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I own a Kiseki Purpleheart that I bought from Upscale Audio. I've tried every alignment known to mankind and I can't get rid of the sibilance on voices male or female. The cartridge sounds great otherwise. I am hoping that someone familiar with this cartridge could give me some pointers. Thanks all.
Follow Ups:
I know this isn't much help, but I have the Blue NS and using Baerwald first with my DB Systems Protractor following by fine tuning with my Avid universal mirrored protractor, I'm not hearing any sibilance with my Schick 9 tonearm. Do you have a way of checking VTA, ie a usb microscope or similar?
Did you get this resolved? I'm having the same issue with male and female vocals.. I just bought it and have maybe 10 hours on it. I'm running it at 2.3gm and 400 ohms, but on an SME 312s. I suspect I might have it tilted down too far. I will play with it soon.
Edits: 09/26/17
It wasn't the cartridge. It was the horizontal fluid damping which seems like it has the same effect as a sticky bearing. I don't need the damping anyway.
Thanks for all the responses. I got rid of the cartridge and all my problems left with it. I noticed that a lot of people who bought this cartridge to use with the VPI unipivot arm have also gotten rid of their cartridges. It must not be a good match for the arm.
its too bad you had to let the cartridge go. what did you replace it with?
Tom Collins
A Soundsmith Sussurro.
do you like the SS?
Tom Collins
Yes it's my "exit level" cartridge.
i have toyed with the idea of trying an SS. i have a soundsmithed denon 103 gold that he sells or used to sell and it is fantastic, but a different beast from what you have.
Tom Collins
I have found that better MC carts are very sensitive to the arm bearings. You may need to look elsewhere in your arm/table for the source of the problem.
Jim
What load is it running into. I think I read somewhere that it sounds best around 1,000 ohms. Lower than this and it could sound dull, significantly higher and it could edgy.
Terry
What turntable, phono stage, and tonearm wire? These are variables that can cause the issue. Cartridge is not alone.
I have found that better MC carts are very sensitive to the arm bearings. You may need to look elsewhere in your arm/table for the source of the problem.
Jim
You might head over to the VPI forum or ask Harry directly as he is a big fan of that cartridge and would probably have some pointers even if you don't have a VPI turntable.
Edits: 05/18/17
I've looked around over there but it looks like things are getting a bit agenda driven. Not my cup of tea. Hopefully someone here can help.
No one can help until you tell us what turntable and phono stage you're using.
Sorry for not getting back to you earlier. In my initial set up I didn't week my azimuth. I used a millennium block to set the cartridge perpendicular to the record. Obviously this was wrong. Tweaking the azimuth cut down on the sibilance. I'm going to fiddle with it some more to see if I can make it even better.
As Jeffrey Lee wrote, you still haven't named TT, arm and pre.Also, what is your tracking weight?
You buy a cartridge at this price and expect it to perform at its best by setting it level using a plastic block? I don't think so.
Edits: 05/19/17
TT is a VPI Prime, phono stage is a Parasound JC3+. I'm tracking at 2.3, loading is 400. I used a Feickert Protractor (latest).
The stylus shape of the Kiseki is extreme: 4 x 120 µm
That makes setting the SRA super critical. A level cartridge is not likely to achieve optimum performance. If you don't have experience setting SRA I suggest you contact Kevin at Upscale (or anyone experienced with the cartridge) and at least get a suggestion of tail up or down--and then move it in that direction in very small increments while playing a record that is good at revealing SRA problems and benefits--all the while making sure azimuth is correct. Unfortunately, and especially for hand-made cartridges, a horizontally level cartridge is only a beginning point for correct azimuth.
HW notwithstanding, I would not change arm height while the record is playing. I would change it, give it a long listen, and change again--all over a period of time.
Guessing from a distance, that may be where the problem is.
I change the VTA while the LP is playing and it doesn't cause any negative side effects. I have great respect for the Prime and the 10.5 inch 3D tonearm's VTA implementation.
Its a unipivot tonearm and you can change the VTA while the LP is playing. Thats a nice tonearm and great VTA on the fly. As long as you are not clumsy you can adjust the VTA all you want while the LP is playing.
It sounds like the VTA/SRA may be too high. The original poster should try dropping the tail end a bit and listen for the changes.
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
Well, a question to Harry either publicly or privately may get your agenda taken care of. What can it hurt? Doesn't even cost 2 cents.
I have no idea if he would be open to lending a hand... but that's his favorite cartridge, so I assume he has a fair bit of experience with it, certainly on VPI tables.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
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