Time for some realignment I think. Pay attention to the offset angle of the cantilever. It isn't enough for the stylus to be on the points the cantilever has to be in line with the grids too. If the cantilever gets misaligned during play but not when static it is most likely an anti skate problem. Cantilever pointing away from the spindle means there's not enough of it and pointing towards it means way too much. Good luck!
Thanks JackD201
I will be looking into this. Right now the cantilever is pointing toward the center of the record(only when the needle is dropped. As I said before the the anti skating has stayed the same for a year or so with no issues, and I followed Projects Audio guidelines for that. Is it just lossening the screws on the Cart and shifting until it right for adjustment?
Hi Undertow,
cartridge suspensions break-in or even just break over time just as twitch says. There still may be a possibility that your cart isn't shot. I'm guessing this because it still manages to track. If your suspension has softened you'll need less anti-skate. You may also need less tracking force as compared to when it was new. You can first lighten it a bit into the lower half of your carts operating range and then adjust the anti-skate so when the record and stylus make contact the cantilever won't sway in one direction or the other. If you're feeling brave, find a blank sided LP. The arm should stay in the same place when centered but it's okay too to have it meander a bit inward.
If you've got it steady but the cantilever is still pointing inward then it's time to get the handy protractor out. If there is still some distortion after alignment, take a look at your rake angle. Grab a magnifying glass and look at your stylus from the right side. It should be standing straight up or tilted forward. If it is tilted backwards as though the cantilever is plowing the stylus into the record, then that means the now very soft suspension needs some relief. Adjust your VTA so that the stylus sits back up again.
If all this fails then perhaps there really may be some damage to your cantilever if you're using an MM cart or worse a permanent misalignment within the gap if you're using an MC cart. I hope this isn't the case. I would exhaust all possibilities first though.
Let me know how things go. A couple of pictures would help the diagnosis too.
