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Few technical questions about an Ortofon MC cart on a Scout 2...

Non-technical enthusiast here, facing a bit of a conundrum...

I picked up a Scout 2 today, and the previous owner was kind enough to throw in a high end Ortofon X5-MC, albeit "possibly broken". During handling he knocked the cantilever. It’s perfectly centred and the stylus appears in tact, but when the cartridge makes contact with vinyl the cantilever recedes or "lifts" a hair...as in, it gets pushed back into the body by about 1-1.5mm.

The record player itself is in beautiful shape and appears to be functioning perfectly, but every record I’ve played so far sounds sluggish and rather muffled in the low end - particularly as compared to my spritely Rega P3.

Adding to the confusion is my phono preamp - a Sonneteer Sedley, which has all kinds of resistive and capacitance switches for MM/MC carts. I’ve tried about 3-4 settings so far, in the ballpark for a high output MC cart, but none has remedied this basic "sluggishness".

Can you kind folks help me diagnose this? Is the cartridge definitely kaput? If so, can it be repaired? Is it possibly a tracking/force issue?

I won’t bore you with the Sedley’s switches and X5’s technical specs unless it comes to that...

pupil

Showing 4 responses by pupil

pupil OP
7 posts
 
So...I launched YouTube and found a VPI walkthrough on basic setup...

Major improvements! The cartridge was way too recessed and not correctly aligned. Still not as coherent a presentation as I'd like, but already much, much better.

As I continue to refine my setup skills, I wonder if I could trouble you ladies and gentlemen with the following boring technical information?

Here's what Ortofon says about the X5:

Internal impedance, DC resistance -   80 Ohm
Recommended load impedance   - 47 kOhm / < 500 pF

And here are the Sonneteer's possible parameters:

Switch Function

  1. 1  1kΩ

  2. 2  47Ω

  3. 3  100Ω

  4. 4  220Ω

  5. 5  47pF

  6. 6  10pF

  7. 7  100pF

  8. 8  220pF

  9. 9  MM/MC

  10. 10  RIAA/IEC


1-4 are resistive loading...and 5-8 for capacitance. 9-10 are self-explanatory, I figure.

Any suggestions? 




pupil OP
7 posts
 
Al, I'm touched that you took the time to look into this. That is extremely gracious of you. 

I note your absolute/positive/definitive suggestion that switches 1-4 on the left side be UP. That is curious, because switch 2 on the left side is the 47ohm resistive load, which is the only dip I have in the down position. 

Regardless, I'll take your advice and let you know! 
pupil OP
7 posts
 
Dear Al (and others),

So the major switch to 47ohm made a night/day difference. The cartridge and table now sound like they should, barring some minor adjustments.

One question though: so far in my experimenting, it strikes me that the cartridge sounds best - most "open" - with NO capacitance loading engaged. Should I continue to experiment here? I ask because the manual explicitly states that zero capacitance is not recommended.

In the meantime, I've ordered a Shure force gauge to help me re-calibrate the cartridge from scratch.
pupil OP
7 posts
 
I am very much indebted to you, Al, for your thoughtful and very generous assistance.

Thank you! 
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