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  3. 1204662722

What's causing distortion at musical climax?

Problem description:
When playing vinyl, I can hear distortion on otherwise "clean-sounding" records when the music reaches its loudest point. This happens most often with orchestral music when the full orchestra comes in loud.

I'm hoping some of you vinyl gurus can help pinpoint the offending component in my modest system.
I have a Technics SL-3200 turntable with a Ortofon OM-5 cartridge. The phono preamp is a cheapy from Radio Shack.

What component is most likely causing the distortion?
1) The record itself
2) The cartridge
3) The turntable
4) The preamp

Thanks for your help!
Mika
mwaller

Showing 1 response by mwaller

mwaller OP
17 posts
 
Thanks for all the great responses!
Tracking force could be an issue, since I've maxed out the adjustment on my tone arm and I can only get 1.5 grams. The Ortofon recommends 1.5-2g for that cartridge. What's the best way to add 0.5g to the cartridge end of the tonearm?
I'll be borrowing a friend's tube preamp, so we'll see soon whether the Radio Shack box is part of the problem.
I'm confident that that the amplifier and speakers are not a problem - CDs sound just fine, and the amp doesn't have a phono input.
Thanks, guys!
Mika
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