jameshays Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Started my vinyl journey about 6 months ago when I had my sl-1700mkii completely reconditioned. I then purchased a AT95e cart to replace the old factory unit. It was a huge improvement but I still heard the dreaded inner groove distortion. I've tried various protractors and different alignment settings and the problem still persists. Last month while garage sale-ing I came across a beautiful used Pioneer PL-530. i can't tell what cart is installed but it is not factory, nor is the headshell. i took it to the same tech and had it completely gone through and reconditioned. He did not make any adjustments on the cart. Got the unit home and got out my protractors but before I started adjusting I thought I'd hear how it sounded as is. Been playing all sorts of stuff and I'll be damned if it doesn't sound just great..noticeably better than my Technics set up and I really can't even notice any inner groove distortion. HOWEVER... According to my protractors, the cart is WAY off, not even close in fact, and very angled to the right(looking down on headshell) So…the big question. Do I adjust per the protractor in hopes that the good will even get better or do I leave it as is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circuit bored records Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Proper cartridge alignment trumps worrying that it may sound worse. I think you should definitely align it, because you could be doing damage to your records which will make them sound worse regardless of how well-aligned the cart is. The fact of the matter is that the AT95 is a cheap ass cart that would probably retain some IGD even when aligned on the worlds best protractor. If the new cart sounds better that's because it probably is better. Same with the table. In my opinion comparing an SL-1700 to a PL-530 is like comparing a VW Lupo to a Porsche. Aligning the cart properly will, in all likelihood, not make your sound quality worse, and will help in preserving your record collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameshays Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 Proper cartridge alignment trumps worrying that it may sound worse. I think you should definitely align it, because you could be doing damage to your records which will make them sound worse regardless of how well-aligned the cart is. The fact of the matter is that the AT95 is a cheap ass cart that would probably retain some IGD even when aligned on the worlds best protractor. If the new cart sounds better that's because it probably is better. Same with the table. In my opinion comparing an SL-1700 to a PL-530 is like comparing a VW Lupo to a Porsche. Aligning the cart properly will, in all likelihood, not make your sound quality worse, and will help in preserving your record collection. Perfect. Thanks so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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