Sister Ray Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Hello. I have been enjoying my Pro-ject Xpression III for about a year. However, the other night I went to listen to some LPs and was somewhat alarmed to discover a marked decrease in sound quality. It sounded like the needle had a big lump of dust on it. However, it did not. I tried several other records, but all suffered from this same problem. Anyway, today I tried again. And, unfortunately the problem persists. Any ideas on the cause? I guess maybe I need a new stylus? If so, suggestions? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little blue penguin Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 The problem could be any of the following; The stylus. The Cartridge. The tonearm wiring. The setup of the arm (tracking weight, VTA, antiskate, catridge alignment) The interconnect (assuming it's seperate). The Phono Stage. If anyone else uses the system interogate them to see if they flicked any switches/settings to contribute to the change in performance. Probably the first thing that you should do after cleaning the stylus, is to remove the cartridge from the headshell, clean all the contacts, then re-install the cartridge, setting up the arm from scratch. This is a good housekeeping exercise so it's not a wasted effort. If that doesn't fix the problem you'll need to try the TT with another Phono Stage and then another cartridge to see which is the culpret. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegaspeedy Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Phono stage or cart if nothing else has changed on the TT. What are you using? Valve based... Are all the wires that plug into the cart secure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sister Ray Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 omegaspeedy;103844 wrote: Phono stage or cart if nothing else has changed on the TT. What are you using? Valve based.. . Are all the wires that plug into the cart secure? Hmmm...Okay thanks guys. Too many potential culprits... Connections to cartridge seem okay. I am using a Tube Box II. Cloth_ears I will go through your checklist tomorrow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcooze Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 How old is your baby? How often used? Any warranty left (if needed)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sister Ray Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 jcooze;103862 wrote: How old is your baby? How often used? Maybe 14 months old. Used almost daily. jcooze;103862 wrote: Any warranty left (if needed)? I don't know. Ernie???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegaspeedy Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Tubebox, 14months daily, get the tubes tested. Someone on the forum is bound to have a tube tester. May be it's just failed or failing. 12AX7 or 12AU7 type valve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie1553552694 Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 omegaspeedy;103866 wrote: Tubebox, 14months daily, get the tubes tested. Someone on the forum is bound to have a tube tester. May be it's just failed or failing. 12AX7 or 12AU7 type valve? Covered that in a PM... My thinking exactly James. They're pretty cheap glass unless you want to venture into NOS territory, then there are a few members who can suggest glass upgrades. Could be a timely move... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little blue penguin Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Sister Ray;103861 wrote: Cloth_ears I will go through your checklist tomorrow... I think that better and more focused advice has now been offered and that you should look at the Tube Box as being the likey suspect. If you have (or can borrow) another phono stage to try your TT on, that would allow you to prove this either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Y Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Gidday Sister Ray. What is the nature of the 'decrease in sound quality'? Does it manifest itself on both ch's? If so, I would focus on the areas that affect overall performance, eg... Tonearm function Turntable function Power supply or connection If not, then that points you to a specific channel problem.... Then, start a process of swapping ch connectors. I wouldn't necess suspect the Tube Box, tubes should last many many yrs & sound degradation of the tubes themselves is usually a v gradual process, not sudden... & not both ch's suddenly. The PSU is another thing. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilNZ Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Exactly what I was thinking. Is it a decrease of quality in both channels or just one? It would be weird indeed for both those tubes to go bung simultaneously...those tubes should last years in that application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegaspeedy Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Is it a one tube LR plate application or two tube? I was thinking one tube application tube failure. If two tubes then yes likely just one channel would go first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sister Ray Posted September 24, 2009 Author Share Posted September 24, 2009 Okay. First, thank you all for the advice. I am, pretty sure both the channels have this problem. However, I will check this evening when I return home. As I stated in my original post, my turntable currently sounds as if the needle is covered with dust. Everything is unclear and generally unpleasant. In addition, something I failed to mention, LPs which I know to be in fine condition are sometimes skipping. Thus my original suspicion of stylus problem. So, Ernie suggested taking my stylus to Shore Hi Fi for a check up. I think I will do this over the weekend. BTW I am rather ignorant of the workings of my turntable beyond the actual playing of records. The oft-mentioned ease of set up of the pro-ject tone arm really pushed my technical skills to the limit. Thus I would prefer to use the services of professionals if at all possibe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Y Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 OK... this does now point to the Tonearm-Cartr adjustment, specifically tracking downforce. And possibly... - Antiskating - Cartridge alignment (does the cart gen. look as if the stylus/cart body is at 90deg to the spindle?) - cartridge bolt/s become loose? Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Gently acquainting the stylus tip with a strip of dry Magic Eraser (available under the Chux brand name from New World supermarkets for almost nothing) would be the quickest, easiest, cheapest, and most telling way of assessing whether or not stylus contamination is the cause of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvey66 Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 I had the suspension on a stylus collapse and it behaved very similar, I would suggest you drop the needle onto a record (not playing so you don't stuff the vinyl) and see if it looks ok. You dont have kids in the house do you. :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sister Ray Posted September 26, 2009 Author Share Posted September 26, 2009 Owen Y;103940 wrote: OK... this does now point to the Tonearm-Cartr adjustment, specifically tracking downforce. Ha ha. Okay. Thanks Owen. Nice diagnosis. Very simple to fix. I wasn't aware this could change spontaneously, I'm sure no one touched my t/table. Thus didn't think of it. Thank you all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 I'm glad you got it sorted Sister Ray. I know how distressing these things can be, especially when there is no obvious cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie1553552694 Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Good call Owen. D: glad you got it sorted without too much hassle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Y Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 Oh good, another happy customer Tonearms are mysterious things, shrouded in unexplainable ritual... it's not unusual for tonearms to spontaneously misbehave, esp if you have not recently appeased the analogue gremlins by performing the required purification ceremonies before playing records... carbon brushing the vinyl, cleaning the stylus, dusting the platter, checking the subchassis levelness...etc. ( In the TT manual you should find the instructions for setting tracking weight/force, firstly by 'balancing' the tonearm, simultaneously zero-ing the counterwt dial, then setting the tracking wt,... all whilst taking extreme care with the unprotected stylus.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts