New analog system disappoints, please help


Hi,

I recently decided to get back into analog after a long break. Being on a budget I bought a used system from a local seller. The system consists of a J A Michell Gyro SE with DC motor, SME 309 tonearm and Transfiguration Spirit cart. I also bought a new old stock, factory sealed Plinius Jarrah phono stage. The Gyro, 309 and spirit where all purchased new in 2002 from a L.A. area high-end dealer and set up for the original owner in his home. They have remained there undisturbed and virtually unused since (maybe 15 to 20 hours total use)

After getting it all home I set up the turntable on a carefully leveled rack and tried the bounce test for the suspension. What I got was more like the Jello jiggle than a nice verticle bounce. I followed the instructions I found online for adjusting the suspension (several times) and although not perfect the bounce is much better. I have not touched the tonearm/cart alignment as I know little about this. I left the Jarrah set to factory default high output and adjusted the loading to 100ohms (recomended for the spirit)

After a 24hr burn in for the Jarrah I started to listen to some LP's. The sound is not bad, there is nothing obviously wrong but it sounds slightly recessed, flat and lifeless. I guess I was expecting more even from a relatively modest system like this. It doesn't "blow away" my digital source.

The rest of my system consist of Art Audio VPS DM pre, Art Audio Diavolo amp, Lector CDP-7T-MKIII and Spendor sp100 speakers. Cables are a mix of Nordost Valkyra and Quattro fil.

Any suggestions, incite or setup help would be greatly appreciated.

Emilio
emiliop

Showing 2 responses by emiliop

Thank you for all your suggestions. I haven't heard back from Plinius yet but the US distributer says the factory default "high gain" setting is correct for a low output MC. I have tried loadings from 47 ohm to 1000 ohms but will leave it at the 100 ohm setting recomended by the cart manufacturer for now. I know I have a long way to go and a lot to learn. I will probably just listen for a while, get me a set of proper tools and try to find books and other reading material that will help me learn the basics of turntable/tonearm/cartridge setup. I will also try to locate an audio club in my area (Inland Empire area of So. California) and learn from other members.
For anyone interested, after doing a little reading an buying a few tools I was able to greatly improve my situation. Turns out that when I started checking I found out that the clamping bolts on the main shaft of the tonearm where very loose as where the lock down bolts for the VTF adjustment and the removable headshell. This resulted in the VTF, VTA and azmuth being way out. After adjusting these settings, tightening things up and adjusting the suspension some more I had a totally different machine. Sound was greatly improved in every way. I am now hearing what I expected in the first place. I am going continue to read and tinker and see if I can improve things even more.