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Where is the problem? Tracking error?

Let say I am listening to a piece of classical music. Full Orchestral. When the strings and everything sounds mushed together especially during loud demanding peaks, what is the likely culprit? cartridge, tonearm, or isolation? During certain passages, is it a tracking problem that some cartridges cannot handle all of the vibrations occurring in the groove and is that being magnified by not enough tracking force, isolation, platter not having enough mommentum? Just curious... I do not notice this when listening to CD's so I know it is not anywhere else. Everything is clear. It has to be occurring on the turntable. Where should I start looking for answers?
tzh21y

Showing 1 response by daverz

daverz
487 posts
 
You may just need to work on your cartridge alignment, VTA, azimuth, and tracking force. Start with VTA as neutral as possible and then adjust up or down. Tracking force should start at the high end of the manufacturer's recommended range.

I've heard good things about the Mint protractor, and I can recommend the tracking force scale that Mapleshade sells. (They just add the shelf to an inexpensive scale, so you could just buy the same scale and make your own shelf.)

On the other hand, while I have no experience with that arm, I haven't found Benz carts to be particularly stellar trackers. The Audio Technica carts I've used seem to do better with highly modulated records.
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