Planar 2 & VM95ML - right channel noise

[Revolutions]

Been on a journey with this & I’m still not 100% happy with the sound in my right channel.

90s planar 2, and I bought the cartridge about two years ago.

When I first fitted the cartridge I did a rush job with a print-out alignment tool. Loads of clicking on the right channel, esp on 1st few tracks of an lp.

I bought a Rega protractor & aligned the cartridge better. No more clicking but more surface noise & less volume in the right channel. I didn’t notice much as the stereo was setup in a large kitchen & I couldn’t sit directly in front.

Moved house & now I listen to a few hours of vinyl a day. I did some reading and adjusted the skating to max (& matched the weight). Boom, volume issues fixed: sounds glorious. But the noise is still there & now louder.

I’m really close to throwing the tt out the window, marching to a shop & seeing what sounds good. Presume I’ll need to spend a lot of cash to get an equivalent sound, and we all know I’ll get up-sold & walk out with a P6, MM & an Aria.

Is there anything else I could try to get this setup playing at its best before I waste £2k on a new tt? *

Should I try a new cartridge? (Someone who won’t be named had a party & left the tt spinning all night & day with a record on it. Not sure if that would cause significant damage to the needle?)

*let’s be honest here, I bought the tt 2nd hand about 10 years ago & might be itching to upgrade

 

[Al ears]

Your cheapest option would be to try a new cartridge I feel.
There should be no noise, only music.
For the benefit of the other half...... Ditch it and treat yourself!

 

[Revolutions]

Your cheapest option would be to try a new cartridge I feel.
For the benefit of the other half...... Ditch it and treat yourself!

It’s just me. But I could do without spending that much on luxuries for now, so you’re probably right. Any recommendations?

 

[camcroft]

It’s just me. But I could do without spending that much on luxuries for now, so you’re probably right. Any recommendations?

Have you got another cartridge that you could change to to see if you have the same problem. This would eliminate the cause cartridge or turntable. Just a thought.

 

[Revolutions]

Have you got another cartridge that you could change to to see if you have the same problem. This would eliminate the cause cartridge or turntable. Just a thought.

Unfortunately not. Will just have to bite the bullet if I want to find out.

 

[Al ears]

Unfortunately not. Will just have to bite the bullet if I want to find out.

Buy a cheap one....

 

[nopiano]

Buy a cheap one....

Yes, I agree. With the history reported, it might be a sticky bearing or the antiskate playing up.

@Revolutions Is it the Rega arm fitted? If so, the anti skate is usually too strong, so you should set it below the matching number. That makes me wonder if something else is amiss. I’m using the same cartridge on my Technics and it’s a quiet as quiet can be.

If it’s the earlier s-shaped Acos I’ve read the antiskate on that perishes - well the rubber band that adjusts it does.

 

[Revolutions]

Yes, I agree. With the history reported, it might be a sticky bearing or the antiskate playing up.

@Revolutions Is it the Rega arm fitted?

Thanks for the extra info! I’m actually not sure what arm it is. When I put the anti-skate to full, that solved the low volume issue.

On new vinyl, playback is generally pretty excellent. The odd new vinyl has crackles/clicks in the right channel though, and noise is exasperated on older/dirty records. Markedly worse than on the left channel.

In case it helps:

 

[nopiano]

Ok, that’s the Rega arm alright. Almost identical to the one on my Michell, down to the green pip!

I‘m bothered about the low volume. Antiskating cannot change that at all. It merely helps the cartridge traverse the record without too much pull inwards (a function of the angled headshell). Can you experiment by sliding the little green antiskate marker towards you, so it’s set at 0 - zero? It should still play fine, but just to see if the volume changes. If it does there may be a dodgy connection in the headshell.

 

[Al ears]

Ok, that’s the Rega arm alright. Almost identical to the one on my Michell, down to the green pip!

I‘m bothered about the low volume. Antiskating cannot change that at all. It merely helps the cartridge traverse the record without too much pull inwards (a function of the angled headshell). Can you experiment by sliding the little green antiskate marker towards you, so it’s set at 0 - zero? It should still play fine, but just to see if the volume changes. If it does there may be a dodgy connection in the headshell.

Agreed, low volume and right channel noise is not down to anti skating.
I would suspect cartridge or the connections on the back of cartridge.

 

[Revolutions]

Ok, that’s the Rega arm alright. Almost identical to the one on my Michell, down to the green pip!

I‘m bothered about the low volume. Antiskating cannot change that at all. It merely helps the cartridge traverse the record without too much pull inwards (a function of the angled headshell). Can you experiment by sliding the little green antiskate marker towards you, so it’s set at 0 - zero? It should still play fine, but just to see if the volume changes. If it does there may be a dodgy connection in the headshell.

Yep, there’s a definite drop. No more than 1db or so by my ears, ie not huge but enough to let the vocals move slightly to the left & loss of clarity for right-panned instruments.

So, does that mean test with a cheap new cartridge, and maybe new tone arm?

 

[camcroft]

Yep, there’s a definite drop. No more than 1db or so by my ears, ie not huge but enough to let the vocals move slightly to the left & loss of clarity for right-panned instruments.

So, does that mean test with a cheap new cartridge, and maybe new tone arm?

As Al ears said I would check that the cartridge wires are firmly connected even if it means removing them carefully and reinserting them making sure that they are firmly in position and correctly colour coded before you start thinking about spending more money. If the cartridge is at fault you can buy the cheapest model of the VM95 cartridge as they all share the same body / generator and then the ML stylus will work with that.

 

[Al ears]

You could try swapping the phono leads from turntable to amp, I mean switch the Left / Right plugs and see if the issue transfers to the Left channel.
If the Right channel still is the noisy one then issues could be within the amplifier itself.

 

[Gray]

So, does that mean test with a cheap new cartridge

Certainly not before doing the channel swap then the re-connections suggested above.

 

[Revolutions]

As Al ears said I would check that the cartridge wires are firmly connected even if it means removing them carefully and reinserting them making sure that they are firmly in position and correctly colour coded before you start thinking about spending more money. If the cartridge is at fault you can buy the cheapest model of the VM95 cartridge as they all share the same body / generator and then the ML stylus will work with that.

Thanks for the replies everyone 😊

It’s definitely the right channel, flipping the cables was the first thing to try.

I haven’t removed & re-fitted the cart, so that’s an obvious thing I can try. Not sure why I didn’t think of that. I suppose as the connections all look secure. But still. And a chance to re-align and set weight again.

 

[Al ears]

Thanks for the replies everyone 😊

It’s definitely the right channel, flipping the cables was the first thing to try.

I haven’t removed & re-fitted the cart, so that’s an obvious thing I can try. Not sure why I didn’t think of that. I suppose as the connections all look secure. But still. And a chance to re-align and set weight again.

if you swapped the cables as suggested and it was still the right channel that was faulty then its not the cartridge.
Can you explain what happened, exactly, when you did this.

 

[camcroft]

if you swapped the cables as suggested and it was still the right channel that was faulty then its not the cartridge.
Can you explain what happened, exactly, when you did this.

I go a another forum where most people use the same AT cartridge. I have never heard anyone say that theirs is faulty. I also own one and then seem very reliable .

 

[Al ears]

I go a another forum where most people use the same AT cartridge. I have never heard anyone say that theirs is faulty. I also own one and then seem very reliable .

Agreed. Unless it's a wiring issue, still waiting for him to come back and explain exactly what happened when he switched Left and Right phonos, then it could be the preamp stage in whatever amp he is using.
This too is not clear.
Still too many unanswered questions.
We don't appear to be getting very far here......
I think, therefore, his only option is to buy another cheap cartridge and make sure it's wired in properly with the tabs on back being tight, set the correct tracking weight using a proper balance, move the anti skate to 1, and see what happens. This may prove it's a problem in the amp.....
That or possibly borrowing someone else's turntable and trying that with his amp, if this is possible.

 

[camcroft]

Agreed. Unless it's a wiring issue, still waiting for him to come back and explain exactly what happened when he switched Left and Right phonos, then it could be the preamp stage in whatever amp he is using.
This too is not clear.
Still too many unanswered questions.
We don't appear to be getting very far here......
I think, therefore, his only option is to buy another cheap cartridge and make sure it's wired in properly with the tabs on back being tight, set the correct tracking weight using a proper balance, move the anti skate to 1, and see what happens. This may prove it's a problem in the amp.....
That or possibly borrowing someone else's turntable and trying that with his amp, if this is possible.

Looking at a close up of the cartridge wiring they don't seem to be in the right order. I have a AT head shell with cartridge came as a complete unit from AT and his wiring is not the same.

 

[Al ears]

Looking at a close up of the cartridge wiring they don't seem to be in the right order. I have a AT head shell with cartridge came as a complete unit from AT and his wiring is not the same.View attachment 5170View attachment 5171

Sorry, having trouble seeing that on my device.
If he hasn't managed to work out the colour coding and get that right then that's certainly a potential issue.
He really is going to have to work backwards from the cartridge and check all wiring and answer va few more questions before I waste any more time here.

 

[camcroft]

Sorry, having trouble seeing that on my device.
If he hasn't managed to work out the colour coding and get that right then that's certainly a potential issue.

AT wiring diagram

 

[WayneKerr]

AT wiring diagramView attachment 5172

You could be onto something here, his appear to be wrong Need a close up of his cart connections.

 

[Al ears]

You could be onto something here, his appear to be wrong Need a close up of his cart connections.

Possibly, it's difficult for me to see how exactly his is wired on my device but it's certainly worth checking.
Still doesn't answer why he's convinced its a right channel issue when he swapped connections

 

[Revolutions]

if you swapped the cables as suggested and it was still the right channel that was faulty then its not the cartridge.
Can you explain what happened, exactly, when you did this.

I meant that I’d sapped the cables & the problem moved to the left channel- so definitely a problem with the right channel. Sorry if this is wasting your time

 

[Revolutions]

Looking at a close up of the cartridge wiring they don't seem to be in the right order. I have a AT head shell with cartridge came as a complete unit from AT and his wiring is not the same.

Thanks for looking at that pointing it out. I’ll check this out when I’m back home in a bit