●
Trembling of tonearm when playing records:
o
If you have a uni-pivot tonearm, it sits on one point and is constantly moving with the record grooves;
spiraling in and out as the record center changes and moving up and down with minute warps. It is
perfectly normal and inaudible.
●
Distortion in left channel:
o
Too much anti-skate.
●
Distortion in right channel:
o
Too little anti-skate.
●
Noise at startup:
o If you get a screeching sound on startup, simply powder the drive belt with talc powder and the noise
will dissipate.
●
Sibilance and distortion in both channels:
o
Azimuth not set correctly or diamond stylus misaligned on cartridge. This is usually a setup or
cartridge issue, not a tonearm issue. It can also be caused by a tracking force that is too light even if it
reads correctly. Tracking force needed is determined by the temperature in the room, below 70
degrees requires greater tracking force. We have found almost all cartridges work and sound best at
72 degrees.
o
A 60-watt light put above a turntable in a cold room will heat up the cartridge just enough to make it
much more compliant and track better.
o
Before going crazy try a slightly higher tracking force, it usually solves all the problems and zero in on
the azimuth adjustment.
o
Another possibility is probably not as bad as the next photo but will definitely cause distortion and
sibilance even in small amounts.
