my first HIFI system

Hi Everyone. Been on the internet since it started but never had a reason to join a forum before so this is my first.

I've always loved vinyl and old school HIFI. I grew up with it at my parent's house but never really appreciated it until this last year or so when I started slowly getting my own gear. Now, it's become an obsession. An illness even.

Here's what I've got:

-Marantz 2265B
works perfect. just needs lamps got it AS A TIP from a customer on a service call!!

-Paradigm 7s
$100. Perfect working order. Currently refinishing (sand/prime/paint) the cabs.

-JVC QL-A2
$40. Needed a little de-oxit here and there and modded the internal ground (wasn't working properly) to external on the amp. It came with a Stanton 500 mkii cartridge and the stylus is a E MKii.

I'll post some pics later after I've finished the cabs (waiting for this winter to finally effing end so I can paint) and get the lamps installed in the amp.

I think the system sounds amazing on any source (vinyl, FM, aux). But the ONE problem I seem to be having is when I play vinyl, the speakers seem to shake even at low volumes. The sound is still great but it's almost like there's some kind of inaudible low bass frequency.

I've setup the tone arm properly. I've tried a different cartridge (shure m44-7) I've got my speakers on decent stands on a concrete floor (haven't finished my basement yet). And I never had this problem with my other TT (technics SL-Q200 with an AT91E)

I'm hoping some of you pros out there could offer a few suggestions.

-Adam

Congrats.

Adam, it seems what you are hearing are low frequency oscillations from your turntable. Try moving your speakers (or at least the one closest to the turntable) farther away and see if it stops. You can also try to turn the low filter on, on the receiver, but this may cut out some of the bass that you can hear.

The JVC QLA 2 is a decent turntable but it is has a marginal isolation system, pretty much all of it is in the feet only. I bought this exact model new and it did this same thing when it was new. Keeping the speakers as far away as possible, pretty much eliminated it. There are products also that you can put under the feet, or change the feet themselves. It's also possible that the suspension in your stylus has issues but the only way you will know for sure is to change it out. Some cartridges are more prone to do this than others.

This is not uncommon but you will have to do some experimentation to eliminate it. I'm assuming that the louder it is, the bigger of a problem it is. Also some severely warped records can make speakers do this even when all else is OK. If moving the speakers further away from the turntable doesn't help it, then look at the cartridge and stylus.

Welcome to AudioKarma. It seems like you are getting feedback through the turntable. I suggest a search for turntable isolation. Good luck.

Got headphones ? Turn off the speakers and try them. If you still have the noise, the bearings in the turntable might need attention.

If it IS feedback from the speakers there are things you can do. First of all alot of turntables just don't have all that good isolation from room vibration. Also, you may think that closing the lid would help but it does not. In fact most of the time I have seen it make it worse. Even flipped up. Many of them, it is best to take the cover clean off of it.

Another well kept secret is speaker phasing. I don't mean to each other, I mean to the cartridge. Sometimes if you reverse the polarity of BOTH speakers (so they are still in phase), the feedback is affected. Which way is better depends totally on the system and cannot be predicted. So try it, if it makes it worse put it back.

Thank you all for your replies.

I tried moving the speakers away from the TT (about 8ft) and it had little effect. I tried the phase suggestion and it didn't make a difference either. What did work was what ggregg suggested was to turn on the low filter on the amp. The woofers tightened right up but as he mentioned I do notice a bit of the bass is lost but it still sounds really great so I'm happy I can turn it up again!

Again, thank you all for your suggestions. Now, I'd like to feel out what you guys think about my Stanton cart. It's a 500mkii with a EMKii stylus on it. It sounds great, nice and round although I find the treble a little sharp (in case anyone asks, I have the amp EQ flat). Should I look into a different cart or just a stylus?

Aloha Adam!

Welcome to AK.

Can't wait to see the pics. Nice equipment for a first system. My first "real" to me HiFi system was in my Junior Year of College. Yamaha CA-810 system. Still have it.

The speaker shake is most likely SubSonic distortion. I'm not sure if you have a Subsonic Filter on that Amp.

Enjoy that system. NICE TIP THAT CUSTOMER GAVE YOU!

-Billy

Edit: Just saw a previous poster suggested the low filter engage. Glad that worked!

Welcome aboard. That's a nice little system you've got. :thmbsp: Enjoy the music!

Welcome! A Stanton like yours is a fine cart...a real workhorse.

Don't know how loud you turn her up but I found that removing dust cover when cranking also helped to reduce the effect of feedback through the TT.