Sibilance

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I have an old Sota Moonbeam turntable with a Grado Platinum cartridge and am getting 

a lot of vocal sibilance.  I don't hear it on any CD's.  It is worse on loud passages,

when it localizes to the speakers.  It happens on many different LPs.  What causes this?

Asked by dcaliano
January 17, 2013 9:34 a.m.

1 Answer

  • upvote 2 downvote

    You fail to mention what tonearm is in your system. It could be as simple as a mismatch between cart and arm.

    In my personal experience, excess sibilance is usually an issue with set-up. I would have my system checked by a turntable set-up expert, such as Michael Trei.

    Answered by StevenStone
    January 18, 2013 11:27 p.m.

    • The tonearm is the stock one that comes with the turntable. — dcaliano January 20, 2013 8:43 p.m.

    • Just because it's the stock tonearm, doesn't mean it's not a potential mismatch with your cart if not set-up properly. If it has, from day one, had sibilance issues, that indicates the cart has never been properly installed — StevenStone January 21, 2013 6:12 p.m.

    • It could also mean an aging or even damaged stylus or cantilever. You didn't how long it's been in the system. — neilgader January 26, 2013 9:07 a.m.

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