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Why does my system sound so shrill and distorted?

My system has been sounding very shrill and in some situations it will have a little distortion in the higher dynamic range with vocals and horns. I have used the feickert protractor to align my cartridge and have tried all three of the different geometries with not much change. Any ideas?

My set up,

Wilson Benesch Full Circle turntable with ACT TWO tonearm 9gm effective mass

Grado Reference Platinum cartridge 20cu compliance, I have a Sound Smith Carmen on the way.

Grado PH-1 Phono pre, Musical Fidelity M1 phono pre on the way

Manley Stingray II, pretty much always run in triode mode

Sonus Faber Liuto Monitors

cables are all Cardas Quadlink's

Thanks,
Thomas
ohnofiasco
johnnyb53
3,490 posts
 

The rack is all maple with two two inch platform and one 4inch on top with turntable. I have been wondering if that could be a little too thick, In my head that could cause less bass and sharper highs.

For what it's worth, I had my turntable platformed on a 1-1/2" thick butcher block cutting board. A year ago I replaced it with a 3-1/2" thick maple butcher block cutting board and the sound improved in every way, especially lower noise floor, better clarity, tighter and livelier bass, smoother up top, etc.

You may need to look at your VTA/SRA. When the stylus is pitched too much forward, it emphasizes the treble and reduces the bass. I also agree about checking/cleaning the stylus. I clean mine regularly with a piece of Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, used dry, followed by a stylus brush to sweep away the abrasive residue.
dover
1,165 posts
 
Hi - the Grado phono stage has 2 settings for gain on the bottom, have you got it on the low gain setting.
opus88
529 posts
 
Check and experiment with your anti-skating. I recently dealt with a problem sounding similar to what you describe, and wouldn't have believed anti-skating could be the culprit, until I found out it actually was.
lewm
6,770 posts
 
Before you go off the deep end to blame this on your turntable or tonearm or cartridge, have you tried another hi-level source, like a CD player, to determine whether the problem really has anything to do with phono. A bad or dying vacuum tube alone can cause the symptoms you describe.
frogman
4,637 posts
 
Second Lew's advice, and also suggest that you make sure that the problem is not the LP pressings that you are playing that are the problem. Did you have a turntable before this one? And did the same LP's that are problematic now show the same symptoms before? Some LP pressings are just plain bad, and will play with some distortion no matter the equipment or the attention to setup.
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