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- #121
I haven’t read the whole thread, just the OP and a few subsequent posts. Sorry about that.
Just a suggestion. . . Is the cartridge on straight? If it’s crooked, you’ll get that, increasing audible problems as the cartridge works its way toward the inner grooves of the LP. In fact, you’ll get that anyway, it’s just more pronounced if your cartridge is crooked.
Also, you probably know this, but you want to check your anti-skating setting and your tracking force. Those can cause problems that get progressively worse as you make it toward the inside grooves.
Also you want to make sure the cartridge is wired in correctly. Probably so, but if not, if you have a way of summing to mono, it will get a lot quieter when you sum to mono. Then you’ll know some wires are not connected up right in a way that really degrades the sound.
Also, though it’s probably sacrilege to say so, you can get a pretty neutral cartridge for pretty cheap if you need to rule out the cartridge as a cause. It’s not magic and it doesn’t require any high-end voodoo stuff. As people say, it’s not rocket science to change the cartridge. Fidgety and frustrating and unpleasant, yes, absolutely, if you have anger management problems maybe don’t do it, if you are not sober, don’t do it, but truth is it’s not that difficult and it’s kind of interesting.
IMHO & etc.
Thanks.
As mentioned within the thread, I'd wondered that. However the distortion was much more random: sometimes playing the first track of an album clean, then that same track distorted the next time. Same with any track, middle or end of a side. I think something is screwy within the cartridge.