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Technics SL-1200MK2 Turntable

Some sounds are lower in songs

posted by unique420 on Jan 02, 2008


Many of my records sound fine, but when I play certain songs on certain records, parts of the song are lower than others. For instance, on one song, the vocals can barely be heard, while the rest of the sounds are at normal volume. This problem occurs on both my tables, on the same songs. They are both 1200s, bought at different times. The needles are of the same age, and I suspect they may be going out. Could this be the culprit? The fact that one song that now doesn't sound right was playing just fine a few weeks ago suggests wear and tear is involved. Could this be a result of record deterioration? It seems to only occur on old records, so this is possible. Or is it a speaker issue? My speakers are old and are not the same brand as my amp.
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Best Solution

posted on Feb 24, 2008
Helpful (85)

djproaudio

Rank:Guru Guru
Rating: 88%, 166 votes
Well, it seems you answered your own question. Replace your stylus. If that doesn't solve your problem, the issue might be your RCA cables or tonearm.

What many people don't understand is that it takes ALOT to wear out a record. I mean, you would have to play a record about a good 1000 times before you'll see any sort of real wear/tear on it. Why do you think they last so long? Besides, record wear doesn't sound like that. With TRUE record wear you'll experience lots of skipping from your stylus, as the grooves have worn down. Also, you'll get alot of pan issues, where the sound goes in/out left/right side. The grooves of a record are a V shape, and the left side of the V carries the left signal, and the right side carries the right signal. With record wear, usually 1 side will wear out quicker than the other, and that's why you'll get inconsistencies with sound.

Unless you play the same record over and over again for the past few years, you wont see this kind of wear.

Replace your stylus first, then have your RCA cables and tonearm checked. Try cleaning out your tonearm with 99.9% PURE ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL and see if that does anything.

Good luck

DJ PRO LAB

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Solution #2

posted on Jan 04, 2008
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ctf1800

Rank:Guru Guru
Rating: 85%, 3692 votes
you say the problem happens on both tables and on the same song
if it was the needle or cartridge i would suspect only one to have the problem so im going to go with record deterioration, try a new Record!
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