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Integrating a new turntable into existing system and having sound quality problems...

Hi, I just a purchased a brand new turntable a Project Carbon debut and a Project Phono Box and integrated them into my existing stereo system and have run into some sound quality issues.


Problems

1. The first album I played was a brand new Diana Krall Wallflower album.  Her voice seemed very thin and crackly (not the traditional cracks and pops of vinyl) which was surprising given her voice is so smooth when listening to her CDs.  I brought the album back to the store and they played it on their cheap system and it seemed to work fine.

2. None of the other albums had the same level of thinness and tininess as the diana Krall album but they all seemed light on bass compared to listening to CDs on the same system.

3. One odd thing i noticed on the Diana Krall album was that my tonearm kept wanting to come off the album at the start rather than grab a groove and work inwards.  not a problem i have experienced with the other 6 albums I have been playing.


My Setup

Rotel RCD 991 as a transport

Bryston Dac

Mastersound compact 845 integrated - Single end triode with 2x30 watts

Pioneer speakers S-03EX - their TAD  trickle down speakers - not the usual Pioneer speaker


I added the Project Carbon Debut, plugged into the Project Phono Box, plugged into the AUX input of the integrated amp (therefore I am using both the pre and power functions of the integrated)


Any help on troubleshooting the poor sound quality issue would be appreciated.  I wasn't sure if it was related to

1. vinyl sounds like crap compared to CD (not likely) but it does in the Diana krall situation

2. is it just the wrong synergy of the system?

3. is the turntable not good enough to match the quality of the amp and speakers?

4. are there adjustments that I should be making to the tonearm to have more down ward force to pick up more bass???

5.do I need a higher quality phono stage?

6. should I get a higher quality phono pre amp and skip the pre amp stage in my integrated - although I assume given the build quality of my integrated, I would need to pay a pretty penny to get a comparable or better stand alone phono preamp.


Any input would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks

vwman111
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
I'm really glad that it's all good, but hard to see how poor tracking could result in noise with no album playing.
minkwelder
255 posts
 
A new cartridge will not require a "much heavier" setting to break in. It sounds to me that either the cartridge is defective, or something may be interfering with the smooth vertical movement of the tonearm. Tight bearings?
truemaineiac's avatar
truemaineiac
249 posts
 
Seems like the cart is jacked up if it doesn't track right at the correct VTF, try another one.  
oregon
809 posts
 
If I were you, I'd ask for a new cart. If you are using a defective cart (is it the cantilever, stylus, magnets?)  you might be ruining your LPs- defective stylus.
 Since you purchased the set up as brand new, the dealer ought to sell you a cartridge that meets manufacturer parameters, and he should not track the cart "much heavier". If it is indeed a defective stylus ( chipped or cracked could cause distortion through one channel), the heavily weighted chipped diamond pounding on a rotating record will actually cut the sides of the grooves and make microscopic cuts. This is why albums that look pristine, can sound horrible- hiss and noise.

 
tketcham
291 posts
 

vwman111, something isn’t right. As others have said, you shouldn’t have to run much higher VTF on a new cartridge. You could have the dealer install another cartridge to see if you ended up with a bad one..

And if the problem isn't with the cartridge, minkwelder may be on to something regarding the tonearm free-play. I’ll add that it could be bad wiring inhibiting the travel of the tonearm. That might explain the intermittent crackling you hear. One way you can check free-play is to “float” the tonearm and observe how it responds to small amounts of weight or force. I won't go into the details of how to do that with this post but if you're interested I can provide detailed instructions or you can do a web search and find many such instructions.


Regards,

Tom.

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