NAIT now in main system - but rough with vinyl - any ideas?
Posted by: domfjbrown on 18 August 2003
I finally got round to swapping my Rega Mira 2k and NAIT3 around this weekend, as the NAIT for bedroom hifi use was no good, due to the imbalances in the volume control at low levels - ie, any time with a bedroom system 
Anyway, the NAIT was powered down for about 20 minutes whilst I swapped the amps and cables (both systems use NACA5 - black in tbe bedroom, white in the lounge - both 5metre runs).
I'm using a Rega Planet (original) and a Rega Planar 3/RB300/Ortofon 540, and am using Rega Ela (original) speakers. The system sounds damn fine with CD (and even DAB believe it or not) now the NAIT's in there, but the turntable sounds pretty nasty with marginal/worn records. I had the 540 fitted in April, and I've never been 100% happy with the alignment, but being partially sighted I've not played around with it. Now, with Kate Bush's "Kick inside" (don't laugh!) her vocals were clearly mistracking on "The man with the child in his eyes" - only on the left channel. I cleaned the stylus and the effect was reduced, but still there. This is a 2nd hand copy that sounded fine on the Mira, but the NAIT is much clearer and is thus reproducing faults I'd not heard before.
So - is the front end not good enough (I heard this same rig, using Dynaudio Audience 42s, back in 1998, with the same Kate Bush LP, in Audio-t, and this effect wasn't audible there. And the record's been cleaned since then...
I'm seriously wandering whether to try disabling the downforce dial, and setting the downforce etc by the counterweight alone, a'la the RB250, using my Shure stylus balance - is this likely to help at all?
I'm sure it's only the left channel that's sounding rough - and the effect isn't there with new and better nick vinyl, like White Stripes' Elephant, or XPress-2's Muzikizum...
Ideas please
Thanks!
When the music's over turn out the lights
Anyway, the NAIT was powered down for about 20 minutes whilst I swapped the amps and cables (both systems use NACA5 - black in tbe bedroom, white in the lounge - both 5metre runs).
I'm using a Rega Planet (original) and a Rega Planar 3/RB300/Ortofon 540, and am using Rega Ela (original) speakers. The system sounds damn fine with CD (and even DAB believe it or not) now the NAIT's in there, but the turntable sounds pretty nasty with marginal/worn records. I had the 540 fitted in April, and I've never been 100% happy with the alignment, but being partially sighted I've not played around with it. Now, with Kate Bush's "Kick inside" (don't laugh!) her vocals were clearly mistracking on "The man with the child in his eyes" - only on the left channel. I cleaned the stylus and the effect was reduced, but still there. This is a 2nd hand copy that sounded fine on the Mira, but the NAIT is much clearer and is thus reproducing faults I'd not heard before.
So - is the front end not good enough (I heard this same rig, using Dynaudio Audience 42s, back in 1998, with the same Kate Bush LP, in Audio-t, and this effect wasn't audible there. And the record's been cleaned since then...
I'm seriously wandering whether to try disabling the downforce dial, and setting the downforce etc by the counterweight alone, a'la the RB250, using my Shure stylus balance - is this likely to help at all?
I'm sure it's only the left channel that's sounding rough - and the effect isn't there with new and better nick vinyl, like White Stripes' Elephant, or XPress-2's Muzikizum...
Ideas please
Thanks!When the music's over turn out the lights
Dom
you're now hearing what the Planar is capable of. Give it a thorough setup (get it to a Rega dealer for a warranty service) such that you know its totally kosher... if it still sounds awful and all other aspects of the system are working well, you might reconsider your position vis-a-vis the venerable LP12.
Rico - SM/Mullet Audio
you're now hearing what the Planar is capable of. Give it a thorough setup (get it to a Rega dealer for a warranty service) such that you know its totally kosher... if it still sounds awful and all other aspects of the system are working well, you might reconsider your position vis-a-vis the venerable LP12.
Rico - SM/Mullet Audio
Why bother with vinyl you say is worn/marginal anyway. There's really nothing you can do to improve it once it's reached this state and it'll likely damage your stylus anyway. I'd suggest you give up the unequal struggle and let it R.I.P.
David
David
Cheers guys
Right - for clarification... I made sure my rack (I'm not saying what it is - it's junk and I can't upgrade it (yet!) is level when I moved in, BUT, I haven't checked the deck itself since it went on the RDC thingies. This will be first priority (I have a spirit level handy.
My thoughts were also re anti-skate - it's defo mistracking, not the amp, as new and good nick vinyl doesn't screech - my guess is maybe the tracking force is a little too light, or the antiskate is definitely ripe for jiggling with.
Can you adjust antiskate safely while the record's playing then?
I have the Shure stylus force gauge so that's covered.
Garyi - I *know* about MCs. I had one on it until April, when I broke it - I still don't know how. It was a Dynavector 10xGold and was lavish - gutted beyond belief. One day there was a nice cantilever, next day there was nothing - and no sign of it either! I still have the body for it so am thinking I might get a 10x5 instead, but it's the whole "blind git being hamfisted with stylus brush/cueing/etc" thing that puts me off MC - the main reason I took so long to get one in the first place
I guess though, at least, if you break a boron cantilever (ie the 10xGold) it snaps - a bent aluminium cantilever will knacker your records...
Ho hum
Oh - and it's the MM boards - whichever they are - revision 5 - I had them fitted in May. I don't THINK they've been dislodged but you never know... I'll certainly try swapping the leads round if nothing else helps...
I'll try all this out tomorrow night. I've got a brand new bike's (Specialized Hardrock - so the second part of the name's appropriate for me!) rear brake to fettle tonight - so in a hands-on-tweaky mode this week!
When the music's over turn out the lights
Right - for clarification... I made sure my rack (I'm not saying what it is - it's junk and I can't upgrade it (yet!) is level when I moved in, BUT, I haven't checked the deck itself since it went on the RDC thingies. This will be first priority (I have a spirit level handy.
My thoughts were also re anti-skate - it's defo mistracking, not the amp, as new and good nick vinyl doesn't screech - my guess is maybe the tracking force is a little too light, or the antiskate is definitely ripe for jiggling with.
Can you adjust antiskate safely while the record's playing then?
I have the Shure stylus force gauge so that's covered.
Garyi - I *know* about MCs. I had one on it until April, when I broke it - I still don't know how. It was a Dynavector 10xGold and was lavish - gutted beyond belief. One day there was a nice cantilever, next day there was nothing - and no sign of it either! I still have the body for it so am thinking I might get a 10x5 instead, but it's the whole "blind git being hamfisted with stylus brush/cueing/etc" thing that puts me off MC - the main reason I took so long to get one in the first place
I guess though, at least, if you break a boron cantilever (ie the 10xGold) it snaps - a bent aluminium cantilever will knacker your records...Ho hum
Oh - and it's the MM boards - whichever they are - revision 5 - I had them fitted in May. I don't THINK they've been dislodged but you never know... I'll certainly try swapping the leads round if nothing else helps...
I'll try all this out tomorrow night. I've got a brand new bike's (Specialized Hardrock - so the second part of the name's appropriate for me!) rear brake to fettle tonight - so in a hands-on-tweaky mode this week!
When the music's over turn out the lights
quote:
Originally posted by domfjbrown:
Cheers guys
Right - for clarification... I made sure my rack (I'm not saying what it is - it's junk and I can't upgrade it (yet!) is level when I moved in, BUT, I haven't checked the deck itself since it went on the RDC thingies. This will be first priority (I have a spirit level handy - and will try the deck with and without RDC to see if they're really neccessary with the better amp).
My thoughts were also re anti-skate - it's defo mistracking, not the amp, as new and good nick vinyl doesn't screech - my guess is maybe the tracking force is a little too light, or the antiskate is definitely ripe for jiggling with.
Can you adjust antiskate safely while the record's playing then?
I have the Shure stylus force gauge so that's covered.
Garyi - I *know* about MCs. I had one on it until April, when I broke it - I still don't know how. It was a Dynavector 10xGold and was lavish - gutted beyond belief. One day there was a nice cantilever, next day there was nothing - and no sign of it either! I still have the body for it so am thinking I might get a 10x5 instead, but it's the whole "blind git being hamfisted with stylus brush/cueing/etc" thing that puts me off MC - the main reason I took so long to get one in the first place
Ho hum
Oh - and it's the MM boards - whichever they are - revision 5 - I had them fitted in May. I don't THINK they've been dislodged but you never know... I'll certainly try swapping the leads round if nothing else helps...
I'll try all this out tomorrow night. I've got a brand new bike's (Specialized Hardrock - so the second part of the name's appropriate for me!) rear brake to fettle tonight - so in a hands-on-tweaky mode this week!
When the music's over turn out the lights
When the music's over turn out the lights
Mark - I managed to level the turntable glass mat (rather than just the top shelf!) last night, and re-set the stylus force using my guage - it's set to about 1.8 grammes down and 1.7 antiskate now - and although "The man with the child in his eyes" still has a couple of edgy bits, it'll now track right the way to the end of "The kick inside" without hashing/hardening - so perhaps a bit of tweaking with anti-skate, but nearly there
I'll try removing those RDC cones again to see what shakes loose - it's not like an expensive/time consuming tweak to reverse after all
Everything I threw at it from Grease (don't laugh!) to Pearl Jam sounded MUCH better after tweaking the stand - much happier bunny now and CD now sounds a bit flatter again.
There was only one slight mistrack on the last track on Tori Amos' Under the pink - and it's on pink vinyl and needs cleaning anyway, so I'm not so bothered now
When the music's over turn out the lights
I'll try removing those RDC cones again to see what shakes loose - it's not like an expensive/time consuming tweak to reverse after all
Everything I threw at it from Grease (don't laugh!) to Pearl Jam sounded MUCH better after tweaking the stand - much happier bunny now and CD now sounds a bit flatter again.
There was only one slight mistrack on the last track on Tori Amos' Under the pink - and it's on pink vinyl and needs cleaning anyway, so I'm not so bothered now
When the music's over turn out the lights