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Turntable only producing sound on left speaker


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So this is my Dad's turntable that he's had before I was born. This baby still works great, but the only problem is it's only generating sound coming from the left channel. I noticed this when I would listen to music and I would hear only the lead guitar and melodies, and not so much any rhythm and lead vocals. It's definitely not my speakers. It's definitely not the pre-amp because it's about 2-3 years old. I'm thinking it's the audio cables that are attached to the turntable itself.

Here are some pics of the turntable:

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I hope someone can help me out. A big thanks in advanced!

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The cartridge doesn't feel loose. But when I examined the soldered metal connected to the wires in the back of the cartridge, one of them felt loose. The others were snug.

Bottom wire, closest to camera.

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It's colored white. The other wires are red, blue, and green, if that information matters haha...

But with it feeling a little loose indicate I would need to tighten it or just replace the cartridge?

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i don't think it's your cartridge. i had this problem with mine, and still do from time to time.

it's the audio cables coming from my turntable to my preamp, there is a short in one of them, but if i twist it the right way and tape it to the back of my record shelf its works fine.

i would try bending/twisting those while playing something and see if you might get some sound out of the right channel.

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i don't think it's your cartridge. i had this problem with mine, and still do from time to time.

it's the audio cables coming from my turntable to my preamp, there is a short in one of them, but if i twist it the right way and tape it to the back of my record shelf its works fine.

i would try bending/twisting those while playing something and see if you might get some sound out of the right channel.

i had a similar problem with one of the RCA jacks in the back of the turntable. Sound would cut in and out as you moved the plug around. The internal soldering/connection had gone bad and was shorting the channel out. This many involve some internal exploratory surgery.

I also had a problem where one side just sounded like complete crap - distorted, muddy, low volume, etc. In that case, the cart had just gone bad - it was old. Once i installed a new cart things were back to normal.

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when this happens to me, it has always been the connection on the cartridge. re-check that all wires are connected clearly as others have said, and if you are able to disconnect the headshell/cartridge from the tonearm (ala technics1200), you can do the highly efficient NES technique (just blow in the tonearm -- dust might have built up in there) or use some compressed air.

/iusefancymethods

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i don't think it's your cartridge. i had this problem with mine, and still do from time to time.

it's the audio cables coming from my turntable to my preamp, there is a short in one of them, but if i twist it the right way and tape it to the back of my record shelf its works fine.

i would try bending/twisting those while playing something and see if you might get some sound out of the right channel.

Yeah when I had/have the OP's problem it's this.

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So I guess it's been a week since I posted this but..... I got it working!

I removed the cartridge, examined the wiring, and like I said, the white wire was a little loose so I removed it and plugged it back in. I removed the stylus and well and that thing has dust gathered around the plastic area surrounding it. I don't have anything to clean it with except a can of dust remover. Put everything back. I also moved the RCA cord a bit and it's fine. In conclusion, it was just a loose connection in the cartridge.

As far as sound quality, I have my turntable connected to my AIWA stereo and it sounds pretty good. I'm thinking of replacing the stylus and/or the cartridge. Not sure what I'll get though.

Thanks to all of you who posted your suggestions. I'm glad I got this turntable working again. I almost bought a new one this weekend because of all the new records I bought recently. I really wanted to listen to them.

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Im also having a similar problem. The left speaker is quieter than the right. It sounds fine when playing a cd, casette etc. So i know it not poorly connected speaker. My guess it the 16 year ols stylus! So after reading this topic i invested in a new cartridge and awaiting its arrival.

Mine is probably older than that. 20+ years. But my dad barely used it. I'm thinking of getting a whole new cartridge to get with the times. What did you order?

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Im also having a similar problem. The left speaker is quieter than the right. It sounds fine when playing a cd, casette etc. So i know it not poorly connected speaker. My guess it the 16 year ols stylus! So after reading this topic i invested in a new cartridge and awaiting its arrival.

Mine is probably older than that. 20+ years. But my dad barely used it. I'm thinking of getting a whole new cartridge to get with the times. What did you order?

its a technics seperates system which he bought back in the early 90s. It was very rarely used and it was sitting idle in his house... He let me have it after he found his now vintage pioneer table and amp... Its lovely and sounds awsome! I just bought a replacement cart.. A tiny orange thing thats compatible with most tables of that sort. I dont think its anything special but as long as my speakers are balanced properly. But ill let you know how it turns out.

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I got my new stylus today... Tried it out and it still sounds the same.

Its really weird... Its just the left speaker is slightly a little quiete. The guitar solo on pearl jams alive is non existent yet the you can still hear the rest. Also noticed it on an Ataris track... Just goes completely quite when guitars are panned left. Any ideas anyone before istart dismantling my table?!! Thanks in advance.

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I got my new stylus today... Tried it out and it still sounds the same.

Its really weird... Its just the left speaker is slightly a little quiete. The guitar solo on pearl jams alive is non existent yet the you can still hear the rest. Also noticed it on an Ataris track... Just goes completely quite when guitars are panned left. Any ideas anyone before istart dismantling my table?!! Thanks in advance.

Put a dime on the top of the cartridge and play the same album again. If that fixes it, the problem is your setup is wrong. Add a little more weight to the tone arm/check your tracking force and anti skating etc...

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