2. analog
  3. 170417-161828

A pitch too High!

Recently, I damaged the V2 MM cartridge of Clearaudio Concept Wood turntable, so had it changed with a Grado Prestige Blue. The VTF for V2 is 2.2g while Grado blue stands at 1.5g. I took someone’s help to fix this. He even made azimuth adjustments and it sounded fine. But I soon realised that the sound had become thinner, voice being the primary indicator and just before the stylus landed on the record, it skipped back a bit then hit the record. Sometimes the tonearm would skip all the way out of the record, backwards. I called the guy back, and he felt the VTF should be fixed to around 2g to avoid the backward skip. He did so and that problem was licked and it seemed the voice thinning issue had also vanished. But last night, I put on the first pressing of Aretha Franklin Amazing Grace, and all along I found her pitch way higher, it was all too high pitched and uncomfortable. Seemed the bass had gone missing a little. On my Boulder 866, I could immediately hear the difference when the track was played through Roon. It was not as high pitched, thin as it sounded on analogue. I intend to call the guy again but wanted to know from experts here as to what the issue could be.
128x128terrible
terrible's avatar
terrible OP
44 posts
 

@mijostyn So I did as suggested. It took counterclockwise two turns and one-fourth to reach the correct AS for 1.5g. Less was making the tonearm go out of the record and more made it travel towards the spindle. I might have damaged the record too as I don't have a blank record. However, while the cartridge tracked fine, I found that there was discomforting distortion on highs. The same song through Roon played pleasantly well. I again checked the RPM, it was very close to 33.33. The VTF was 1.5 and thereabouts. I did not mess with it further and left it as is. What do I need to do to correct this distortion on highs?

@chakster I am unable to figure the distributor for Technics in India. The problem with the dealers and distributors here is they seldom are able to provide quality after-sales. They just about sell the turntable, they have no clue about things we are discussing here. One of the big reasons I have opted for SME is because the guys who sell it here are also the owners of SME. It'll help in getting help on turntable issues.

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,226 posts
 

Ok terrible, Which channel is distorting? If the left channel is distorting you have too much anti skating. If the right channel is distorting you have too little. 

Don't listen to people who destroy their records by not protecting them from dust. It is a hygiene issue like brushing your teeth. 

@chakster , do Russians have a lot of cavities? I am not aware of the demographics. 

chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 

They just about sell the turntable, they have no clue about things we are discussing here. One of the big reasons I have opted for SME is because the guys who sell it here are also the owners of SME. It’ll help in getting help on turntable issues.

 

Technics is about to buy and forget about troubles. 
 

Find in your local Bollywood night club:) 

 

 

terrible's avatar
terrible OP
44 posts
 

@mijostyn I could hear it coming out of both left and right!

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,226 posts
 

Then it is not an anti skating issue. Something else is going on. Maybe a bad cartridge. 

More to discover