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phono amp issue

Willem

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Are cd's any better? I ask because what you describe seems a perfect example of the limitations of vinyl.
 
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TG1

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Are cd's any better? I ask because what you describe seems a perfect example of the limitations of vinyl.
I think I would need to get the same recording on CD to answer that. That said, I don't recall noticing the effect on CD. However, it still wouldn't help me isolate where the problem is on vinyl. If it happens on records purely because of the limitations of the medium then there isn't any point looking into it further.
Well, that has given me an idea - I will take an offending record into a hifi shop and get them to play it on one of their higher end set ups. If it still does it on gear costing a lot more than mine i can let it go.
Why I didn't think of that weeks ago i don't know. Thanks for triggering the notion.
 

LTig

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[..]To illustrate it a bit more, I have a decent copy of La Traviata, and for most of the record all is good - vocals and instrument fine, everything separated nicely, good sound stage etc. But when the opera reaches a climax when everyone is pitching in, then the distortion kicks in.
I know this phenomenon well on vinyl. Full orchestra and choir distorts. I don't think that it's a problem with my cartridge or its aligning, it can track 65 micrometer without problems. It could be a destroyed track - all my opera vinyl is second hand.

OTOH I no longer listen to opera on vinyl, I prefer a clean digital recording (even if AAD or ADD).
 
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TG1

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I know this phenomenon well on vinyl. Full orchestra and choir distorts. I don't think that it's a problem with my cartridge or its aligning, it can track 65 micrometer without problems. It could be a destroyed track - all my opera vinyl is second hand.

OTOH I no longer listen to opera on vinyl, I prefer a clean digital recording (even if AAD or ADD).

Thanks for that. I'm certain you will have better cartridges than mine, so I can eliminate that as the source of the problem. If you know the problem well and I have experienced it I would have thought it unlikely to be destroyed track, although from what `I have been reading here it seems the stylus can damage grooves as a matter of course without people being careless.
I will go down the route of trying it in a friendly store, although if it turns out only a five grand phono stage can sort it I too will no longer listen to opera on vinyl.
 

Willem

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Often there is a crescendo towards the end of a symphonic piece. Unfortunately distortion gets worse on a vinyl disc the closer you come to the end of the disc, because at a continuous rotation speed the groove length is less and less per second the close you come to the middle.
 

Zog

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My experience with advanced stylus shapes is that they can be a double edged sword .
So they save you money? When one edge gets worn out you can turn it round and used the other edge?
 

Soniclife

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Often there is a crescendo towards the end of a symphonic piece. Unfortunately distortion gets worse on a vinyl disc the closer you come to the end of the disc, because at a continuous rotation speed the groove length is less and less per second the close you come to the middle.
Fancy stylus tips dramatically reduce this problem to my ears. They are also just simply better all-round.
 

watchnerd

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That's great, thank you. A stylus is an easy replacement. I did have it looked at under a microscope at a local dealer and he said it was fine, but that was to check for damage to the tip.

Even if you replace it, have you considered a more advanced stylus profile?

The original has a spherical / "special elliptical" tip shape, which has limitations when it comes to dealing with complexity in the grooves.
 

sergeauckland

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Often there is a crescendo towards the end of a symphonic piece. Unfortunately distortion gets worse on a vinyl disc the closer you come to the end of the disc, because at a continuous rotation speed the groove length is less and less per second the close you come to the middle.
I've always wondered why records didn't work inside out. Then, the loud bits at the end would be on the outside where the linear velocity is highest. Everything else could stay the same, same cutting lathes, presses, turntables, arms, just the record would be different.
To answer my own question, autochangers!

S
 

LTig

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I have a theory that there a benefit to using a line contact stylus on a worn record. My rationale is as follows:-

A record that has been played on a old player, with a heavy arm is most likely to have used a spherical stylus. This will have worn a pattern in the groove walls, where the spherical stylus contacts the groove walls. A line contact stylus has a wide contact line with the groove wall, not just a point, and so will bridge the wear pattern and play the unworn groove above and below the wear.

I have no proof that this hypothesis is sensible, but it seems logical, albeit there are many reasons why a record may have been worn by more than one stylus, or may have extreme damage. For a record that hasn't been excessively abused, just played with a heavy spherical stylus, there may be merit in my suggestion.

Certainly, I have lots of old records bought in charity shops and the like that are over 50 years old, yet play well with my line contact cartridges.

Any views?

S
I second that.
 

Zog

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I've always wondered why records didn't work inside out. Then, the loud bits at the end would be on the outside where the linear velocity is highest. Everything else could stay the same, same cutting lathes, presses, turntables, arms, just the record would be different.
To answer my own question, autochangers!

S
There are a couple of LPs like that out there. Someone did Ravel's Bolero with the end finishing outside. Although it contains no music it builds through changes in volume and orchestration.
 
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