I notice dust is building up on the end of the cart. Not sure what to do about this. I had the idea of tying a string between the spindle and tonearm rest, to hold a piece of toilet paper against the record. But this will not prevent dust exhumed by the needle from sticking to the cart, and it may cause static and other problems. Unless perhaps it was a dryer sheet. Hmm.
Myself, I'd clean the end of the cart with a soft artist's brush. To prevent, or at least slow down recurrence, I think you'd be much better off going with Salas's suggestion.
Toilet paper is problematic in two ways. First, it's abrasive - the fibres are hard enough to wear away vinyl, and second, it's a source of dust - as it wears away it will contribute to the problem.
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I am getting what seems to be mistracking with the louder parts of Helen Reddy, especially brass and especially with the Alpert Herb. I don't know whether this is normal for this cart. It was this way before I adjusted the tracking force as well. Not sure if this is normal for the AT311EP. One definite correlation is that with every record causing mistracking, I can hear the record screeching when I turn the speakers off. Other records are dead quiet.
Cleaning one of my records with wood glue seemed to help, so I've got one drying on a broken turntable.
Still don't have the Pyle. Just my luck, have to wait till Monday. Familial charity donated to the family vynil archive preservation fund, so we now have many anti-static sleeves on the way, and an anti-static carbon fiber mat.
I found a 2" diameter steel bearing, which I sit on the record on top of the 45" adapter. It seems to make a difference, but not much. I oiled the platter bearing with PTFE oil.
Cleaning one of my records with wood glue seemed to help, so I've got one drying on a broken turntable.
Still don't have the Pyle. Just my luck, have to wait till Monday. Familial charity donated to the family vynil archive preservation fund, so we now have many anti-static sleeves on the way, and an anti-static carbon fiber mat.
I found a 2" diameter steel bearing, which I sit on the record on top of the 45" adapter. It seems to make a difference, but not much. I oiled the platter bearing with PTFE oil.
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Just to spite me, the package arrived today.
The construction is sturdy and metal, that's about all that's good. It uses the JRC 4558 IC inside. Green mylars and the cheapest electrolytics available in the signal path. It's still better than what I was using though. Part of the distortion was apparently the preamp. Pops and ticks are louder, the old preamp's distortion was probably clipping them. But loud noises are less distorted. Treble is a little clearer. Mid-bass reverberations are clearer, making for better realism in the soundstage.
I glued the Helen Reddy record and that helped. The groove dirt seems to make mistracking worse.
The construction is sturdy and metal, that's about all that's good. It uses the JRC 4558 IC inside. Green mylars and the cheapest electrolytics available in the signal path. It's still better than what I was using though. Part of the distortion was apparently the preamp. Pops and ticks are louder, the old preamp's distortion was probably clipping them. But loud noises are less distorted. Treble is a little clearer. Mid-bass reverberations are clearer, making for better realism in the soundstage.
I glued the Helen Reddy record and that helped. The groove dirt seems to make mistracking worse.