2. analog
  3. 160997-137779

Odd problem with TT setup...

I’ve got an SME 30/2 TT with the Gold V tonearm. Recently, I’ve noticed on a few albums with particularly punchy kick drum passages (The Police Zenyatta, Talking Heads Slippery People particularly) that on occasion I hear a distinct “pop” as if overdriven during these notes. But not every time in the song, nor on every song.. The odd thing is, it doesn’t matter what I change... my typical cart is an Atlas, but it has also done it with other carts, namely a Sumiko Blue #2 MM. Capacitance settings don’t change the problem, I’ve tried cable swaps on both ends, different phono stages, gain settings, loads etc. it happens in any channel on my Hegel regardless of volume, it happens if I run straight into my head phone amp with headphones. The ONLY constant here is the tonearm. All of the setup parameters are spot on, I’ve tried a variety of VTA settings, antiskate you name it. Is it possible the internal wiring of the tonearm can have a problem? Overall the sound is excellent, great soundstage, overall presentation etc. with the exception of this one issue. Any ideas?
geof3

Showing 3 responses by millercarbon

millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
millercarbon: 
A pop to me is more of an electrical kind of thing. But all the electrical glitches I've heard in situations like this the sound cuts out it doesn't pop.

So now at last we have our answer: worn internal wiring. Probably internal and out of sight but carefully inspect all you can see. Use tweezers to pull the cartridge clips, or at least give them a little nudge to confirm they're still nice and tight. 

But basically yeah, probably time for service. If you like the arm they probably can upgrade the wire. Origin Live has wire upgrades for theirs, SME should too. 
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Most likely its a resonance/vibration problem of some kind. Electrical faults- bad solder joint, frayed or damaged wire - usually results in cut-outs not pops. My first thought was slight bearing wear. Kick drum energy bounces the bearing and when it lands it generates the pop. But that would be more like a knock I would think. 

I can tell you how to test and prove its not internal wire, but you won't like it, way too complicated. To check the bearing/compliance/resonance idea place some small mass at the pivot point, adjust VTF, and play. To check compliance add a mass of a few grams like a penny or dime, stick on top of the cartridge with Blue-tack or tape. Anything temporary just to check the theory. Its unlikely, but so is everything else at this point, sad to say.
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Is it more of a pop or a knock? If the bearings got worn/damaged/out of adjustment enough then when the energy from the kick drum gets there it bounces out of contact and when it comes back would knock, like I guess you would call this bearing chatter. Which I never heard but would think something like this could happen. Except I would expect it to be more of a knock or click or something rather than a pop.

A pop to me is more of an electrical kind of thing. But all the electrical glitches I've heard in situations like this the sound cuts out it doesn't pop. So this is a good little puzzle you got here. 


More to discover