[Sonny]

So, i've set up my new/used TNT with JMW 10 arm.
I've had the Shelter 501 MKii on my previous scout and JMW-9 arm and loved it!
Thought I'd like this new set up better, but until I get there, there seems to be a couple problems I can't seem to rid:

1 - lots of sibilance on woman's voices, especially Ssss and Fsss / PHsss
2 - seems like as I get closer to the inside half of the LP, this seems to get worse and distortion on instruments as voices start to begin

These are the issues.  I've checked the following:

1 - VTA - looks good, even lowered to see if Sibilance reduces and does, but only 10 -15%
2 - Tracking force set around 1.8 g
3 - Check anti-skating (via twisting the tonearm wires)
4 - Cartridge appears to be set up right, vertical, aligned, based on the JMW jig
5 - The table is Leveled





what's going on????

Anyone have suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
T

[Scottdazzle]

Sonny,

The symptons you described sound like either damage to the stylus or mistracking.  I would look at the stylus first. Could it have gotten damaged (chipped or moved off center) during the installation. 

The second thing I would like at would be to double or triple-check the tracking force to make sure you are at the heavy end of the recommended tracking force range for that cartridge. If the force is too light, the stylus can bounce around inside the groove resulting in sibilance and record wear. 

Third, if the problem is worse on the inner grooves, that would indicate too much or too little antiskate.  Listen to whether it is worse in one channel or the other. If it's in the right channel, there's probably too little antiskate. If in the left, too much antiskate.

Finally, the lower picture looks like the back end of the cartridge may be lower than the front. If so, the tracking angle may be too low.

I hope this helps.

Scott