turntable help

when I put on the new cart I used one of those print-out protractors to align it, turned out to be a waste of time because if you're using the AT headshell it's already aligned properly.

Microline stylii absolutely changed my life. No inner groove distortion ever again. It was incredible to realize that the final song on every side of every record didn't have to sound distorted.

I can highly recommend the AT-VM95ML. I've also had great results with the AT440MLb.

I splurged a bit last year and got my first moving coil type stylus and it is a revelation. AT-OC9XML, also by Audio Technica.

for me the biggest audio upgrade was going to a microline stylus, the AT-VM95ML if you're curious. it was $150 for the cart (if you have an AT turntable you already have the headshell) and not only did the records sound better but it basically eliminated inner groove distortion. plus they last like 2-3x as long as regular carts.

I want to fourth this recommendation. Only problem is they spoil you for normal stylii and when it's time to replace they're obvs a fair bit more spendy than straight ellipticals (but totally worth it)

I found out about it via the Steve Hoffman forums, I hate to say it but if you have serious audio questions you may want to ask those folks. they're obnoxious but they know their shit.

I had that same Denon model before my dad gave me his Pro-Ject debut, it was a solid deck!!! I did have to get under there and blindly twist a tiny screw to adjust the speed at one point.

and yeah I have that same at stylus too! wow, inner groove distortion just melts away

Buying used basically doubles your spending power.

I have a Rega P2. I got a replaced the Rega cartridge with the same thing due to a broken stylus a few months back and have been having intermittent tracking problems since then that have worsened recently. It started skipping on dirty records originally but now even on records that I know are clean and have never had issues. In addition to skipping where it repeats the same groove, it appears to be skipping to a different spot without actually repeating.

I have adjusted the tracking force, which seemed to work a while back but just tried it again and it didn't seem to help.

Could this be caused by a worn belt? The table is 6 years old and has the original belt.

Could it be the alignment of the cartridge? I had a lot more trouble installing this cartridge than in the past. The bolts didn't fit nearly as well, but I think I got it and sound wise I don't hear any audible issues other than the skipping.

I am decent at trouble shooting audio issues but this is very strange.

got a

Not the belt, that would affect the speed/pitch. does your P2 have anti skate? it could definitely also be the alignment of the cartridge or the tracking force, it's probably a combination of all three. The last time I replaced the cartridge on my P6 I brought it into a shop to have it properly set up and it was well worth the hundred bucks or whatever.

Thanks. The P2 doesn't have anti-skate and I have been feeling like it has been skating lately. Seems to want to fall off the outside of the record if I don't get it solidly in the run-in groove, which has never previously been an issue.

I realigned the cartridge and reset the the tracking force and it played ok yesterday. So far so good.

I'm going to replace the Rega in the next two years. I don't like their closed system, lack of a ground wire, and lack of anti-skate.

iirc the regas use a weird geometry?

Probably.

I'm highly suspicious of a single company thinking they have the special sauce on a technology that has been solved since the 1960s.

you can try one of the rega protractors here towards the bottom of the page https://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge-alignment-protractors.shtml

I have tried those in the past and found them confusing. Maybe I will give it another try.