ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
So I have a Bang & Olufsen 1800 TT which I just replaced the belt and lubricated. I go to play it and it barely makes any noise through my speakers and sounds all muffled and like it's not all there. I check the stylus and the needle itself is loose and moves from side to side freely. Would that explain the symptoms of the bad audio quality? Could it be a bad stylus AND possibly the audio cables? And is the only way to fix it to replace the whole cartridge? If so, I've heard these cartridges can be VERY expensive and hard to find. Is that true and how much would I be looking at to replace it? Thanks and any ideas/tips would be greatly appreciated!
If the needle moves freely in the cartridge the suspension may have been giving in.
The best way to repair a MMC cartridge is by Axel
But, to which amp is the TT connected, does it have a preamp, if there is no preamp you will have very little and muffled sound there.
Collecting Vintage B&O is not a hobby, its a lifestyle.
So I can assume the needle shouldn't move at all? I have a stereo system that I plug the black and white RCA cables into and it has 2 speakers connected to it. I apologize for not knowing all the technical terms.
The needle must move with some resistance, when pushing it carefully with a finger tip, The TT cables has to be connected to an amp phono input with a RIAA preamplifier, Your TT does not have a preamplifier. Check the amplifier where you connect the TT, it has to have a build in RIAA preamplifier, if not you will get the symptoms you described.
The needle (technically, cantilever) moves up and down but not sideways. That's a sign of one with a deteriorated suspension - a very common problem with those old MMC's. Axel can rebuild it
Are the inputs on the receiver labelled 'Phono'? How old is the receiver?