Inner Groove Distortion

I agree with that assessment.

In my case, I had a Shure cartridge that has the eliptical stylus which can be "rough in" and still not mistrack and produce excellent sound.
As I moved to MC line contact stylus, it requires a lot more work to "dial in" in order to play some of the most demanding dynamic passage without mistracking. I got tire of using the DB protractor which took me forever to dial in the "sweet spot", hince the Feickert universal protractor.

http://www.feickert.com/engl/schablone_handling.html

Feickert protractor provides both Baerwald and Loefgren mothod(one method on each side). I use Baerwald mothed. But to be honest, I don't know if one works better than the other on my tonearm/cartridge combo.

 

The thing is - that tracking-tangency error isn't really the only component that causes inner goove distortion. One reason, perhaps the biggest, is due to the shorter wavelength/lower velocity of the inner grooves, and the difference in styli shape between cutting and playback. This is where fine line stylus profiles will help minimize these effects.

 

Right, IGD isn't necessarily caused by a misaligned cartridge. Whatever the strengths of a spherical (or conical) stylus may be, navigating the tight inner grooves is not one of them. Tracing error distortion (not to be confused with mistracking or alignment error distortion) will be much higher with one of those styli, even if it's aligned properly, than with a line-contact stylus.

 

"Tracing error distortion" should read "tracing distortion". Darn that quick timeout on the edit feature.

 

I think I will try to rid myself of the Blue Point 2 in favor of a 440mla. The Blue Point has ridiculous inner groove distortion. Takes the fun out of listening....

 

Is that Blue Point aligned properly? Depending on your rig, I would prefer this over the 440mla any day of the week, IMHO.

 

Afraid I can't agree with this, not in my experience.
I think the lower velocity brings surface noise down into the much more obvious (to the human ear) midrange frequencies. Whereas the higher velocity at the outside of the record raises the surface noise into the higher frequency range which the human ear is less sensitive to.

Maybe my theory is wrong, I don't know for sure, but I sure know what I'm hearing.

Cheers
JJ

 

That's right.

 

It was aligned perfectly. The guy at Needle Doctor even started over and re did the mounting. Again, unbearable inner distortion.

The 440mla's initial sound is pretty bright. The mix of N801s and this cart could be the culprit. Or, it could be that the cart is not yet broken in. I did love the sound of the Blue Point, but it simply didn't work with this tt.

 

Inner Groove Distortion - Who's fault is it?

To anyone in the know:

I have some LPs that have such a narrow runoff groove (7 or 8 mm sometimes) that I expect there to be distortion toward the inside, but I don't hear any at all. Then I have other LPs that have a normal, 1"+ runoff groove and I hear lots!

I have the US release of The Cult - Love on Sire records; IGD central. Bought a Beggar's Banquet UK release (same songs, same running length for both sides) and.. Nada. Not a drop of inner groove distortion. Why?

Is it the quality of the vinyl? Is it a problem when they made the stampers?

 

the factors here are tonearm/cart setup & whether the record has got any inner groove wear

 

It might well be in the quality of the cutting. Also with used records wear can produce distortion that is more obvious in the inner groove.

 

I second this opinion.

 

I'd agree that the right cartridge can do wonders.

Also, there are things that can be done in record production to minimize this distortion. The below essay helps explain how:

http://www.recordtech.com/prodsounds.htm

 

How loud the inner last band on the record is cut has a lot to do with inner groove distortion. The "wavelength" of the modulations on the groove is much shorter in the inner grooves for a given frequency then it is in the outer grooves. So if the inner groove is cut loud (i.e. more amplitude) it is harder to track and can cause more distortion. Some groups make a very poor choice of witch songs to put in the inner grooves.

 

I don't know if it is coincidence or not, but I've always had IGD issues with Sire records. I bought Depeche Mode's 101 new and in shrink wrap recently and it had IGD.

 

From the above link, Kevin Gray says regarding inner groove distortion:

Some mastering engineers just cut excessive IGD right onto the record! :thumbsdn:

 

Depends on side duration eq and dynamics.
Its science....

 

If I have an Audio-Technica AT440MLa and I'm still hearing inner groove distortion (not a whole lot, but more than I'd like), does this mean my cart is not set up right?

 

I think it would depend if the record has any groove damage, and if the arm and cartridge are a good match.

The AT440MLA is a great tracker, with the right arm. There are circumstances where it's not perfect, though.

 

Of course.....it ain't ALWAYS cartridge setup or record wear. Kevin G. is right again.

Bill

 

Since moving to micro-line stylii (Clearaudio Maestro and AT440mla), I haven't worried about, or noticed, IGD. By contrast, it was something that really bothered me before and almost turned me off vinyl - especially since a lot of times the most dynamic pieces are toward the end (e.g. a symphony finale).

Alberto

 

I use an AT440MLa and notice very little IGD. And I play lots of vinyl.
Great cart, and gets better with use.

 

I've noticed great improvements with an AT440MLa.

 

I use an eliptical stylus and don't get inner groove distortion or sibilance on any of my records. not one.