Vinyl Engine experience?

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Happy_Listner

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Jan 27, 2013
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Hi What Hi-Fi community,

Has anyone ever used the website called Vinyl Engine before? I joined a week ago and I just had an awful experience on there. I been an audiophile for a few decades and have joined so many website forums and never once had a problem before. But the guy running the Vinyl Engine (JaS) is a class N, Nutter. Let me explain.

I'm completely new to manual turntables and I recently bought a Rega RP40. I was/am still having a very hard time setting the Rega up so I joined the Vinyl Engine to ask some questions. In my posts I asked many questions but I also pointed out a few things about Rega that frustrated me. Things that made it hard for as a new person to manual turntables like myself to be able to properly set it up. Such as very limited explanations in the short one page manual, lack of youtube video, lack of provided spirit level and no cheap VTF gauge included with it.

These were honest feelings and opinions that I pointed out in my journey trying to set up this turntable. Keep in mind I was not complaining very much and I was mostly asking questions. I got some good advice from some people who were writing in and being very helpful. In fact everyone who responded to me was very kind and helpful! No one complained about my posts.

So this long weekend I was waiting for some more advice to come in when to my surprise a few days ago I could no longer log into the Vinyl Engine website. I kept seeing people were still writing in and responding to my post. I saw this because I would get email notifications about it, but had to log in to read them. These people probably were giving me some advice that I really needed to complete my turntable set up over this holiday weekend.

The dealer I bought it from is across the country, bought it from him because this was the last RP40 around. I couldn't call him until Tuesday. So I been sitting now for 4 days with a new turntable that doesn't work and I no longer have access to some much needed advice on that website.

So I finally logged into the Vinyl Engine from another location today and I realized that the owner/administrator of the Vinyl Engine must have blocked my access to the website somehow. I say this because I finally read my post from another PC today and JaS responded back to my post basically calling me (eluding very strongly anyways) that I am a liar, a troll and an idiot. Wow! Then he said he was shutting my post down because he felt it was not genuine.

I didn't realize that a Nazi or Communist ran the Vinyl Engine. If I would have known this I would have not joined. There is NO freedom of speech or expression on that website. It is really sad when one guy takes it upon himself to know everything about another person he doesn't know and uses his Supreme Leader powers to shut anyone down he doesn't agrees with or might have not understood properly.

So what I learned from all of this is that you are never allowed to criticise a manufacture, have too many problems, express your feelings about audio, as it might offend someones fragile ego.

I would tell you all of my RP40 turntable problems I been having and ask you all for advice so I can finally play my RP40 but maybe this post will be taken down as well then? Maybe this post will be taken down?

Anyways, the weekend is almost over so I can call someone up tomorrow. Just remember folks, only uplifting posts everyone, hide your feelings, and don't be too honest or the gestapo will come and get you.
 
I can understand why one might consider that the thread is the work of a troll. Not that I want to cast nasturtiums *diablo*
 
To the OP, did you buy mail order?

Take it back to the dealer so he can show you how to set it up properly.

It is not diffucult to set up a Rega deck.

I can understand a little why VE thought you were a troll - the title for a start takes a dig at Rega.

generally Rega deck are plug and play with very minimal set up compared to other decks.
 
Thanks a lot Waxy. Nothing like someone calling a person a Troll to make them feel good. Hard to have an opnion these days I guess without someone jumping on you.
 
Yes, the arm will have a tendency to drift back to the right when balancing it. I would use the smooth (back) edge of a plastic rule to allow it free vertical travel but restrain it from drifting.

The counterweight is a little stiff (for good reason) but still twists back and forth smoothly.

RB300/RB301/RB303 tonearms have always been a little 'bias heavy'. Set your bias/anti-skate to half the recommended amount (or even less). I always set mine at 0.5 for a tracking weight of 1.85g or thereabouts.

Obviously (as with almost any turntable ever made) ensure it is level.

I owned Rega RB tonearm equipped TTs from 1983 onwards (when the very first batch with the - then new - RB300 arms arrived at my dealer's premises) until just a few years ago.

As manual turntables go, they are very easy to set-up. However - as one of your questions indicates - manual turntables are probably just not for you ...

"5. I don't even know what position the lever is supposed to be in for lowering the tonearm, down or up? No mention in the manual."

Despite that, forums all have differing levels of moderation and tolerance. They are not democracies. You won't get banned for your posts here unless you personally attack people or use offensive language or spam the forum.

Rega are not beyond reproach (is any company?) but I think your frustration is more to do with going from a fully automatic (B&O) TT to a piece of manual engineering requiring either some basic 'show-and-tell' training from your dealer (that you didn't receive due to distance sellng), or some willingness on your part to ask the necessary questions without slagging off the manufacturer first (and repeatedly thereafter).

This risks alienating any satisfied Rega TT users who could have helped.
 
Hi Steve,

Thanks for being cool about it all and actually asking me about my Rega RP40. I appreciate it. So I thought I had it all set up. VTF is at exactly at 1.75 grams. Before that I balanced the arm. The RP40 is on the top shelf of my audio rack. I am pretty sure it is level but I can't be 100% sure. It was a long holiday weekend here and many stores were closed. So I don't have a spirit level to make sure. I'll buy one later today.

Also, yes I bought this from a dealer that is across the country because this was the last RP40 around that was new. Plus, it was selling for a discount. Because of the holiday weekend I was not able to get hold of the dealer for 4 days.

Anyways, so here are the problems right now I am having. I set the anti-skate to 1.75 grams but when I put the needle on the record it skips right off of it. I tired many different postitons. Pulling it all the way out for little anti-skate, pusing it all the way in for more, and about 7 different postions in between and it does the same thing. The arm swings off the record.

Now the wierd part is when the record is not rotating I can move the arm over the record, lower the arm, and the needle tocuhes the record and there no arm swing. BUT when the record is rotating and I try to do this then about 1mm before the needle toches the record it wants to swing right off of it. I tried this a few times and I get the same result. Seems strange I know. Any ideas why this is happening? Do you think the ant-skate is faulty?

I wanted to get up and running over the long holiday weekend. That is why I was asking questions on the Vinyl Engine. Now that the holiday is over with I'll see if I can bring it into a local Rega dealer here. Not sure how much they will help me though since I didn't buy it from them. I also need that spirit level, I suppose that still could be the cause?

Thanks
 
Read my post again. I did not call you a troll.

Did you contact Rega like it has been suggested?

edit: sorry, I see that contacting Rega is not possible. Time to find a local dealer then?
 
Well, thanks Waxy I do hope you understand me. I grew up in the days when Tapes were big. My older sisters listened to Records and I thought I was into the newer more advanced cassette tapes. After that I got into CD's. So only recently have I got into Records during this past year. Using my fathers 30 year old B&O turntable, it is fully automatic. All I have to do is set the tracking force on the arm and it is clearly marked in grams. Then just press one button and thats it. Easy.

So I am completely new and Manual Turntable illiterate. I am mean I knew nothing 1 week ago and still don't know much more. I am asking the most basic questions I know. I am sure anyone with limited knowlege of turntables have been taking me for some kind of idiot. Or like the moderator at the Vinyl Engine did by calling me a Troll and my posts non genuine.

Yes, there are peole out there just like me that know nothing about tuntables, even though I have been an audiophile for over 20 years now. No, I am not idiot and I am definatley not a Troll.

I will add the reason JaS kicked me off his site, so he said, he quoted somthing I had wrote asking about the arm lever. I was not 100% sure what postion it was supposed to be in. I sort of knew but I was not complety sure because A. there was not mention in the Rega instructions and B. The arm was up in its resting postion but the arm lever was in it's down postion. That's how it came like that. So I was not sure if it was opposite with Rega as in lever up and the arm down ect... I was just being very careful so I asked the innocent question of what postion shold the arm level be in. That's when JaS quoted that part and called me a Troll and then banned me from the site.

So now you know the story.
 
Hope you get it sorted out soon. I'm also quite new to proper cartridge set-up. I was luckier in that the manufacturer of my deck was easily contactable and very helpful.

In your situation, I would also be frustrated by the lack of direct contact details for a manufacturer. It doesn't hold them in a good light, in my opinion.
 
First of all Chebby I find what you said to me pretty insulting. "As manual turntables go, they are very easy to set-up. However - as one of your questions indicates - manual turntables are probably just not for you ..."

So am I not allowed to learn? Many of you had to learn at one point how to set a manual tutntable so what gives you the right to tell me that they are not for me? I'm not stupid you know, I do have a college education. I just have no experince with manual turntables. I did ask plenty of questions and everyone was pretty helpful on the Vinyl Engine who wrote in. That was until I got banned for asking the simple question of what pstition the arm lever is supposed to be in. Even you Chebby just jumped on me for it and had to point it out.

I'll go over it one more time for you just in case you didn't read what I already wrote. A. The RP40 Turntable came with the arm level down but the arm was up in its resting postion. B. There was no mention of what psotion the arm level was supposed to be in, in the Rega manual. I was not 100% sure how it was with Rega I thought perhaps it could be oppostite with them. Maybe a down lever was up for the arm. I wanted to be 100% sure to be extra careful not break anything.

So why is it a crime to ask this question?

To your second part yes I was venting a bit about Rega. Why? Because I wanted to play music for my holiday party and over the weeked with my new turntable. I bought the Rega because I thought it would be the easiest to set up for a new person like myself. I like Rega very much but this is why it angered me and why I was dissappointed about certain things with them.

A. The manual is only one page and is not descriptive enough for new person setting up their first turntable. B. There was no youtube video to help me out. C. There was no tacking force gauge and I had to buy one last Thursady. D. There was no cheap spirit level included.

I had thought for the price it sold for that those things would have came with the turntable and I assumed they did. I also felt like Rega let me down with the sparse manual. So yes at the time I was upset and I expressed it. You might have been upset too if you were in my position. I should not have to be 100% happy all the time about somehting. I should be able to point things out that I dislike. No one complained by the way and everyone was very helpful on the Vinyl Engine until JaS shut me down.
 
Just passing- If you treat a turntable like any other bit of engineering kit...first I would put the arm in a position to drop it just outside a piece of vinyl, and ensure the arm is actually dropping far enough to engage with the groove. I had a problem once where due to carelessness I dropped the arm and chipped the tip off the stylus...no hope for some people! Is the weight correct- I use Ortofons, and they track at 4g. Mostly, an arm will track even if it's badly set up- (but I'm not saying it won't do harm!), but before anything else, find a VERY strong magnifying glass or a microscope and make sure you've got a tip to your stylus.
 
Thanks John,

The arm is swinging back even before it touches the record. About 1mm before hand. My electronic gauge say 1.75 grams right where the cartidge is supposed to be at.

Maybe this is a dumb question but is it possible that I didn't first balance the arm correctly? Does it even make a difference even if the the correct VTF is now applied? Rega said to balance the arm 1mm above the record and then set the VTF. I am not sure if it was exactly 1mm above the record because the arm would want to swing back to its resting position.

Anyway, I will know more later today when I ask the dealer and perhaps buy a spirit level.
 
IRef setting height/at zero would say the difference involved, when you're talking 1'75 g is small, and shouldn't have a significant effect?

hmm.... The arm will swing a little, but presumably you are trying with all bias removed. Hard to say without seeing it. I've done Garrards, BSR, Sony, BBC designed; I use an SME and Technics set-up now - designed for a hard life in radio studios!!
 
I hope you get sorted soon. It's not easy being a moderator or site admin. You have to make judgement calls. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong. What you've got to understand is 'cult' brands like Rega, Linn, Naim (dare I say AVI) etc attract professional haters as well as disciples, and the haters join forums purely to diss the products even when they don't own them, so armed with that knowledge, I can see why you were banned.

I personally haven't posted on VE for a while but I was once quite an active member there (though under a different pseudonym to here) and I found everyone to be very helpful and polite.
 
-Sorry, final observation, having re-read postings...

All I can think is the cartridge is not level, to the extent that part of it is fouling the record fractionally before the stylus connects!? If all else. the arm/cartridge playing height can be set to make the cart. assy. look about level, and then I can see no reason for it not to track well enough to stay in the groove....Does the cart seem square from 'head on?

good luck.
 
I can't think of any obvious reason why the arm would swing away fromthe record only when the motor is running. Maybe there is some fouling as suggested, but is the deck now confirmed as being level?

The only thing I can think of is that there are vibrations from the motor and the deck is not level and this is causing the arm to move. If that's the case then the deck is faulty and even if you got as far as actually playing some vinyl it would sound bad. I think it needs to go back to wherever you got it from or a local Rega authorised dealer. Rega have proved to be very helpful when problems are encountered with their equipment. I would contact them and get them to recommend a local dealer you can take it to.
 
There are maybe a couple of other things to check.

Are you aligning the stylus over the groove correctly (My Rega swings ever so slightly out, so align sligtly closer to the centre of the record). What happens if you drop the stylus on a section towards the middle of the record (a record you aren't to fond of, of course)?

I have had some brand new vinyl where the spindle hole is very tight and cause the record to sit a little proud of the platter. This rasises the level and doesn't allow the correct tracking force to be applied the arm will slide off the record in this case.

I guess now I think about it, have you measured your tracking force at the correct height (i.e. that of the platter/record)

Good luck, the entry into manual vinyl turntables is a big step and can be frustrating I hope you get to the bottom of your problems and get this deck sorted.
 
Hi, Happy Listner, have you found the guide on Youtube on how to set up a RegaRP3? I believe that the RP40 is based on this model, so it should be the same for your deck.

Forgive me, but I'm a little confused with your problems with raising/lowering the arm? I'm NOT trying to insult your intelIigence, but presume you're aware that the shiny lever to the right of the arm is to raise & lower the arm? With the arm on its rest, safety clip removed ready to use, if you raise this lever the arm will raise, ready to be moved into position above the record, when it should be lowered to allow the arm to drop onto the record. The arm on this deck has controls which are new to me, especially the location of the anti-skate, which has to be pulled out to the required position.

And I'm with you with manufacturer's assumption that everyone knows how their products work, especially mobile phones, computers programs, and similat technology, and only feed the need to give very basic instructions. I mean, if you don't understand computers, how are you expected to find the computer's instruction books on line?

Good luck, you'll enjoy the music from your new deck, I'm sure.
 
Hi Everyone,

I am happy here now as I am finally listening to the RP40! I went to my local dealer today and he helped me figure out what the problem was. The problem turned out to be something really easy and I laughed about it afterwards.

The phono wire leads from the arm to the cartridge were hanging a little too low! About 1 mm to low. So that's why the arm would sit on the record when the platter was not rotating as the wire would just give BUT the arm would skip when the paltter was rotating as the wire kept rubbing against the record. I guess this is something a newbie like myself didn't think about looking for.

In my defense though it did take the dealer about 5 min to figure it out plus the wire leads are hard to see from a certain angle. Also, I wish Rega would have included a trouble shooting guide as I would have followed it.

Anyways, it's sounding good and I am sure it will improve as it breaks in. It carries the tune well and has some nice P.R.A.T.

Thank you to everyone that wrote in to help me. It is much appreciated.
 
An interesting read. The 'fault' means that the cartridge was badly fitted. In the Seventies I fitted hundreds of cartridges and it was often necessary to give the cartridge a twist to dress the headshell wires away from harm. Obviously whoever fitted yours didn't do that, or even try it!

I do wonder, on reflection, if the query about the arm lifting device was the straw that broke the camel's back. It was a big like asking which way you turn the volume knob! Anyway, welcome belatedly to this forum, and happy listening.
 
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