Systemdek IIX

admin_exported

New member
Aug 10, 2019
2,556
4
0
Visit site
Hi all!

I'm a new poster and my question is about the systemdek IIX. I bought this deck secondhand recently and it has an RB300 arm and 1022GX Goldring cartridge. At the moment it's playing through an old NAD 3020 and Mission 733 speakers. I want to like vinyl but often I switch input to a NAD C540 cdp and the soundstage, clarity, levels etc are much superior off the same recordings from CD. I don't mind the pop and hiss of vinyl, but the sound is not just not right.

Does anyone have any comments? Obviously the phono stage on the NAD is not super amazing but I've also heard it's not too bad. Am I expecting too much from the TT? Are the components not getting the best out of it? I've also thought that the deck may need to be serviced and to that end, does anyone have a recommendation for the Manchester/Cheshire area? Basically, I want to really get into all my dad's old vinyl and I'm hoping to give myself that incentive as various forum posts say that the systemdek can really rival good CD players!

Thanks for your input,

A
 

Frank Harvey

Well-known member
Jun 27, 2008
567
1
18,890
Visit site
I would say that everything about your turntable is pointing to a warm, soft sound, and that goes for the amplification too. Make sure your stylus is in good health, and that the cartridge is correctly aligned. Do make sure the platform on which the turntable stands is flat, level, and free from vibration as much as possible. With turntables (unlike CD) the silliest little thing can make a noticable difference.

Giving a used deck a service is a good idea, and if that doesn't work (I'm sure you'll get some noticable benefits anyway), maybe looking at a different cartridge would be a good start.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
From what your saying it must be something more than just a service although thats a must , but - get a magnifying glass on that stylus first. Thats the most likely cause of a turntable sounding ' off' check the alignment , check none of the cartridge wires are not actually pressing on the record , check the downforce to as a very light force will sound horrid , . If it's not been used for years the cartridge suspension may be shot. I would be tempted to spend something like .£30 pn a new audio technica cart or a cheap ortofon anyway . Then you get rid of one suspect cause at least. Even a cheap modern cart like these will give a cd player a run for it'd money . The systemdecks a good deck so Ibet it's something silly thats the problem. The stylus should be on average about 4 times as long as it is wide for that goldring, if it looks only twice as long as wide it's a cheap remedy. Plz get back to us eh?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hey, thanks for the replies!

I had another look at the deck and fiddled around with the tracking weight a bit, but I have to admit I'm fairly clueless in this department - hence the need for a service and someone who knows what they're doing!

I'm fairly sure the stylus is ok and perhaps after a service I can investigate getting hold of another cartridge. The platform on which the deck sits is level and solid so I guess I'll get it looked at and take it from there.

I called up hifi4less in wilmslow cheshire and they said they didn't service TTs. Has anyone any recommendations?

Thanks again,

A
 

DIB

Well-known member
May 21, 2009
166
36
18,620
Visit site
Ring Audio-T in Manchester, and ask for the manager Dave. His forte is turntables and he's just given my own Systemdek the once over. If nothing else he will make sure that everything is set up dead right for you. Good bloke.

.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
That turntable/arm/cartridge should sound much better than the cd player - I've got a systemdek IIX with a RB250 - and up until recently used a Goldring 1012 and that was a great combination.

My guess is that either the stylus is damaged (its not always easy to see) or possibly the phono stage in the amp is shot. Do you know anyone who could lend you an alternative amp and/or phono stage just to test it? Just thinking try that first before shelling out cash on a new stylus/cartridge. Hopefully a sympathetic dealer could help out - have to say Audio T down my neck of the woods are usually pretty helpful.

good luck

Simon
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts