[Susi]

I have an AT-VM95ML on my Rega P1, and I am using a magnet on the back of the tonearm base to adjust the anti-skate. The anti-skate still seems to be correct, as the stylus does not tilt to either side relative to the headshell during playback, and I am pretty sure that, at least in the beginning of records, there is no channel imbalance coming from the turntable itself.

I do not hear distortion on normal vinyl records, but on my 7"s it is often VERY apparent. I really am not sure if it is due to the record or my set-up though. It seems like some records MIGHT not have sibilance, but I can't be totally sure about that...

I listened to a few 7"s yesterday, and all except one were bought second-hand. The new 7" had no sibilance, but it was also quieter than the others. One 7" had some distortion, but I could not tell whether it was the music itself being distorted or the record/set-up. The cymbals did not sound sibilant, though. Another used 7" I listened to had a LOT of sibilance, the S sounds were very loud and sibilant.

I have many other 7"s. Most of them sound either somewhat or very distorted/sibilant, and all of them are bought second-hand. I can not tell if the sibilance is from a bad pressing, a bad previous owner, or my set-up. I am afraid that it is my set-up. I am someone who obsesses a lot over things like this. I can not get this off of my mind while listening.

Anyone who is able to help, thank you.

 

[dacwizard]

How old is the AT-VM95ML? Is it still in decent condition? Do you clean the stylus?

it sounds like either the stylus is worn/damaged or is not aligned correctly. Alignment is always a compromise to some degree and if slightly out it tends to be near the centre of records that shows it up. In theory the extra speed and generally wider cut of 7” singles should mean it’s less prone to this than 33rpm.

Do you know anyone with a half decent turntable that you can ask to try a few of your singles otherwise it’s very difficult to know if they are undamaged or not!. Likely some of them are damaged, maybe all of them but impossible to know without getting someone else to try. Of course some recordings are difficult to track and can be prone to sibilance, but that won’t be the issue on all examples.

 

[Susi]

How old is the AT-VM95ML? Is it still in decent condition? Do you clean the stylus?

It's not very old. I did once accidentally hit it against a turntable vtf scale, but otherwise it has been treated pretty well. I clean it using a few very simple tools occasionally. If it was in bad condition, this sibilance would appear in other places too though. Full LPs sound incredible, so it can't just be the stylus being wonky. It must either be something with my alignment or the 7"s themselves.

 

[dacwizard]

Full LPs sound incredible,

Do full LPs still sound good towards the end of the side? Even if you are playing a similar type and volume of music to that on the singles. If so then it would suggest it’s an issue with the 7” singles. Have a lot of the singles come from the same source? It’s possible they have been damaged by a poor quality or damaged stylus/turntable.

 

[bagwell359]

Inner grove mistracking is the usual sign of mis aligned cartridges and an LP that's very long is always going to mistrack on a pivot arm at the inside even when aligned properly.

I think the idea that the 7's are damaged from prior use, or perhaps the VTA of the cutting head was far from where your cartridge is set.

 

[Susi]

Do full LPs still sound good towards the end of the side? Even if you are playing a similar type and volume of music to that on the singles. If so then it would suggest it’s an issue with the 7” singles. Have a lot of the singles come from the same source? It’s possible they have been damaged by a poor quality or damaged stylus/turntable.

I bought the at-vm95ml to fix inner groove distortion, and it did that. On full LPs I no longer hear it which is awesome.

The singles come from different sellers on discogs. Although I'm pretty sure that I heard a few 7"s that didn't have any sibilance so now I'm thinking that maybe it really is a problem with the 7"s? I'll have to do more testing.