML

It is mounted on a Rega RB 300 arm, which is on an Acoustic Signature Samba turntable.

I'm very pleased with this system.

After about 100+ hours of listening to the new AT VM95ML I had my first skip. After replacing the needle on the exact same position - there was no skip, so everything is fine.

My former cartridges had many more skips:

Nagaoka MP 110 had about 30 in 150 hours

Grado Reference Platinum Wood had about 100 in 400-600 hours.

So I think the AT-VM95ML is doing really good!

I should also mention that I do have only self cleaned vinyl in minimum VG+ condition or new vinyl.

How about you?

Bye Andrea

 

I don't get any unless there is a scratch, fault or bit of dirt on the record. Is everything set up properly? 100 hours without problems suggests it is. Probably a tiny bit of dirt on the record that the stylus removed, so it played fine afterwards.

 

My collection is only maybe 300 albums, but zero skips. Have had Grado Red2 and Green2 for about a year and a half. Had a Grado Red 20 years prior with no skips, except for a time when my Pro-Ject fish weight anti-skate ended up in the wrong slot. Figured it out, much to my relief. (I suspect #1 son had a little accident.)

I do have an endless repeat on Why Don't We Do It In The Road?, on an early 70s White Album copy that I don't listen to.

 

Zero. The only time I would expect to get a skip is on a record with a noticeable deep scratch or a visible piece of crap on the surface. I don't buy used records with with noticeable physical defects, some light scuffing or surface scratching, but nothing deep enough to make it skip. Plus I use a UCM and record sweeping brush during playback to avoid dust and debris build up.

 

I get a skip if the pressing is faulty or if there is a scratch or a piece of dirt in the groove.

If the pressing is faulty then all I hear is a discontinuity in the music.

I have one single that skips like this - a UK Island Records white label first pressing of "Now That We've Found Love" by Third World. I lose part of the intro because of that skip. The commercially released version was a fresh cut.

I also had an album that skipped like this on the first track - Motown Chartbusters Volume 5 from 1971. I took that album back to the shop.

If there's a scratch or a piece of dirt causing the skip then I also hear quite loudly the impact of the needle encountering the scratch or the piece of dirt, and that's quite a different experience.

 

Most of the time I can get rid of a jump on a record even if it's caused by a bad scratch. I keep an old record player and gently press down on the stylus until it plays through the scratch that causes it. There will usually be a click where the scratch is, but it's better than a jump or stick. Not ideal but it tends to work.

 

Hi Guys,

hm, I'm suprised that you are getting so few skips.

I've always set up my system with the Rega alignment tool which came with the Rega RB 300 and used the recommended VTF (checked also with a digital scale).

Bye Andrea

 

Got back into vinyl about 5 years ago, have never experienced a skip on a record since then.

Ironically I have a handful of CD's that skip. Perfect sound forever?

 

It's been ages since I've had a record skip.
Unless the OP is talking about pops. That's much more common. That's to be expected since I've had many of these records since I was about 12 years old. I didn't take care of them near like I do now.
But as far as skipping, none at all.

 

Used to get 2-3 predictable ones with my DL-103r but my DL-301 MkII sails right through. It could track a ninja.

 

If you are asking a question about “skip rates” I would say there is definitely wrong with your setup (turntable not level, tracking weight, anti-skate). Skipping vinyl should be discussed specifically, as in do you have trouble with this section on this pressing when no physical defect can be detected.

I can honestly say unless there is previous groove damage I have never had random skips on playback.

 

No skips.

 

Unless there's a known defect on the record ie. a scratch or some debris on the record I had to clean off, no skips either.

 

I own a Rega P3 with an RB300 tonearm and I can honestly state that I've never had a record skip if there wasn't something wrong with the record. I would check your alignment process. The cantilever can settle during the break-in, so this could possibly affect the overhang. If you've only checked the alignment and overhang during the initial alignment, this could explain why this is a repeated experience. I will state that I use a Wally Tractor to set both the overhang and the alignment. Wally Tractor's are not longer in production, but a similar arc protractor like the Mint Best Tractor makes it very easy to check your overhang.

 

If you have so many skips that you're counting them like that perhaps something isn't right with your setup, or you have a lot of damaged vinyl. I may have had one in the last several years, but really never have skips.

 

I had a couple of skips when I first got my turntable many years ago, but I adjusted the anti-skate and that solved it. Any skips I've had since then are from damaged LP's, and when I discover them (or re-discover them in the case of very old LPs), I discard them.

 

Yea i get none unless its a scratch or similar... RB2000 and Apheta tracks pretty darn well

 

I get a skip on a couple of records in my collection. Both are forum favorites so I am understandably flummoxed. I have checked my alignment and it looks good by eye. Neither of these records show deep scratches or glops of lodged matter of any kind. I have machine and glue cleaned these records numerous times. I do wonder what my next move is...

 

Zero. I only buy NM or better LPs and my system is of a caliber that it shouldn't skip unless there's a major issue with the record itself.

 

You'd be surprised what can be discovered when looking with a high-powered white LED light. I use my cellphone's and it's remarkable the amount of crap that doesn't show under normal lighting conditions.

 

I should take another look, though I have a viewed the grooves through a high-power magnifying glass. The thing is that these records didn't skip before I changed out the cart. I gotta dig into this....

 

OP, something is wrong with your setup or the records you are playing. I have the same cartridge as my daily driver for a few months now, and NEVER get a skip unless the record has a pressing defect or some kind of scratch/damage to it.

 

I have the same cart as you (but mated to a medium mass Technics arm) and I’ve had no issues with skipping while running it since April.

To clarify what others are saying, are you sure these are genuine skips where the needle loops or advances a few seconds into the tracks, or just pops? If so, are these occurring at the same spots, or seemingly at random? If at the same place I would look at the LPs themselves. If at random there has to be something amiss in the setup.

As for your observation of more skips with the Nagaoka this is something I experienced as well with my MP-110, but only on two damaged records. These passages passed easier with my DL-110 and VM95ML. I would theorize the stylus is just riding below the surface damaged that caused skips with conical and elliptical styli. This was easy to diagnose however as the records had clear visual damage.

 

I have had the same turntable since 1984. Honestly, I can only recall two instances of skips in all those years - both on LPs purchased used. Both I fixed by playing the passage backwards

 

If I had to guess I would bet on something being wonky with your anti-skate.