zorg wrote: Thu Jan 04, 2024 11:34 am

jfv wrote: Thu Jan 04, 2024 11:18 am

dontfeartheringo wrote: Thu Jan 04, 2024 10:51 am
There is no substitute for beans and rice, for eating cheaply.

If you wanna cheat every now and then, Taco Bell's cheesy bean and rice burrito is $1.

For real? Last time I went to Taco Bell I paid like $10 for a fast food meal, and thus find it hard to justify returning.
They don't have Taco Bell in Sweden, because they hate fun.

Yes, at over 400 calories and with nutritional content that isn't egregiously bad, it's a $1 lunch. Also vegetarian.

zorg is correct.. sorry, kokorodoko, no Taco Bell in Sweden. But if you're ever in Finland... By the way, I'm watching that video you posted. Entertaining!

Really wanted to go to a show tonight but I'm on day-2 of a dry cough that doesn't seem to be going anywhere soon, and I'd feel like a chump all coughy and masked-up even though I've tested negative for COVID.

And on that note I've given-up smoking. Don't smoke, don't drink ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

rsmurphy wrote: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:05 pm And on that note I've given-up smoking. Don't smoke, don't drink ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Congrats! I haven't had a cigarette/tobacco in almost exactly 10 years. No regrets. I also can't drink because I get a nasty-ass headache from just a half-glass of wine or sip of good booze now. That sucks.

jfv wrote: Sat Dec 30, 2023 2:36 pm

motorbike guy wrote: Sat Dec 30, 2023 2:10 pm

jfv wrote: Sat Dec 30, 2023 11:33 am Currently obsessing over just the slightest bit of distortion on my turntable.. not immediately noticeable through the speakers but is driving me bonkers while listening with headphones.

Now working with alignment tools and force gauge.

Happy New Year, everyone!

make sure your stylus is clean (duh)
check cartridge alignment and tracking force
check connections between cart and turntable and between TT and amp.
how old is your cart?

Stylus is clean. Checked tracking force and it’s in middle (1.9 g) of recommended range (1.8-2.0 g). Connections seem fine. Alignment is what I suspected could be the most likely culprit. Am fiddling with that, anally, now.

Cart is ~ 2 yrs old. Recently swapped in a new stylus about a month ago and I play it almost daily, so I think (?) it should be past its break-in period.

As mentioned, I didn’t notice anything wrong until I listened via headphones, which I don’t do often. What I’m noticing may not actually be anything *wrong* but could be a limitation of my system.

So I haven't fixed the "problem" yet (if it is in fact a problem), but... the swap to a new stylus made it more noticeable. I did a comparison one after the other of the old vs. new vs. old stylus and wow, I didn't realize how dull the old stylus had gotten. Oops.

Geiginni wrote: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:33 pm Congrats! I haven't had a cigarette/tobacco in almost exactly 10 years. No regrets. I also can't drink because I get a nasty-ass headache from just a half-glass of wine or sip of good booze now. That sucks.

For dinner I made a cottage cheese salad (where the hell has that been all of my life), and a turkey sandwich, and all I could think about, aside from the deliciousness of everything, was the non-existent cigarette I won't be having.

Had my final drink mid-Dec and not drankin is a hell of a lot easier than not smoking. I just need a reset; feels like my body is rebelling.

dontfeartheringo wrote:
Soak your dry beans of choice (I suspect cannellini beans might be the easiest for you to get over there) in cold water for six to eight hours. Rinse extravagantly to wash away that extra layer of starch. Cover with water in an oversized pot. Add garlic, salt, pepper, and your hambone. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the beans are tender. Should be an hour or two on the stovetop, overnight in a slow cooker.

Years ago we made slow cooker beans with a smoked hamhock in there and we still talk about them. They are referred to as Super Beans.

rsmurphy wrote: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:05 pm Really wanted to go to a show tonight but I'm on day-2 of a dry cough that doesn't seem to be going anywhere soon, and I'd feel like a chump all coughy and masked-up even though I've tested negative for COVID.

And on that note I've given-up smoking. Don't smoke, don't drink ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

yeah, congrats randy. keep it up. it is worth it.

i have quit a hundred times, but the last time seems to stuck. Even in situations where I wanted to smoke before, I have no desire at all. I just decided that the smell and the taste are too gross. Its been 8 months and no backsliding at all.

jfv wrote: Thu Jan 04, 2024 5:17 pm

jfv wrote: Sat Dec 30, 2023 2:36 pm

motorbike guy wrote: Sat Dec 30, 2023 2:10 pm

make sure your stylus is clean (duh)
check cartridge alignment and tracking force
check connections between cart and turntable and between TT and amp.
how old is your cart?

Stylus is clean. Checked tracking force and it’s in middle (1.9 g) of recommended range (1.8-2.0 g). Connections seem fine. Alignment is what I suspected could be the most likely culprit. Am fiddling with that, anally, now.

Cart is ~ 2 yrs old. Recently swapped in a new stylus about a month ago and I play it almost daily, so I think (?) it should be past its break-in period.

As mentioned, I didn’t notice anything wrong until I listened via headphones, which I don’t do often. What I’m noticing may not actually be anything *wrong* but could be a limitation of my system.

So I haven't fixed the "problem" yet (if it is in fact a problem), but... the swap to a new stylus made it more noticeable. I did a comparison one after the other of the old vs. new vs. old stylus and wow, I didn't realize how dull the old stylus had gotten. Oops.

I don't know man. What sort of distortion are you hearing? Is it the same on known good records? Depending on the table, arm and the cartridge, you could just be hearing what it is capable of doing. You could be one of those people who is super sensitive to certain distortions, and what you are hearing is normal. I have no way to judge the magnitude of the problem.

Headphones are much more revealing than most speakers, so it could just be that the problem was always there.

If the distortion is greater towards the outside diameter of the record (first song) and gets better as the arm gets to the middle tracks (and then gets worse as the arm moves toward the center), then it could be your anti-skate settings. Generally they should be the same as the tracking force, but the dials and gizmos in some tonearms are horribly inaccurate, and it just might benefit from fiddling.

I don't have to align my cartridge because it has 3 screw holes and there is only one way to mount it, but when I worked in a hifi shop, I would align the cart by just making the front edge parallel to the front edge of the headshell. Some headshells and some tonearms are not straight, so a cartridge alignment tool does help. Is the cart firmly attached to the headshell? Is the headshell removable? If so, is it making good contact with the points in the tonearm? Clean that out with contact cleaner and q tips....Have you tried moving the cart back and forth in the screw slots (changing the overhang, and therefore the VTA a little)?

Good luck dude. I wish I could get my hands on it.

Teacher's Pet wrote: Fri Jan 05, 2024 12:52 pm Super Beans.

I love this.

John Steinbeck wrote:When you have 400 pounds of beans in the house, you need have no fear of starvation. Other things, delicacies such as sugar, tomatoes, peppers, coffee, fish or meat, may come sometimes miraculously, through the intercession of the Virgin, sometimes through industry…..but your beans are there, and you are safe. Beans are a roof over your stomach. Beans are a warm cloak against economic cold.

motorbike guy wrote: Fri Jan 05, 2024 2:03 pm I don't know man. What sort of distortion are you hearing? Is it the same on known good records? Depending on the table, arm and the cartridge, you could just be hearing what it is capable of doing.

It occurs on what I would call, in non-technical terms, busy sections of music. Sounds great on quiet and/or cleaner passages. Position on the record doesn't seem to impact when it happens.

Will look at your other suggestions but I strongly suspect as you mentioned that I'm hearing what my setup is capable of doing (my setup is low-to-medium end; U-Turn Orbit table w/ Ortofon 2M Blue cart) and it's been like this since the beginning. I'm just noticing it now because I just swapped an overly dull stylus for a new one and have been listening via headphones.

Thanks much for all of your help.