Intermittent Distortion From Rega P6/Exact 2

What is happening is, everything will be going fine. Then, all of a sudden I will get this terrible distortion. I know it's not the records because I clean them before playing. I also try to keep my stylus clean. My gut feeling is that the cartridge is the problem. What I can't understand is why this only happens intermittently. If the cantilever was bent, you would think I would get distortion all the time.

I've only had the turntable and cartridge about a year and a half. The cartridge was factory installed. I have checked the stylus pressure and it is fine. I just can't understand why this is happening. I usually got about three or four years out of a cartridge before having to replace it.

Before taking it in for repair, I thought I would check with the forum to see if anyone has encountered this problem and was successful in fixing it.

 

have you checked to make sure the cartridge is still tight on the headshell?

 

Distortion is usually a sign the tip has gone, you probably need a new cart.

 

It could be many things. How intermittent is the issue?

In a perfect world, I'd ask you to test it in another system with only the turntable and cart being the same components. If that option is available to you, try that first as the problem could be elsewhere.

Is the distortion always happening at the same spot? When you hear distortion, mentally note where it occurred in the song and replay that section to see whether the problem manifests itself again.

 

But why would this happen intermittently? That part is harder to answer. Maybe a loose connection in the cables somewhere?

 

You need to detail the distortion - what you're hearing, whether one channel or both, if it occurs on some types of passages and not others etc. Over time I've had sudden or random distortion appear without any apparent reason then disappear - intermittent stuff. Sometimes connection posts (cartridge, TT/pre-amp etc.) needed some cleaning of the surfaces and making sure they were snug.

 

I actually switched turntables between my two systems. There were no problems with my old P3(2000)/Ortofon Bronze, even though the cartridge is over 4 years old. The problem seems to be with the P6 or the Exact 2. Whenever this distortion occurs, I brush off the stylus and replay it where the distortion occurred. It usually plays fine after that. I don't think dust is the problem, since I don't find any dust, when I clean the stylus.

 

That's exactly what is happening to me. I have checked the connections to the cartridge. I will try checking the other connections.

 

That is a possibility, although I'm hoping that's not the case. I've only had that cartridge a year and a half. Anyway, if that turns out to be the case, it will at least give me an excuse to upgrade to an MC cartridge.

 

This exact thing happened to me years ago with an Exact II. I found that one of the lead wires was loose and hanging a little low. Sometimes it would bump against the record, causing distortion. Just throwing it out there in case that’s happening with yours.

 

Not a lover of Exact 2. Real hum magnet and that weird noise as it comes off the record. You dont say if distotion occours in same place across the record ie possible arm fault. Dont discount MM cartridges as there are some great ones out there. I went on to Ortofon 2m Black and that is the Dogs.

 

You likely have something sticky on the back of the stylus that cannot be dusted off. You'll need to clean it with a touch of alcohol. I normally do not do that, rather clean only with the dry Magic Eraser stuff, but when you get some sticky gunk on there, you have to resort to using a solvent.

Other than that, if it's anything to do with the cartridge/arm, it's likely been installed improperly as @johnnypaddock suggests. Check to be sure the leads are snug and ar well aboth the record surface. The other set-up thing that can occur is the tracking force can be off. Not sure how that would happen, but it never hurts to check. Just rebalance the arm and set it again. Some folks can't seem to see the numbers on the tracking force dial and so don't have it correct.
-Bill

 

Even if the tip hasn`t perished if your phono stage has a & is capable in mc stage,you`d be better off with a mc cart & if you want to stick with a Rega to keep things simple,maybe you should think about the Rega Ania Pro your P6 will show it`s true worth.

 

I did all of the checks that you suggested. It appears you were right about a sticky substance on the back of the stylus. I cleaned it off with alcohol and noticed an immediate improvement. I cleaned it a second time and have not had this particular problem since. I also purchased a new stylus pressure gauge. There is about a ten percent difference between my new pressure gauge and the old one. I set it to the new one. Anyway, it has been three and a half weeks since I cleaned up the stylus and haven't encountered any distortion. Hopefully, that is the end of the problem. Thank you and everyone else for your suggestions.

 

Good to hear. Thanks for reporting back. That's why I am picky about used records. If you keep to newish condition records and keep them clean, you won't see this happen, but it does occasionally happen with some used records despite cleaning effort.
-Bill