|
BigFactory posted:What would you be trying to avoid? I usually buy from the label or artist online unless some place is running a great sale. Same. The big trick for ordering from Amazon is ALWAYS select it as "send as a gift" so they have to put it in a box. Even if it is in a mailer they will put it in another box. It is a simple way to ensure your vinyl has a high chance of not being damaged. Unless it is a new pressing of something undone or unobtainium I generally do a bit of research on pressings and find the best sounding one that I can afford. There is a LOT of catalog stuff getting repressed that you can get an original pressing for less than half the price used that sounds much better. Unless you live somewhere with a good shop Discogs is going to be your friend there.
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 16:58
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 26, 2024 09:34 |
|
|
Pretty sure that there's something wrong with either the stylus and/or cartridge on my AT-LP120. The left channel is almost completely dead. Haven't troubleshot it thoroughly yet, but assuming that there's a problem with one/both how stupid should I get with spending money on replacements?
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 17:33
|
|
|
ephori posted:Drove three hours today each way to pick up a personal grail: Just to follow up on my earlier post in the thread, I finished the speakers.  That Works posted:Where do folks here generally buy their vinyl from (online)? Just curious as to what's good / what to avoid for sourcing particular stuff. I get lots through Bandcamp.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 17:57
|
|
|
olives black posted:Pretty sure that there's something wrong with either the stylus and/or cartridge on my AT-LP120. The left channel is almost completely dead. Update: The right channel is noticeably louder than the left, but this happens across multiple albums. I just tried it on another record and the levels were a lot closer (although the left channel was a lot quieter). Assuming that this isn't a problem with my stylus/cartridge, is it normal for vinyl masters to favor the right channel or is the left channel just usually quieter?
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 18:30
|
|
|
olives black posted:Update: The right channel is noticeably louder than the left, but this happens across multiple albums. I just tried it on another record and the levels were a lot closer (although the left channel was a lot quieter). No, if it isn’t an issue with anti-skate then it’s probably your stylus, or something to do with the cartridge wires or output. Fortunately, replacement styli for your AT cartridge (assuming it’s some generation of 95e) are cheap and easy to replace. I’d check Anti skate and stylus, in that order. Then I’d start swapping the headshell wires around.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 18:40
|
|
|
Ok Comboomer posted:No, if it isn’t an issue with anti-skate then it’s probably your stylus, or something to do with the cartridge wires or output. The anti-skate is set to about .25 less than the counter-weight. The manual for the turntable suggests that I set that to the same setting as the counter-weight. Does that sound right, or should I set it to more/less?
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 18:50
|
|
|
olives black posted:The anti-skate is set to about .25 less than the counter-weight. The manual for the turntable suggests that I set that to the same setting as the counter-weight. Does that sound right, or should I set it to more/less? Just play around with it and see if you can make it sound better. And realign your cartridge
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 19:23
|
|
|
olives black posted:The anti-skate is set to about .25 less than the counter-weight. The manual for the turntable suggests that I set that to the same setting as the counter-weight. Does that sound right, or should I set it to more/less? BigFactory posted:Just play around with it and see if you can make it sound better. And realign your cartridge Did you change the cartridge alignment at all? Is it the same cartridge that came with the turntable? It should be aligned from the factory
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 19:34
|
|
|
Ok Comboomer posted:Did you change the cartridge alignment at all? Is it the same cartridge that came with the turntable? It should be aligned from the factory Actually I take that back, I think I took it out to replace the stylus several months ago.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 19:46
|
|
|
I should probably also mention that I'm basing this on the meters on my tape deck (both a 2-head Sony and a 2-head Nakamichi atm) and they both seem to do this, both with playback from the turntable and from professionally duplicated cassettes. The difference is slight on most records, but I have a newer album where it's much greater.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 19:51
|
|
|
olives black posted:
Styluses get out of alignment sometimes. Break out the protractor and see if it’s off
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 19:56
|
|
|
olives black posted:I should probably also mention that I'm basing this on the meters on my tape deck (both a 2-head Sony and a 2-head Nakamichi atm) and they both seem to do this, both with playback from the turntable and from professionally duplicated cassettes. Wait a second, your playback of cassettes is also low in one channel? If that's the case, it's clearly not a problem with the turntable. Or am I misunderstanding?
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 21:30
|
|
|
wa27 posted:Wait a second, your playback of cassettes is also low in one channel? If that's the case, it's clearly not a problem with the turntable. Or am I misunderstanding? Yeah, on two different decks, across different tapes. Which is why I'm wondering if this is just a thing with cassettes/cassette decks.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 21:34
|
|
|
Wait, I'm confused. Can you hear a channel imbalance, or are you feeding your turntable output to 2 different tape decks and inferring the channel imbalance from what you're seeing on the tape deck Vu meters? Or does your amplifier have its own Vu meters and you're seeing this on that? Do other albums on cassette also show this imbalance, or just the turntable output?
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 21:40
|
|
|
olives black posted:Yeah, on two different decks, across different tapes. Which is why I'm wondering if this is just a thing with cassettes/cassette decks. So your phono is fine, but when you switch to tape one channel is low?
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 21:40
|
|
|
Mederlock posted:Wait, I'm confused. Can you hear a channel imbalance, or are you feeding your turntable output to 2 different tape decks and inferring the channel imbalance from what you're seeing on the tape deck Vu meters? Or does your amplifier have its own Vu meters and you're seeing this on that? Do other albums on cassette also show this imbalance, or just the turntable output? All cassettes appear to show at least a slightly lower left channel volume on the two cassette decks' vu meters.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 21:47
|
|
|
There's a lot going on here. You can just swap the L+R RCA cables going from the turntable to the cassette deck and see if the problem flips. If it doesn't, then the turntable is fine. You really should try a commercially released cassette if you have one. This talk of "professionally duplicated cassettes" sounds like you have a batch from one source, and it's entirely possible that his machine could be slightly low in one channel. If that's not the case and you're actually using commercial releases, then my apologies. Lastly, what's your setup even look like? Is there an amp being used here? Typically you wouldn't go directly from a turntable into a cassette deck, unless you don't have speakers in this setup. Are you recording vinyl to cassettes?
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 22:05
|
|
|
wa27 posted:There's a lot going on here. I can try this. wa27 posted:You really should try a commercially released cassette if you have one. This talk of "professionally duplicated cassettes" sounds like you have a batch from one source, and it's entirely possible that his machine could be slightly low in one channel. If that's not the case and you're actually using commercial releases, then my apologies. Yeah, sorry, that's what I meant. Commercially released. Different bands and genres (HEALTH, Imperial Triumphant, some others). wa27 posted:Lastly, what's your setup even look like? Is there an amp being used here? Typically you wouldn't go directly from a turntable into a cassette deck, unless you don't have speakers in this setup. Are you recording vinyl to cassettes? I'm using a turntable with an onboard pre-amp (Audio-Technica AT-LP120). It's switched to Line (rather than Phono) and being run directly into the cassette deck. (Not at the same time - I switched to another deck this morning to see if the behavior persisted, and it did). The recording level faders were dead even.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2023 22:10
|
|
|
ephori posted:Just to follow up on my earlier post in the thread, I finished the speakers. they turned out great
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2023 00:23
|
|
|
wa27 posted:You can just swap the L+R RCA cables going from the turntable to the cassette deck and see if the problem flips. If it doesn't, then the turntable is fine. Just did this on my Nakamichi BX-100. Still seeing the volume meter on the right being a little higher than the left one.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2023 02:29
|
|
|
Buy a 3000 hz testing tape from eBay. Your tape decks have pots inside them where you can adjust playback and record levels and speed. Get a frequency counter app for your phone to check and adjust the speed, use the volume meters to check that you have adjusted playback on both channels to the same level. Look up a reference signal on youtube, feed it to your tape decks through your phone, and adjust the record levels so that they are even.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2023 08:10
|
|
|
evobatman posted:Buy a 3000 hz testing tape from eBay. Your tape decks have pots inside them where you can adjust playback and record levels and speed. Get a frequency counter app for your phone to check and adjust the speed, use the volume meters to check that you have adjusted playback on both channels to the same level. Look up a reference signal on youtube, feed it to your tape decks through your phone, and adjust the record levels so that they are even. Thank you, this is the next step. Just strange to see this on 2 different decks from two different sellers using both commercially available tapes and turntable input.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2023 13:00
|
|
|
Update: Just got the test tape and threw it in the Nakamichi BX-100. Yeah, the left channel is WAY off.
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2023 21:50
|
|
|
olives black posted:Update: Just got the test tape and threw it in the Nakamichi BX-100. Yeah, the left channel is WAY off. Do you just need to adjust the balance on your receiver?
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2023 00:41
|
|
|
BigFactory posted:Do you just need to adjust the balance on your receiver? No, I'm talking about the tape deck itself. The volume meters on the tape deck should be dead even.
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2023 01:55
|
|
|
olives black posted:No, I'm talking about the tape deck itself. The volume meters on the tape deck should be dead even. Does the tape deck have balance? It might be in back. It’s just weird that two different tape decks have the same problem.
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2023 02:04
|
|
|
BigFactory posted:Does the tape deck have balance? It might be in back. It’s just weird that two different tape decks have the same problem. I do not see a balance control anywhere on the tape deck.
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2023 02:08
|
|
|
I’m so loving confused
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2023 02:15
|
|
|
Ok Comboomer posted:I’m so loving confused According to the tape seller, the 3000 Hz tone is recorded at the same level on the left and right channels. This is the Nakamichi BX-100. https://youtu.be/9Z--QaDdfb8 See the volume meters on the front there, to the right of the cassette well? The left channel is lower than the one on the right when I play the test tape. Unless I'm missing something about how tape decks work, That Should Not Be Happening. The meters should be dead even. olives black fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Jun 10, 2023 |
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2023 02:24
|
|
|
How much lower? Can you hear the difference?
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2023 02:39
|
|
|
wa27 posted:How much lower? Can you hear the difference? I hear a slight difference between when I hold my ear up to the left speaker and when I hold it up to the right speaker. With the test tone playing, the left channel's level holds at one mark below the 0 line, and the right channel's level holds at one mark above the +5 line.
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2023 02:46
|
|
|
olives black posted:According to the tape seller, the 3000 Hz tone is recorded at the same level on the left and right channels. yeah but….wasn’t this originally about your turntable stylus? And like something about two different tape decks having the same problem? I’m still not any less confused
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2023 02:56
|
|
|
Ok Comboomer posted:yeah but….wasn’t this originally about your turntable stylus? And like something about two different tape decks having the same problem? I’m still not any less confused It was originally about the turntable stylus. After swapping the left and right cables going from the turntable to the Line In ports on the deck, I found that there was still a difference between the left and right channels when I played the same song on the turntable. So... what I did was get a 3000hz test tone tape (which, according to the tape seller, was recorded in mono, so both the left and right channels have the same volume as far as I know). I then stuck that tape into the Nakamichi BX-100, shown in the video above. Again, unless I'm fundamentally misunderstanding how tape decks work, I should see equal measurements on the tape deck's volume meters when I hit Play on the test tape. I do not see that. The left channel's volume measurement holds at one mark below the 0 line, and the right channel's volume measurement holds at one mark above the +5 line. olives black fucked around with this message at 03:11 on Jun 10, 2023 |
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2023 03:07
|
|
|
olives black posted:It was originally about the turntable stylus. After swapping the left and right cables going from the turntable to the Line In ports on the deck, I found that there was still a difference between the left and right channels when I played the same song on the turntable. If there is an issue with volume when you’re using your turntable and 2 different tape decks, I’d be looking at your receiver. Other than that, I have no idea what’s going on. What are the two faders to the right of the VU meters?
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2023 04:50
|
|
|
BigFactory posted:If there is an issue with volume when you’re using your turntable and 2 different tape decks, I’d be looking at your receiver. Other than that, I have no idea what’s going on. What are the two faders to the right of the VU meters? Those are for recording levels. AFAIK those only come into play when Record is pressed. I don't think that the receiver has anything to do with the measurements on the VU meters. Those are measuring one of two things: 1. The levels of a tape being played back 2. The levels of a source that's connected to Line In The turntable has only ever been plugged directly into the tape deck. It has an onboard phono pre-amp that's switched to Line In. It's not going through the receiver or some other chain.
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2023 04:56
|
|
|
olives black posted:It was originally about the turntable stylus. After swapping the left and right cables going from the turntable to the Line In ports on the deck, I found that there was still a difference between the left and right channels when I played the same song on the turntable. I dunno sounds like you have an old cap or something sapping current inside the tape deck or something
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2023 05:05
|
|
|
Mederlock posted:I dunno sounds like you have an old cap or something sapping current inside the tape deck or something Great. Sounds like I'm taking this thing back in. Thanks for the info!
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2023 05:11
|
|
|
1st time getting into Vinyl, bought a AT-LPW30 off of Amazon. it shows up with the speed selector dial broken (cover wasn't glued, spins around without moving the switch, comes right off. Drive belt seemingly was stretched out, after setting everything up it played very slow and at inconsistent speed then after 20-30 seconds of playing just could not even turn the turntable even without the tonearm / needle on the record. Just sent it all back for a refund, ordered a replacement directly from the AT website instead of Amazon... fun start to this so far.
|
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2023 00:14
|
|
|
olives black posted:Update: Just got the test tape and threw it in the Nakamichi BX-100. Yeah, the left channel is WAY off. There are level adjustment pots inside your tape deck. Google a service manual to find them. That's where you adjust the output volume of each channel to make them even,
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2023 16:00
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 26, 2024 09:34 |
|
|
evobatman posted:There are level adjustment pots inside your tape deck. Google a service manual to find them. That's where you adjust the output volume of each channel to make them even, Gonna give this a shot. Thanks!
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2023 16:06
|
|