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Stereo Separation - Turntable

I'm new to turntables - just bought my first Music Hall MMF2.2. I've noticed on multiple stereo vinyl recordings (recordings I am quite familiar with on CD), that the stereo separation is rather extreme. What I mean by that is on albums like Cannonball Adderley's Somethin' Else, where there is percussion and horns, the left channel plays the horns and the right channel the bass and drums. Piano is in the center. Is this typical? I thought perhaps it was a speaker placement/toeing issue, but the same setup but played on CD does not have that problem -- the sound on CD is centered with a wide sound stage.

I suppose I'm wondering if this is a limitation of my turntable, or a setup/connection issue or a recording issue? The records that I've noticed this on are all stereo and all bought new. Turntable setup includes the MMF 2.2 mentioned above, stock musichall tracker cartridge, a Cambridge Audio 640p phono stage, hooked up to an Adcom GTP500 preamp and NAD320BEE amp.

Thank you for any help/suggestions.

David
dmloring
dmloring OP
34 posts
 
I suppose I'm not sure if it is a problem. Slightly strange to my ears, but I'm used to listening to CDs for the better part of my life.
emorrisiv
313 posts
 
David you will find that vinyl sound staging is much bigger in general. There is so much more nuance to LPs that it will be strange to you when you hear something that you "know" from years on CD.
You should play around with your speaker placement until you find sound staging is accurate.You should use acoustic/non electronic with the least amount of editing/production.Listen and think of where the instruments should be if they were in front of you on a stage.
One of my rigs is junk compared to what you have and it images magic easily.
Did you or a knowledgeable person set it up? If it is a pre-installed and shipped setup I wouldn't trust it.At the very least download and print a protractor and check alignment.You can get a digital scale online for less than $30.00.Not a $150.00 made for turntable scale but a small,flat digital scale that works just as well,or better.
setup can and will effect the imaging.
welcome to the charming world of vinyl,you will find that you are now into the hobby.
amater
56 posts
 
Sometimes I hear the same, especially with the Decca/London Phase 4 Stereo records. There are right and left instruments and the lack of the middle. I think the mode of the recording/mixing is that where the dog is buried.
dmloring OP
34 posts
 
Thanks Amater - I would think you are correct, as I do not have the same separation (left/right) issue on all recordings.

Emorrisiv - The Music Hall MMF 2.2 table cable preinstalled with a cartridge. All I had to do was set the tracking weight and anti-skate. One of the reasons I bought the Music Hall is that you can adjust the VTA. I need to and will get a protractor to check alignment. I don't really know what I am doing, though, in that respect, or how to realign the cartridge if need be. Does anyone have any recommendations of articles/how-to's that might be helpful?
daverz
487 posts
 
I would trust your ears on this one. You don't need to go moving your speakers around. Hard panning of instruments to left, right, and center was very common in the early stereo era.
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