2. analog
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Are some tracks impossible to track?

I had been having a problem with a few lps, that I thought were completely solved...distortion on highly modulated tracks in 1 channel due to not enough anti-skate. For the most part its gone.

But I just got a 45 rpm recording (Maria Muldaur...Richland Woman Blues) whose 1st track still distorts, a little on both channels. So I increased the VTF to 3 grams and got rid of the problem. BUT...the recommended VTF is 1.8-2.2 g. Am I screwing up my other 99% of lps by tracking at 3g. I do not notice any negative effects when I play other lps at 3g.

Now even at 3g, when I play Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata (Pollini/DG) there is still very slight distortion, when he "hammers" at the piano.

Rig: Scoutmaster/Sumiko Blackbird

So are some tracks simply untrackable or should a properly matched arm/cart, properly set up track anything? VPI swears the Blackbird is a good match for the JMW 9. I have triple checked everything re: setup, but I am new to analog.
dolifant

Showing 1 response by jdaniel18ee

jdaniel18ee
88 posts
 
I've followed your posts and I feel bad for you. I have almost exactly the same setup, including MuFi A308 but use a Dynavector cart, and I listen to exactly the same type of music on the same labels. As I mentioned in my last response, I tapped up the tracking force a little bit and increased the anti-skate one twist, and have not had any problems. I have the Pollini you talked about and it tracks fine, no glassy echo whatsoever.

I must tell you that my cart has about 70 hours on it at least; you might want to just take a breath and relax and enjoy the 99.99% of records that the tonearm tracks correctly while you wait for the cart to break in. Amusingly, the JMW arm tracks the Telarc 1812 cannon-shots perfectly.
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