Worn stylus, worn record, or...?

Hey guys,

If everything is level and aligned properly...

And if my two cartridges, an A/T 440ML and a Shure V15VxMR, handle all of the bias/tracking tests on the HFN test record...

And if these two "unplayed" albums (Revolver and The White Album) I picked-up recently sound bad toward the inner grooves and gritty on some other songs even with the Shure...

Then it would be a safe bet that those album were, assuming they're not defective in some way, probably played a handful of times on something less than ideal, right? I just don't think these albums, if truly unplayed, would be pushing the tracking limits of either cart and causing strain and distortion.

You see, very recently, I haven't been playing much vinyl until I bought these two LPs. I noticed the distortion and was hesitant to play any other album except the test record. The OCD in me had me thinking that maybe the tonearm had become a problem but the test record checks out okay just like it always has. The few songs I've played on other albums have sounded fine. So, I think I was probably just ripped-off. Agreed?

 

Inner groove wear or "wall" wear are different, the first being usually undetectable. If you can take a clean record and play it to great results but the BEATLES records distort, especially at dynanic flourishes, it's very possible the records have damage.

That's what it sounds like, sadly. And you HAVE tried other records?

 

Thanks, Sckott. Yes, I have tried a couple of other records and they sound okay but not as okay as in the past, if you know what I mean. So I still think I'm going to send in the unit to be checked over, just to be sure. I'm just the overly cautious type and want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

 

Experiences like this are the one thing I hate about spinning vinyl—you can go crazy trying to track down bad sound. Is it the alignment? The LP? The stylus? Anti-skate?

One thing you might check is the stylus. Sometimes a piece of gunk will get on the very tip and be so small that you can't see it. And it'll be small enough that it causes a general "fuzziness" without out and out distortion except for one spot on a record (the gunk matches a particular tracking angle of the stylus?). In any case, a thorough cleaning might be in order. I religiously follow the usual stylus hygiene with the LP#9 fluid, but sometimes I'll get a little gunk on the stylus that I can hear but can't see or get rid of. I have a piece of the Linn-supplied "green emery paper" and I'll scrape the stylus a few times with it. That usually does the trick.

But it could easily be inner groove wear that you can't see. It's so frustrating to buy a pristine-looking LP only to take it home and find out it was played only a handful of times with a badly-aligned cartridge or the wrong anti-skating force. Or with 10 grams of VTF!

 

Yeah, but that's the *fun* with collecting vinyl.

OcdMan,
I agree with the others as well. It sounds like it's the record unfortunately.

 

Some fun all right, Leppo. But I agree with you.

I remember taking home mint-looking, twenty-dollar 45-rpms from record conventions in town only to have them sound like fuzz. Guess they weren't played much, except when they were it was probably with a 2x4 with a nail in it.


Most mint-looking 45's played fine, though. But then the opposite sometimes holds true. I picked up an original (Everlast label) copy of the Charts' 1958 song DESERIE for three bucks. Looked a bit whipped, but for the price, figured I take a chance on it. Sounded great!!

 

Hello ocdMan I've had the same problem with a Beatles Hard Days Night mono Lp I played it with a Stanton 681EEEs and it sound bad Johns vocals sounded so fuzzy so i tried my Audio Technica AT125LC still sounded bad so i have an old Sure M91Ed I tried that and low and be hold it sounded great. So my advice would be to get and older cartridge with an eliptical stylus say a 002x007 like the shure or something similar and see if that doesn't help I tracked the shure at 1and1/2 I hope this helps cause i think the problem as i have found is stylus type. Worked for me i hope this helps.

 

Ugh, I've been out of the loop for a while but I still wanted to resurrect this thread just to say thanks for the comments. Yeah, you guys were right...it was just the albums. Yay...sort of.