The Vinyl Thread

[DaveInDenver]

@DaveInDenver, I think you're right that the hollow resonance is inherent to the turntable. Here's a video of what I'm hearing.

What would be the relative volume of that? I mean, like "Is it live or is it Memorex?" level there? That's worse than I'd call mine, which is low enough frequency whomp kind of sound that correlates to 1 RPM on the platter. IOW, it's probably a slight out of round on that bronze bushing or spindle.

Yours I'd have thought as electrical hum first but that would be present and probably would change when you put your hand on the arm. But none-the-less I'd personally check the wires on the cartridge are snug and in good shape. Perhaps also make sure it's wired right (e.g. colors match on the wires and cartridge). There's a left and right signal and ground and if one's reversed I wonder if that might make a ground loop or phase issue. Just thinking aloud there.

Do the easy stuff: spindle oil, new belt and maybe new motor suspension. And if it's still there and bugs you (it's impossible to unhear things!) your solution might be ask Santa for a new TT.

BTW, you might flip your spindle and make sure it's like mine. Pro-Ject builds a pretty nice table on the top side with your carbon arm so they might have improved the drive since they made mine.

 

[Hulk]

What would be the relative volume of that? I mean, like "Is it live or is it Memorex?" level there? That's worse than I'd call mine, which is low enough frequency whomp kind of sound that correlates to 1 RPM on the platter. IOW, it's probably a slight out of round on that bronze bushing or spindle.

I had the amp turned WAY up. It's not really that bad.

 

[Crash]

Yup, meant bronze, wrote brass. As for combining moly grease and oil isn’t that what happens when an inner axle bearing seal fails? We all know what a nasty, gooey mess that makes. 🤷

 

[DaveInDenver]

Yup, meant bronze, wrote brass. As for combining moly grease and oil isn’t that what happens when an inner axle bearing seal fails? We all know what a nasty, gooey mess that makes. 🤷

Yeah, the amount we're talking here is I take a toothpick and dot the end with the grease. If I had pure moly on hand I'd use that. To be honest even just oil should be fine but as we've discussed I wanted that support function when pushing down on the clamp. When I was changing the cartridge in my grease gun doing my u-joints the solution became obvious. The side side said "Valvoline extreme pressure" and the light bulb, as it is, illuminated.

 

[Crash]

Reminds me of when I worked at Climax mine back in the mid-70's. I brought home a mason jar of pure molybdenum. Can't remember what I used it for, if it was used at all. The stuff is used in so many things, including toothpaste. A story that I heard from an old miner was that the Germans, pre-WWII, bought all the moly the US would sell them before it was determined that the Wehrmacht was using it as a alloy in strengthening steel.

 

[Crash]

Hey Matt, how about a picture of your setup showing where the ‘table is located and what stand it’s on? Can’t tell from the pic you have posted.

 

[Hulk]

@Crash, here's my setup. I have a retro turntable stand that holds LPs and has a sliding door that looks like a speaker. On the left shelf, I have a Cambridge Audio phono pre-amp. There is a long run of high-quality RCA cables under the floor, connecting to my old Harmon/Kardon AVR30 that I bought new in 1993. The AVR30 is below our TV which is on the wall behind me in these photos. The main speakers are in-wall Klipsch units that I installed in 2002 or so; these are behind me as well. The speaker that you can see in-wall over the turntable (to the left of the light) is one of 2 surround-sound speakers for watching movies and TV -- I never use surround when listening to music. These are Phase Technology speakers that I bought from ListenUp in maybe 1999. Finally, on the left side of the long couch there is a very large Klipsch subwoofer hidden under an end table.



Here's a close-up of the left shelf with the phono pre-amp.



Here's a shot of the turntable stand with the door slid to the left. The cloth grill on the door makes it look like an old console, but there is no sound coming from this piece of furniture. It's just a fancy shelf.

 

[Crash]

@Crash, here's my setup. I have a retro turntable stand that holds LPs and has a sliding door that looks like a speaker. On the left shelf, I have a Cambridge Audio phono pre-amp. There is a long run of high-quality RCA cables under the floor, connecting to my old Harmon/Kardon AVR30 that I bought new in 1993. The AVR30 is below our TV which is on the wall behind me in these photos. The main speakers are in-wall Klipsch units that I installed in 2002 or so; these are behind me as well. The speaker that you can see in-wall over the turntable (to the left of the light) is one of 2 surround-sound speakers for watching movies and TV -- I never use surround when listening to music. These are Phase Technology speakers that I bought from ListenUp in maybe 1999. Finally, on the left side of the long couch there is a very large Klipsch subwoofer hidden under an end table.

View attachment 91998

Here's a close-up of the left shelf with the phono pre-amp.

View attachment 91997

Here's a shot of the turntable stand with the door slid to the left. The cloth grill on the door makes it look like an old console, but there is no sound coming from this piece of furniture. It's just a fancy shelf.

View attachment 91996

Looks cool and I like the setup. Retro works! Good to see the arrangement isn’t hard into a corner which could add to rumble with music playing. I’m sure you have the ‘table leveled up properly. If you’ve inspected, cleaned and lubed the spindle bearing and are still hearing offensive levels of rumble then, perhaps, it is time for a new table. Any scratches or indentations on the ball would require replacement of the ball. 👍

 

[OHUZJ100]

@Hulk I have a similar setup to you, I noticed that there is feedback from the acrylic lid when I play records. Is this what you are experiencing? Additionally I have noticed that you can just passively hear the motor that is driving the belt. Have you tried changing the platter mat? Maybe it is hearsay but that was one of the first things I bought for my setup.

 

[Hulk]

...still hearing offensive levels of rumble then, perhaps, it is time for a new table.

Honestly, I don't think it is any worse than it was when I bought the table new 6 years ago. I was just thinking that isolators might quiet it down. I will put a drop of 3-in-1 oil in there to see if it fixes the problem.

@Hulk I have a similar setup to you, I noticed that there is feedback from the acrylic lid when I play records. Is this what you are experiencing? Additionally I have noticed that you can just passively hear the motor that is driving the belt. Have you tried changing the platter mat? Maybe it is hearsay but that was one of the first things I bought for my setup.

It's definitely better without the lid. I remove it completely when I'm doing more than casual listening.

The acrylic platter that I installed is supposedly very neutral and is recommended to be used without a mat. I haven't heard much difference with or without, honestly.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Honestly, I don't think it is any worse than it was when I bought the table new 6 years ago. I was just thinking that isolators might quiet it down. I will put a drop of 3-in-1 oil in there to see if it fixes the problem.



It's definitely better without the lid. I remove it completely when I'm doing more than casual listening.

The acrylic platter that I installed is supposedly very neutral and is recommended to be used without a mat. I haven't heard much difference with or without, honestly.

The Pro-Ject acrylic platter is made to run without a mat. If you put one on your records will sit high relative to the arm geometry. If you have much 180g or 200g wax it's already a little higher than optimal as it is. The stock felt probably won't raise things too much but then again that mat was mostly in my experience only good for sticking to the back of my records anyway. So a proper mat with some thickness and density would certainly screw up the inverse angle of the dangle such that it wouldn't be proportional to the heat of the beat.

 

[Corbet]

Well it took me long enough but this arrived at my local audio storefront.

 

[Hulk]

Well it took me long enough but this arrived at my local audio storefront.

Score! You're gonna love it.

 

[Crash]

Very nice choice, Corbet and I like the white! I second Hulk’s comment. 👍👍

 

[Corbet]

I chose white as it’s buried into an armoire. So the light color makes it easier to see in the low light.

Got it hooked up and spinning Jethro Tull - Aqualung. This is the first album I remember listening to with my uncle as a kid.

 

[Corbet]

Moved my uncle’s LP’s into the house today. Everything other than the Garth Brooks boxed set. Found an old program sandwiched in-between a couple.

 

[Crash]

The Tull program is a very nice find! You never know what you might run across in old record sleeves. I found an unused Woodstock three day pass in, what else, the original Woodstock album. Also found the New York Times obituary of Jimi Hendrix in Electric Ladyland.
How are the records sounding on the new deck?

 

[Corbet]

Everything sounds great.

 

[Cruisertrash]

Been watching this thread for a bit and haven't jumped in yet. Like Corbet, all my stuff is in an armoire, which works out pretty well. Early 70s Sansui 3000 receiver and a late 60s Pioneer PL-41 belt drive turntable with Sansui SP-2500 speakers. You might spot it below but I also have a cheap Logitech Bluetooth receiver. I recapped the receiver last year, and about 6 months ago I put an A-T cartridge on the turntable, rebuilt the thrust washer, put on a new belt, lubed the motor, and dialed in the needle bearings on the armature. It’s been sounding great - until tonight when I heard a little distortion on a vocal note in a Judee Sill song. I’m going to play it on a different system soon to see if that’s in the recording.

Things I still need to do: recap the speakers’ internal crossovers and find somewhere else in my small house for the speakers so we get a better soundstage.

 

[Crash]

Matt, I was just reading an old thread on Needles And Grooves and it was mentioned that the early Pro-Ject model that you have is notorious for motor noise being transmitted to the stylus. Maybe you need to join Corbet on the new ‘table train? 😁