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Lack of vinyl bass and midrange

I have a SOTA Star Saphire turntable with ET-2 arm and Monster Alpha Genesis 1000 cartridge that I have reinserted into my system after years of disuse. Problem is the sound is anemic with lack of bass and midrange compared to CD. I have a McCormick Micro phono stage with 100 ohm load. When I last had this turntable in my system it sounded great. Any ideas as to the source of this problem would be greatly appreciated.
panamanian
gregm
3,396 posts
 
It's probably the load. Try a higher value at the phono input.
Another, (unlikely) cultprit is the phono gain. Not enough. But I expect you've already checked that out.
rwwear
2,848 posts
 
Check VTA.
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
2,848 posts
 
I also wonder about the suspension of the Monster cartridge after all these years. That would probably be my first guess at what your problem is.

Oz
elevick
2,636 posts
 
I second Ozzy62. Cartridges will dry out. I'll bet that even a $40 ortofon will sound amazingly better. Your table should be able to "sing" compared to most cd's.
johnnantais
621 posts
 
Ditto the suspension. You could try dribbling a drop of Stylast in the inner workings of the cartridge to loosen the suspension, it's worked for me before with no problems. Or try a drop of other rubber revitalizer which others have used successfully. This is if the cartridge is toast and destined for the rubbish heap anyway, if you want to keep it in the long haul then safest would be to send the cartridge somewhere for rebuilding.
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