octodigitus Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Hello helpful vinyl collectors, I've been offered an unused Sherwood ST-890 turntable with a new Grado Black stylus for $130 USD. I'm wondering if that's a good price. I've found next to no information about this turntable on the Internet. My budget is right around there; if I had the money I'd go for a Pro-ject Carbon... but alas.... It's pretty much between this and an Audio-Technica PL60, which was played for me in my local TT shop, and I was really impressed with how it sounded considering its price. The guy at the shop tells me the Sherwood/Grado setup should sound far better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnelltech Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 I can't imagine the Sherwood combo not being superior in just about every way. The only advantage to the AT unit is the built in preamp (which is pretty bad, but usable) whereas with the Sherwood you have to use a receiver with phono input or seperate preamp. The Sherwood has a much better cart on it and can be upgraded while you can only replace the stylus on the integrated cart on the AT. I couldn't find a pic of the st890, but found a couple of similar models (st880) and you'll at least have basic adjustments like VTF. Finally, the Sherwood looks to be a direct drive unit vs belt drive on the AT (just highlighting the difference). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circuit bored records Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 desperate preamp These are the best, it's like a regular pre amp but it's really needy and willing to settle for anything weinerdog 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnelltech Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Yeah... typing on my phone is apparently not my thing. That should read as "seperate preamp". Edited because I'm still a fat fingered idiot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
octodigitus Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 Yeah... typing on my phone is apparently not my thing. That should read as "desperate preamp". lolz So I went ahead and got the Sherwood ST-890 and a new Grado Prestige Green for $140. I'm not going to get my money's worth until I upgrade my terrible speakers, however (looking at a pair of used Technics SB-LX5 for $30, any opinions?). The manual for the Grado says to set tracking to 1.5g, and the guy at my local TT shop said never to set the anti-skate to anything above 1g but the player skips at those settings. I'm finding a lot of conflicting opinions on how to set these. Currently I have the tracking at 2g and the anti-skate at 1.5g. Any advice here would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Are you taking the tracking weight from the scale on the weight on the tonearm or are you using a proper weighing scale? The scale on the weight on a tonearm is vary rarely accurate so your weights could be way out. Grado are pretty good with the figures they give so I would say that you need to check it properly as if you run it too heavy for too long you can damage the suspension on the stylus, especially if it is 2nd hand and you don't know it's history. If it's skipping you either set it too light or the stylus or suspension is worn but you would hear the worn stylus so probably too light. If it's too light it's not sitting in the grooves properly and trying to pull into the centre and by putting excessive tracking weight on you are pulling it back, which is how styluses that pull to one side can be caused. The anti skating weight as a rough guide should be half or under of the tracking weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
octodigitus Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 Is the tonearm scale inaccurate even if it's been calibrated? As in, floating the tonearm and zeroing the scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Yes they tend to be, I have always found them to be at least 10% and more often 20% or 25% out at 2g. If you have the arm at 2g on the scale now can you back the anti skate weight out 0.75g and it still track properly? If it does it sounds like your arm is the usual 0.4 to 0.5g out at 2g but if not it does sound like something is not right either with alignment or wear. That said a Grado should track well enough anywhere between 1 and 2g with the correct anti skate And when the deck is running is the needle tracking in the centre left to right of the cartridge when looking from the front and also not sinking a huge amount when the needle drops into the groove, ie. the height difference from where the needle is when it is not on a record and where it rests when it is is called deflection. which is the amount the shaft deflects, a Grado at 1.5g should not deflect a huge amount. Also is it the same on a few records or do you know the record you tried was ok? You said you got it from a shop so did they not set it up for you? If it's not to much hassle I would take it back, don't go in all guns blazing just ask for a bit of help, just say you are having a bit of difficulty getting it to track properly and ask them to take a look and show you where to set it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
octodigitus Posted November 10, 2013 Author Share Posted November 10, 2013 This thing skips like crazy even if I set the tracking to 3g, on records I know are fine, as well as brand-new ones. Currently I have it set at 2.25g tracking and 1g anti-skate and it seems to stay right in the center, and deflection is minimal. Maybe the scale is just way off. Also... it skips to the next groove, it doesn't repeat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 That sounds like the scale is way off, pick up a cheap scale on ebay it's worth it. If the scale is ok and the suspension is gone on the stylus it's part of the stylus assembly so a new stylus assembly would fix it. Being a Grado putting a stylus in that's higher up the food chain is a good upgrade as in the Grado range like Nagaoka the carts stay the same and the stylus is the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 If the tracking force is remotely accurate, you're destroying your records and your stylus, so STOP. Is the turntable level? You need to verify this with a bubble level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 If the scale was remotely accurate at 3g for a cartridge that should run at 1.5g the cartridge body would be sitting on or very close to the record surface. That said if there is minimal deflection it could be that the stylus suspension is done and it doesn't deflect much because there is no movement to give any more and it would then site very low, there should be very little deflection and a good 2mm between the cartridge body and the record surface on a Grado when playing. Simple answer get a scale and then you will know one way or the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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