Question for @o_holter : Did you buy this cartridge used?
If so, all bets are off. You can't be exactly sure of what you have.
If so, all bets are off. You can't be exactly sure of what you have.
Why are my woofers pumping?
The other day, with sunlight direct from the side, I noticed that the
woofers in my speakers are pumping in and out, much more than I was aware of,
when the stylus is in the groove, even between tracks (no music). I can see it, even if I don’t hear it. Why
does it happen? The woofers behave normally (no pumping) with digital music, and
when the stylus it lifted from the groove, so it is not the speakers, amps,
preamp or phono stage.
I’ve read that the typical reason for woofer pumping is that the cartridge / arm resonance is too low. I tested, with my Hifi News test record, and yes, the lateral test puts the resonance at 7 hz or so – too low (but I’ve seen some doubts about the results from that test record). It is strange, since the combo I use – Lyra Atlas cartridge and SME V arm (on a Hanss T-30 player) is supposed to work well. I tried to strip my arm of extras, cleaned the damping trough, etc – but it did not help much.
Anyone has an idea, why it happens, or what to do about it?
Showing 7 responses by cleeds
I agree with @atmasphere that cartridge compliance is almost certainly too high, although placing the turntable too close to your woofers may exacerbate the problem. Short of replacing the cartridge and/or counterweight, you might also see if you can lessen the problem with damping. You write that you "tried to strip my arm of extras, cleaned the damping trough," so it’s not clear that you’re using any damping at all. Is that correct? |
atmasphere It might be that some of those debaters don’t have the bottom end bandwidth in their systems that yours has.That’s possible. It’s also possible that the debaters have absolutely no experience with the arm, or with your arm/cartridge combo. There are many self-proclaimed vinyl "experts" on the web who have no idea what they’re talking about. |
o_holter Thanks Cleeds, but I don't agree. Please prove the case. Why does the arm kill the cartridge?The SME V is a terrific arm, but your woofer pumping problem simply suggests you've mounted the wrong phono cartridge to it. There's no reason to suffer such a problem, imo, and using a subsonic filter is treating the symptom rather than the disease. |
o_holter Some more pumping and woofer cone vibration testing today ... still noticeable on very high volume. There is some subsonic pumping ... it happens at certain intervals per revolution of the record (playing silent grooves between tracks). If I turn up speed to 45, the pattern is repeated, only faster. This seems to indicate that player rumble or drive problems are NOT the main issue.That actually sounds very much like a drive problem, such as a bearing issue or bad belt .... Could this “inherent vinyl noise” be most strong down around the resonance frequency, at ca 7 herz?I don't think what you're experiencing is “inherent vinyl noise.” I agree with @stringreen - it would be a good idea to start at square one and have Lyra check that cartridge. Did you buy it used? If so, it's immediately suspect, even if it isn't your only problem. |