pioneer PL55x lots of microphonic noise?

whathahell

Active Member
so much noise. It picks up everything, my fingers on the table it's on, vibrations from the speakers through the floor. records sound hollow and thin.

I've adjusted the table for proper counterweight forces, antiskate, and the auto return weight. It's all working well. The headshell is a bit off, it moves tiny amounts at the cuff where it connects to the tonearm. I've also put a felt pad on the platter.

Audio Technica AT331E cart with a ebay needledaddy stylus.

is the stylus perhaps absolute junk? do I need some kind of dampening under the table?

a few records sound better, they are newer records. I always clean records before play.

Maybe my phono stage is way out of spec......

any suggestions would be appropriate as I am not super experienced with this problem....
Thanks
 
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so much noise. It picks up everything, my fingers on the table it's on, vibrations from the speakers through the floor. records sound hollow and thin.

I've adjusted the table for proper counterweight forces, antiskate, and the auto return weight. It's all working well. The headshell is a bit off, it moves tiny amounts at the cuff where it connects to the tonearm. I've also put a felt pad on the platter.

Audio Technica AT331E cart with a ebay needledaddy stylus.

is the stylus perhaps absolute junk? do I need some kind of dampening under the table?

a few records sound better, they are newer records. I always clean records before play.

Maybe my phono stage is way out of spec......

any suggestions would be appropriate as I am not super experienced with this problem....
Thanks

Well...I have no experience with needledaddy and this might be a perfectly great vendor... however, I'd start out fresh with a new cartridge and stylus. And I'd work on isolating the plinth. If I remember correctly, the 55 series are kind of set up on springs within the plinth. People try all sorts of materials to isolate turntables from whatever they sit upon.

Is there a rubber pad on the platter as well? If not, invest in one. What is this autoreturn weight? Adjust the headshell so that the cartridge and stylus sit square and perpendicular to the platter. It's not unusual for a very small amount of play there.
 
greetings;

If the head shell doesn't have an o-ring then it may not snug up properly. If it has an o-ring you may apply just a drop of oil on a qtip and lube the tone arm screw inside and slowly try to find the sweet spot to engage the head shell. It should tighten up with no play. Also move your TT away from speakers and your amplifier.

Manual here.
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/pioneer/pl-55x.shtml

Your cart. should be set for 1-1.5g weight. Note the setup distance from stylus to back end of rubber o-ring is 49mm. You can download tracking charts on line though just mainly for reference but should get you there.
 
The auto return weight is the one that slides in or out on a horizontal bar. Maybe it's called.aomething else but it gets the auto return to work right when it's in the sweet spot.

I had some polyurethane pads at 40 shore and it helped. I think my cabinet is too resonant. I need to get something more solid and narrow maybe, to get the amp underneath on a shelf..

I've also seen tables on stone slabs

Does this setup look problematic?


uploadfromtaptalk1427483894130.jpg
 
also, what is the best alignment protractor on the vinylengine page? I think I am not doing this right.

thank you all for the help
 
The weight that sticks out to the side is called the lateral weight, it's there to help compensate for an off level condition and shouldn't have any effect on the auto return triggering system. If you set the cartridge at 49mm from the stylus tip to the rubber O ring the overhang adjustment will be correct. It sounds like you are having some other issue with the cartridge or installation, maybe acoustic feedback from the table being too close to the speakers?
 
I need to get some better tools to check these measurements. I've gotten a bit closer tonight but still it's not right. I'll rearrange the setup asap.

audiojones, I think you're right in that the speakers proximity are be a big problem The room does not accommodate a good spread. I have a big piece of granite that I may felt top and bottom or put on rubber spacers for the TT.

thanks for the input
 
Other thing to note is some of the old Pioneer turntables have isolation feet which have not aged well. So, be mindful of that. That may well be your issue here.
 
The feet unscrew bit don't seem to move out. It's a hard plastic with hard rubber feet. I think the cabinet I intend to use wil be ktopped with a slice of granite separated with soft rubber feet both under and between the table. Spent some more time aligning with decent results. Overall I need to finish my setup and try to get some distance on the speakers, I think
Thanks much
 
Overhang was way off and misaligned. Then I put my felt pad under the stock plastic pad figuring I'd let the ridges of the pioneer pad do what they were designed to do. The felt dampening some.noise. a huge improvement. The new cabinet and some separation will help more
 
The feet unscrew bit don't seem to move out. It's a hard plastic with hard rubber feet. I think the cabinet I intend to use wil be ktopped with a slice of granite separated with soft rubber feet both under and between the table. Spent some more time aligning with decent results. Overall I need to finish my setup and try to get some distance on the speakers, I think
Thanks much

^^^Good Start! Also try having the cover up instead of down.
 
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