Why Does My Vinyl Sound Distorted

Definitely no fuzz distortion there.

Why does my vinyl sound distorted.

The record is damaged the turntable is cheap and nasty the tonearm is incorrectly calibrated correct balance tracking force and anti skate forces are critical to clean playback and to avoid damage to records. As needed to get good sound quality. Those unwanted movements result in distortion which muddies the sound. Setting the tracking force too light causes distortion and excess record wear.

Let s dig briefly into some light physics. But what causes it. It is usually best to use the manufacturer s highest recommended pressure but no higher. Phono cartridges are incredibly sensitive transducers.

They don t just convert the microscopic grooves of your vinyl records into sound. Vinyl can sound bad for all sorts of reasons chief among which. If you have a spare stylus i d try that or at least get a good magnifier to. Some would call it a design flaw for others it s just part of the vinyl experience.

Cartridges can pick up all vibrations including those caused by footsteps and all other unwanted movements that reach your tonearm. That s also the main reason you should replace worn styli. Vinyl playback fuzzy distorted first system. To my ears this doesn t sound like an electronic issue it sounds like an issue originating with the stylus vinyl interface.

Inner groove distortion is an audible deterioration in sound quality that sometimes occurs when playing tracks close to the end of each side. A few days ago my pro ject debut carbon came in the mail. Bad tracking indeed damages the vinyl as your stylus bumps agains the groove walls in stead of actually accurately following them. Check and adjust if necessary the stylus pressure.