Turn Table Problem

[Bass_Pedal]

Hello again,

I have to start by saying I feel like a bit of a selfish member. I joined the forum about a year ago when I was setting up my system. After several purchases and tweaks (many thanks to the good advice of fellow members) I stopped posting, instead I lurked in the shadows, reading and learning. Now I'm posting again because I need some help. :) I recently replaced my Pro-Ject Debut 3 TT with a Pro-Ject RPM 9.1, I had a Ortofon 2M Black cartridge installed on it. I have only had it for about a week now, but I have to say it is incredible. Everything I had been promised about the warmth, glow, richness and majesty of analogue music has come true! I've been blown away!! People use the phrase “night and day difference” quite a bit , including myself, but this truly is the case between my old deck and this one. So you may ask “whats this guy's problem?” Well the issue is when I go to play a record I put the tone arm in place then lower the tone arm lever as per normal, as the tone arm goes down it starts moving left and right on its own and finally rests somewhere on the record, not where is it was suppose to. I had the cartridge professionally installed by a dealer and after discovering this issue I called him up. He advised be that the anti-skate weight was too high and told me to lower it one position (three positions on this arm) he also told me that the recommended counter weight may be too low and so he suggested I move it from 1.5 g to 1.7. After trying both of these suggestions I have not had any improvement. Wondering if there is something else I could be doing...

Thanks.

http://www.project-audio.com/main.php?prod=rpm91&cat=turntables&lang=en

[Fongolio]

Have you properly leveled the table? Does the cartridge track properly once the arm is down and the stylus in the groove? If yes to both these questions then I would look at the cueing mechanism or perhaps the bearings in the tonearm may be binding. Does the arm move only inward or does it move in both directions as you are cueing it down?

[Keiko]

Sounds to me like the anti-skate also. Fongolio makes a good point about the table being properly leveled. I have the anti-skate on my table matched to the cartridge tracking force. You could try setting everything back to zero and readjust to specs. If the problem persists, I'd call back the dealer and take it in if necessary. Good luck!

[Bass_Pedal]

Thanks for the responses,

The table is level and the cartridge does track properly once the stylus is in the groove. The tone arm moves in both directions when cueing it into place. I'm not sure if I have the confidence to mess with the cueing mechanism or the tone arm bearings unless they are a fairly straight forward adjustment.

[Fongolio]

I agree with Keiko on putting everything back to zero and readjusting. The tone arm bearings can be tricky to adjust correctly. I'd definatly call the dealer you bought it from and arrange with them to have it fixed unless someone else has a solution. One more thought just occured to me. Your anti-skate line may be touching the back of the tone arm pivots. On my Pro-ject 6.9 when I first set it up something didn't feel right when I was cueing a record. Turned out in shipping the metal wire thingy that holds the anti-skate weight beside the arm was bent and when I hung the weight it was too low and the line would bind on the tone arm pivots as soon as I swung the arm over to the record. Solution was just bend the wire thing up a bit until no interference occured with the string and the arm pivots. Might be worth a look.

[MillerLiteScott]

Try it without the anti-skate weight connected and see what happens. I don't even have my weight connected. Also does it only occur at the beginning of the LP or in the middle also?

Scott

[billbillw]

Here is another thought. Sometimes the little rubber pad on the tonearm cue needs to be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol. I'm talking about the spot where it touches the tonearm when it raises/lowers. This little pad needs to be grippy and if it is not, the tonearm doesn't go down straight due to anti-skate force, bearing friction, etc. I had this problem with a very nice SME arm that I used to have. I had to clean it all the time to keep it working straight.

[Fongolio]

Bass_Pedal...did you manage to fix the problem or find a solution? Just curious.

[inspiredsports]

Here is another thought. Sometimes the little rubber pad on the tonearm cue needs to be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol. I'm talking about the spot where it touches the tonearm when it raises/lowers. This little pad needs to be grippy and if it is not, the tonearm doesn't go down straight due to anti-skate force, bearing friction, etc. I had this problem with a very nice SME arm that I used to have. I had to clean it all the time to keep it working straight.

I'm not familiar with Pro-Ject, but just started tuning up my Thorens while I'm off during the holidays. I'm amazed at how precisely the cueing mechanism can raise and then drop the needle into exactly the same groove. Thorens uses a "grippy" rubber material that securely contacts the tonearm as it slowy drops the stylus to the vinyl. The tonearm moves a lot when unweighted, and I'm certain mine would do what you are describing yours is doing if not for the grip of the rubber.

It's possible the rubber on yours has been become dirty or polished and Bill's theory is the winner.

[Bass_Pedal]

Ok, first I checked to see if the anti-skate line was touching the back of the tone arm pivots, it does not appear to be. I then took of the anti-skate weight off completely to see what would happen. There was no change. Then I cleaned the rubber contact portion on the cueing mechanism with some rubbing alcohol. Still nothing. Then I decided to just test lowering the arm at different locations on a record to see what happens. The first thing I noticed was that there is a definite tendency for the arm to move to the outside rather than the inside. I would say 85% of the time it moves to the outside. Another thing I noticed, which was a little disturbing, was that when I raise the tone arm off a record, the arm moves a little bit to the outside of the record on its own. It seems like there is a serious issue with the cueing mechanism. It is almost like it catches something on the arm whenever it is operated. I am going to take it in to the dealer to see what they can do. Thanks for all the suggestions.

[Keiko]

Probably the best thing to do at this point B_P. Follow up with us when you get it worked out and don't be such a stranger. Good luck with her. :)

[Bass_Pedal]

It turns out that the issue I was complaining about is a known problem with the 9.1 table (there is a thread about it on Vinyl Engine) When I took it to the dealer, he adjusted the position of the cueing mechanism, specifically the rubber guide that lowers the arm. I didn't realize it could be adjusted. I had it set so that it was only catching the tone arm slightly on one side, which explained why the arm was flopping around as it was being lowered onto the record. Now that the guide has been adjusted it's 90% better. There is still a tiny amount of movement when lowering the arm but I can live with it. Thanks for all the suggestions.