Hey folks. I'm having issues with distortion in the high frequencies on most of my records. It's mostly (as usual) towards the end of the side, and 'S's and 'T's send a moderately noticeable distortion to my headphones. Now, I realize what causes distortion can be a number of things like tracking force, misaligned cartridge, the shape of the stylus, etc.
Here is what I'm working with, then we can get down to my questions:
-Older(10 years?) Sherwood receiver with a phono stage
-Technics SL-BD20 TT- (factory-set anti-skate, has adjustable tracking force only)
-Grado Prestige Black cartridge (P-mount)
My main questions are:
a) Could the cause be the anti-skate, even though it was pre-set at the factory?
b) Could the cause more likely be tracking force? (I don't have a tracking force gauge)
c) Could the cause be the cartridge?
d) Am I damaging my records by playing them under any of these conditions? Should I hold off on listening until this problem is fully corrected?
Please also note that this problem does NOT occur from digital or other sources with the same headphones, this is the only source where the problem presents itself. It happens on new records as well as old (though the old records are much worse). Thanks for your time!
