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, have a SoundSmith SMMC3 cartridge on my RX2. My past listening the last say 3-4 months has been 99% classical, no opera. This past week or so I have started listening to rock/jazz stuff that has vocals and have noticed a very pronounced sibilance. Rebalance the arm or...??
Thanks!
Sibilance can be caused by a lot of things, make sure your cartridge is correctly aligned and balanced and set to the correct tracking force, make sure your plugs and jacks are clean and connected properly, and of course that your amp and speakers (crossovers) are in good shape.
Vinyl records can cause sibilance if bad mastered, bad pressed or with too many tracks (tight grooves), popular and rock music was often made for a fast market, so quality didnt come first.
Find out which records gives the most problems play these on another system or record player, if the problem persist the record is to blame, some vinyl records just have sibilance.
Also adjust your tracking force a little up or down 0.5 grams and listen where you get the best result, my Soundsmith SMMC4 is brighter than Axels and an original MMC4 that still works.
If you have another cartridge try that one too.
Collecting Vintage B&O is not a hobby, its a lifestyle.
All good advice Soren. I'd add that the calibration of the stylus force adjuster on many tables is pretty iffy, so if the cartridge is supposed to track at 1 gram, say, and you put it on 1 gram and it mistracks, it may not be at 1 gram. Your suggestion to up the force is good, in general on cartridges the rule of thumb was to ignore their marketing driven "recommended" force and adjust to where it doesn't mistrack. Even ,if you have a good stylus force gauge and 1 gram is really 1 gram, you don't want to track at that force if the stylus is mistracking, as that not only sounds bad but can damage the records with repeated playing.
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Bad tracking is often caused by bad adjusted antiskating or the cartridge not parallel to the record, both will get the needle riding too high in groove and this will cause sibilance
Some audio test records - e.g. this one - have tracks that will challenge your cartridge/TT to reproduce without showing signs of sibilance. There are 5 passages per test. If you can make it thru the 4th passage without hearing sibilance, you can rule out your system. (the 5th passage is the toughest to reproduce in each of the tests). Oh, and yes, make sure you get a pristine test record - ideally new.
MediaBobNY: Some audio test records - e.g. this one - have tracks that will challenge your cartridge/TT to reproduce without showing signs of sibilance. There are 5 passages per test. If you can make it thru the 4th passage without hearing sibilance, you can rule out your system. (the 5th passage is the toughest to reproduce in each of the tests). Oh, and yes, make sure you get a pristine test record - ideally new.
Thank you, just bought one, will be here after Xmas, will test BG, 1000, 1202, 2400, 5000, RX, TX2 and 4002, Axels MMC2, Axel MMC4, original MMC4, SMMC4. 2 x used MMC20EN, SP6, SP14 and Axel SP14
Will be interesting and probably time consuming
You're welcome. When listening to the last test (bass drum) on Side 1, make sure your volume is turned down for passages 4 & 5. If your woofers are close to needing refoaming, this test will assure they will. This test is excellent for identifying an MMC X with suspension deteriorationTracklistA1 –Roger Anderson (3) Introduction A2 –No Artist Level, Balance, Phase Tests A3 –The Günter Kallmann Singers* Musical Bells Test - Excerpted From Side Two, Band Two A4 –Sergio Mendes And Brasil '66* Sibilance Test - Excerpted From Side Two, Band Four A5 –No Artist Bass Drum B1 –Lee Holdridge Violin - Excerpted From Side Two, Band Three B2 –The Günter Kallmann Singers* Musik Zum Verlieben B3 –Lee Holdridge Excerpt From Orpheus Music B4 –Sergio Mendes And Brasil '66* Mais Que Nada
Ok, rebalanced the arm and have played around a bit with the tracking weight. Nothing seems to help. don't have another table to try out nor that Shure test lp which is a shame as I use to have one a year or so ago :( So, went and bought a supposedly pristine original MMC3 and will try that out and see if that does the trick. Will of course try out a lp that sounded pretty bad and see what's what.
Thanks for everyone's thoughts!