[wavid]

I just bought a Rega Planar 3 with a RB300 tone arm and the guy said he replaced the connectors with his own but there are a few threads of wire that have broken off and are not soldered to the pin on the left connector . Is it possible that this could affect the volume of the signal?
The left channel is about 30-40% quieter and HUGE loss in detail and treble...
Sorry if it is a dumb question, i just need to know if a few loose wires can decrease volume/detail/treble before i go out and get a solder kit
Im just hoping its not the cartridge and its something as simple as the connector. 

 

[duncan1]

I too have a RB 300 arm one of the first issue in 1984. The colors = red-blue -white-green of the wires. Disconnect the phono plugs from the pre amp using a MM test EACH color in turn to all the other colors to see if there is a S/C between them. If not then test EACH single wire for continuity by one meter probe at the push on clip to the phono plug its connected to -IE- there will be 2 wires that connect to the pins on the phono plugs and 2 wires that connect to the outer shell or casing of the plugs-{EARTH}  They  MUST  ALL  have continuity- WITHOUT connecting to each other  .
                    On my early version only the BLUE wire is connected to the arm .Red/White are the 2  signal wires and Blue/Green  are the 2 earths.
                     Hope  this helps .Its a good arm.  

 

[wavid]

Well the blue wire is connected to the blue socket on my cartridge which is above the white socket....
and the green wire is connected to the green socket on my cartridge which is above the red socket...
are you saying i should put the blue wire in the green socket?
sorry im confused, its my first turntable and first time handling anything thats not plug and play

 

[duncan1]

No .I assumed when you said the wires were broken that there was a disconnection back to the phono sockets or a S/C as you said new connectors had been fitted. and that maybe he had done a bad job which is the case if wires are hanging off.
         Fit -BLUE to BLUE / RED to RED/ GREEN to GREEN/WHITE to WHITE .
            If they have come off have you got a soldering iron to resolder them back because if he did the job right they would not come off easy
               but remember these wires are very fine so they dont impact on the weight of the arm one could only be holding on by the sheathing and not the copper strands. Under NO circumstances solder  the connectors on STILL attached to the cart.
                   If it still doesnt work right then do as I said in the above post from me.
                     Or if still in doubt get back to me.

 

[wavid]

Oops i think i was not very clear, the loose wires are on the RCA Phono connectors that plug into the amp.
Anyway my only choice is to resolder now because all of the wires have disconnected from the plug...
Im going to have to buy a soldering iron but i just hope resoldering the plug will fix the volume/detail issue

 

[duncan1]

Don't buy a cheap one as they don't last  long /have high AC leakage  and you will have trouble getting spare bits.   Think --this is for your future to use as you learn more from Head-Fiers  how to build your own amps. Its worth paying more.
   AS you live in London there are many places there that sell electronic goods . or look up Maplins website-plenty there.
    Just don't be mean pay for GOOD quality. If the new connectors are the phono plugs that the seller fitted and they came apart that doesn't say much for his soldering if I was you I would check the solder on the other one as well . He has probably done a bad job there too!

 

[wavid]

Ok so my dad resoldered the left connector for me and the problem remains...I tried a little test where i connected the preamp using only the left output and tried each rca connector from turntable on the preamps left input and 1 of them is a lot quieter and a LOT of detail is missing.....so i know its not the preamp or amplifier and its not the connectors.....
i fiddled around with the counterweight and anti skating and nothing changed........this is so frustrating!

 

[duncan1]

You did exactly the right thing to test it and came to the right conclusion . The guy that sold you that arm wasnt entirely honest. So we go back to the wires from the cart. some either must be broke very easily done as they are very fine he must have pulled them too hard  when he was working on the arm If your dad has a Multi meter get him to test each wire coming from the cart. for continuity  one probe at the cart end and one at the phono/rca plug end. and test for S/C between them . If it is the internal wires then you have to make a decision either send it away for repair and there is plenty in London who will replace the wires[at a price ] or DIY . Its possible when he soldered the plugs he pulled one of the wires apart internally so that although the cart. connections look good one might be holding on by the insulation only. Check it out. and get back.

 

[wavid]

I think i found my problem...
 

Guess i need a new cart...luckly, the guy i bought it from is a really nice guy and offers to pay 50% for a new cart so that should do it...
 
Im going to go for either a M97xe or Ortofon 2m red ...OR replace the p77 stylus with a Jico SAS stylus
Only have a budget of £70-90 because the guy is being generous enough to pay half and i dont want to take the piss
 
Cant wait till its all over and it all works....hopefuly a new cart will fix it

 

[duncan1]

Good to hear he is a "good guy"many arent. If it is the cart it wouldnt normally lose one channel unless the stylus holder  had been damaged or somebody tried soldering the push on clips with them still attached to the  cart.[unsoldering the internal connection with too much heat] Best of luck..