Screeching (distorting) female voice, help

[hajj]

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a used JVC NiViCo turntable and after listening in the shop to some 9 cartridges, ended up choosing a NOS Audio Technica AT155LC cartridge.
Sweet deal, since i got the turntable and the cartridge for 40$.
And so my turntable newbie experience began.

A couple of days ago, as I was playing an album from a french singer called "Barbara" I noticed that when her voice hits the higher registers, it become terribly distorted and screechy.
The screeching seems to be more pronounced in one channel than the other. The disc was mint, no dust or any visible damage to it.

So I went about troubleshooting the problem. So far I've changed everything (Phono pre, amp, speakers, cables) and the screeching persists.

It is worth pointing out that I have not been able to do all the adjustment for the arm as i lack the proper equipment. I have adjusted the tracking weight, but that's about it.

Any idea what might be causing this? Or could it just be that it's a bad recording?

Thanks

Nick

[Conrad Hoffman]

There are certainly bad recordings. There are also used recordings that look flawless, but have been damaged by one or more plays on terrible equipment. I have a few like that and they're basically hopeless. Even dubbed to digital, no amount of processing or repair will fix the screeching spots. You could have a worn stylus or a misalignment problem. You can download a free universal alignment template from my site- click on my name.

[hajj]

Thanks Conrad! I've downloaded the alignment template generator so i'll look into the cart's alignment soon.

Just one other thing, I have noticed this distortion only on that particular album, so it could be the recording, but on the other hand, the singer's voice is known to be of a very peculiar register, going from low to very high and everything in between, so I fear that there's a problem with the turntable/tonearm/cartridge setup that only such a singer's voice can point out.

I might be very wrong, but it's always worth checking with the experts.

Thanks again

[h_a]

Given that you use a NOS-cartridge this sounds very much like a tracking problem to me; cartridges are the one piece of gear that does not get better with age. High frequencies are more difficult to track, so this is where the weakness shows up first. Proper alignment will certainly help a bit.

Of course there exist also simply badly cut records.

Hannes

[bobrown14]

You could always try a "test" lp that goes thru all the audio registers and give you an idea if the cart is set up properly. There's a lot of things that could be causing your issue. If you are new to vinyl, I'd suspect dirt on the stylus then alignment/setup. Oh and be sure your tt is LEVEL.... it's a crap shoot going from your OP. Try this ... get a LED flashlight and shine it on the tip of the stylus.... see anything but a nice shiny tip? It could be as simple as dust/grunge on the needle (my bet) all the way up to your amp/speakers.

What are you cleaning your LPs with? Could be some grunge in the grooves and your stylus picks that up and distorts the high end.. VERY common.

Cheers,
Bob

[sreten]

Originally Posted by Conrad Hoffman

There are also used recordings that look flawless, but have
been damaged by one or more plays on terrible equipment.
I have a few like that and they're basically hopeless.

Hi,

This is worth repeating. Used records damaged by poor equipment
or a worn stylus or too low tracking weight are a hopeless cause,
and typically one channel is more damaged than the other.
The mistracking damage done is permanently gouged into the groove,
and you are stuffed. They can look perfect, but they are not.

It will sound like something is wrong with your deck.
One record will not cause a problem unique to that record.
If you have a problem it will be apparent on several records.

The AT155LC is far too good for a $40 used turntable ....
A genuine new stylus is $180 .... I'd put it in the cupboard
for when I'd get a really serious deck and use something like
the Red Ed elliptical : http://www.edsaunders.com/reded.htm

Won't be as good of course, but then again a cheap turntable
/arm isn't going to get anywhere near what an AT155LC can do.

rgds, sreten.

[sreten]

Hi, If you don't have a carbon fibre record brush, get one, rgds, sreten.

[Nanook]

...suggests that the arm (the pivot point) is too high. I might suggest a thin "auxiliary" mat (approximately equal in thickness to the difference between the usual good sounding records and the thickness of the screechy record) so that you will not have to adjust the tonearm height (pivot point) when you want to listen to "difficult" albums.