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Stereo Separation - Turntable

I'm new to turntables - just bought my first Music Hall MMF2.2. I've noticed on multiple stereo vinyl recordings (recordings I am quite familiar with on CD), that the stereo separation is rather extreme. What I mean by that is on albums like Cannonball Adderley's Somethin' Else, where there is percussion and horns, the left channel plays the horns and the right channel the bass and drums. Piano is in the center. Is this typical? I thought perhaps it was a speaker placement/toeing issue, but the same setup but played on CD does not have that problem -- the sound on CD is centered with a wide sound stage.

I suppose I'm wondering if this is a limitation of my turntable, or a setup/connection issue or a recording issue? The records that I've noticed this on are all stereo and all bought new. Turntable setup includes the MMF 2.2 mentioned above, stock musichall tracker cartridge, a Cambridge Audio 640p phono stage, hooked up to an Adcom GTP500 preamp and NAD320BEE amp.

Thank you for any help/suggestions.

David
dmloring

Showing 4 responses by dmloring

dmloring OP
34 posts
 
Interesting. So, if that is true, then there likely isn't a difference if I were to buy a 180g version of the album. Records aren't remastered correct? (sorry, fairly new to vinyl)
dmloring OP
34 posts
 
I suppose I'm not sure if it is a problem. Slightly strange to my ears, but I'm used to listening to CDs for the better part of my life.
dmloring OP
34 posts
 
Thanks Amater - I would think you are correct, as I do not have the same separation (left/right) issue on all recordings.

Emorrisiv - The Music Hall MMF 2.2 table cable preinstalled with a cartridge. All I had to do was set the tracking weight and anti-skate. One of the reasons I bought the Music Hall is that you can adjust the VTA. I need to and will get a protractor to check alignment. I don't really know what I am doing, though, in that respect, or how to realign the cartridge if need be. Does anyone have any recommendations of articles/how-to's that might be helpful?
dmloring OP
34 posts
 
Casey -- great idea. Thanks.

MnMark -- interesting. Not quite sure how that sound is considered stereo. If my integrated amp had a mono switch, I might actually considering using that on records like this. As for Somethin' Else. Next to "The Cannonball Adderly Quintet in San Fransisco," this is one of my "desert island" albums. Spontaneous Combustion is simply one of the most outstanding tunes ever recorded, IMO, by Cannonball.
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