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Help, I'm going crazy with vinyl noise

I recently changed from an Aesthitix IO phono stage thru a Placette passive to an Ortofon MC step up transformer through a VTL Deluxe MM preamp (financial resons) and a Wilson Benesch Analog rig. Sounds good except every time the cartridge goes over a warp, and I mean even a teeny tiny warp, I get a scratching sound from one channel. It is loud enough to be heard when music is playing and IT IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!

This new set up has more energy at higher frequencies, cymbals and bells are louder but they sound natural and in balance with the rest of the music. The scratching may have been there before and the former set up masked it, or maybe it is just coincidence but I suspect it is just being revealed by this new set up.

I have adjusted antiskating, tracking force, and azimuth from one extreme to the other but it has no effect. Lowering VTA has a slight effect but with the back all the way down it is still very noticeable. I know it is the trurntable because switching the leads into the transformer switches the noise.

I don't have another cartridge to try and this one cost around $3000 so I can't afford to just get another one unless I'm sure this one is bad. I had it rebuilt by Wilson Benesch a while back and it seemed to be fine until now.

Sorry for the length but I thought too much detail was better than not enough. Any thoughts? I considered bad bearings in the arm hanging up when it goes vertical but it is a uni pivot variation that they claim will last forever. My best guess is that something is rubbing in the cartridge when it makes a vertical excursion.
herman
twl
3,251 posts
 
Try a different loading for the cartridge. When using step up transformers, the loading is usually set at the transformer input, at a value that is approximately 1/2 of what you would set on the direct input to the preamp. In other words, if your cartridge is asking for a 47k load for direct into the preamp, like a Benz, try about 22k load at the transformer input instead. This will even out the hot high ends that sometimes occur with Benz cartridges, and may cure the problem. Having the load set too high, will accentuate the high end, causing more noticeable noise problems. Just a guess.
herman OP
2,216 posts
 
Thanks TWL, but this is an MC that is designed for a transformer load of < 20 ohms, according to the spec sheet. I have tried 2 different transformers with loads of <10 ohms and one switchable from 40 to 100 ohms. No help.

Besides, it is not a noise that should be there but is just too bright, it is definitely a distortion caused by the vertical movement. I can watch the arm track a warp and occurs in sync with the warp.

Keep those guesses coming though, I am out of ideas other than replacing the cartridge.
rcreations
158 posts
 
herman,
do you have another cartridge to try? might indicate that is where the problem is generating from. kurt
sidssp
1,077 posts
 
I have another guess here. Some phono amps do not have a subsonic filter built-in and the extreme low frequency caused by the warp may have overloaded the input of your preamp. To test this theory you can either hook in a subsonic filter or hook in an attenuator to reduce the input to the preamp and see if the distortion goes away.
Again, this is just my guess without seeing your problem with my own eyes.
pbb
1,140 posts
 
I recommend an SACD player with good Redbook playback. That's how most of the plebe gets its music anyway and they didn't have to downgrade. Amazing that those one dollar used vinyl albums actually require $45,000.00 of table, arm, cart, preamp to play "without" noise... I know, I know, the music is luscious and there are very few warped records and very few records with surface noise. I just happen to be the only unlucky so and so whose new album purchases over the years have yielded so many warped and noisy albums I lost count. Then the good ones get noisier with every play, but that's because vinyl is best described as "perfect sound for a short while".
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