[Cartouche]

I bought a new Audio Technica turntable. When I lower the needle to
start playing, and in between cuts, I can hear a rattling noise,
almost like the cartridge is loose. The music sounds great, probably
because it's louder than the rattle. AT-PL120, ATP-2 cartridge, LP,
felt mat, wood shelf, wood floor. Thanks in advance.

[borosteve[_2_]]

On 18 Oct, 03:56, Cartouche wrote:
I bought a new Audio Technica turntable. When I lower the needle to
start playing, and in between cuts, I can hear a rattling noise,
almost like the cartridge is loose. The music sounds great, probably
because it's louder than the rattle. AT-PL120, ATP-2 cartridge, LP,
felt mat, wood shelf, wood floor. Thanks in advance.

Sounds to me like the cartridge's suspension is faulty.I had a very
similar experience with my AT-F5 moving coil when it got very old.It
played ok but between tracks you could hear slight tinkling noise.Also
just check that your tracking force is not too high and that the
cartridge is not grounding on the LP.

regards,
Borosteve.

[Frank Traut]

Cartouche wrote:
I bought a new Audio Technica turntable. When I lower the needle to
start playing, and in between cuts, I can hear a rattling noise,
almost like the cartridge is loose. The music sounds great, probably
because it's louder than the rattle. AT-PL120, ATP-2 cartridge, LP,
felt mat, wood shelf, wood floor. Thanks in advance.

Depending on what's really going on here, that does not sound good!

Is the "rattle" mechanical sounding as if it were coming from the
point where the cantilever enters cartridge body? OR is it a sound
coming out of your speakers? I'd suspect perhaps both, since we're
dealing with such high level amplification.

Is the tonearm secured properly? My experience dealing with modern
turntables is that when you purchase something that has been setup
"at the factory", there is almost ALWAYS something wrong with the
installation of the cartridge, stylus (if removable) and the tonearm.
Check to be sure the tonearm is not about to fall off. And twist the
tonearm as if you were adjusting azimuth to ensure it is "locked" in
place.

Looking at this turntable, I see the headshell comes off on this model.
Make sure that is fully seated and that the screw holding it on is
turned all the way in. If everything seems A-OK, any chance the cartridge
sitting in the headshell is loose? I wouldn't think so, but...

[Frank Traut]

Cartouche wrote:
I bought a new Audio Technica turntable. When I lower the needle to
start playing, and in between cuts, I can hear a rattling noise,
almost like the cartridge is loose. The music sounds great, probably
because it's louder than the rattle. AT-PL120, ATP-2 cartridge, LP,
felt mat, wood shelf, wood floor. Thanks in advance.

Oh, and assuming the downforce is properly set, perhaps you have a
funky spindle, bearing or platter problem? If you hear this rattle
through both the speakers and TT, maybe the sound is a result of a
bad drive system? Wouldn't surprise me at all with the way these
transit companies (ESPECIALLY UPS) handle packages these days ;-)

[Cartouche]

UPDATE: I've been doing some more observations, and if I look really
closely at the stylus head-on as it's playing a record, it definitely
seems to be shaking/vibrating up and down. This seems to correspond
with the rattle. Could it be that I have the counterweight set too
lightly? I'm following A-T's settings recommendation.

[Sonnova]

On Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:10:55 -0700, ScottW wrote
(in article ):

"Cartouche" wrote in message
...
UPDATE: I've been doing some more observations, and if I look really
closely at the stylus head-on as it's playing a record, it definitely
seems to be shaking/vibrating up and down. This seems to correspond
with the rattle. Could it be that I have the counterweight set too
lightly? I'm following A-T's settings recommendation.

Be certain the cart mounting screws are secure
and you have the counterbalance properly zero'd before
setting the tracking force.

A stylus force gauge may be in order..they can be inexpensive.
Increasing the setting and see what happens won't hurt.
I prefer to run a little on the high end of the recommended range
feeling the mistracking is far more damaging to vinyl than a little
extra force.

I'd also suggest that perhaps the cart is a poor match for the
arm but since it was a package by A-T, that should not be the
case. Still a test track to show cart/arm resonance might
be useful.

ScottW

I think I'd check the tracking angle too. A cartridge that's mounted so that
the stylus plane allows the cantilever portion behind the stylus to touch the
record or the cartridge body itself is allowed to touch the record, it can
cause noise.

[Cartouche]

I'm going to take the whole turntable to a hi-fi store here in CT and
make sure it's the turntable that's the issue and not my set-up or
other components. The headstock and cartridge are on tight and I have
the counterweight set according to the AT directions. I'll give an
update then. Thanks for all the great input!

[Norman M. Schwartz]

"Sonnova" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:10:55 -0700, ScottW wrote
(in article ):

"Cartouche" wrote in message
...
UPDATE: I've been doing some more observations, and if I look really
closely at the stylus head-on as it's playing a record, it definitely
seems to be shaking/vibrating up and down. This seems to correspond
with the rattle. Could it be that I have the counterweight set too
lightly? I'm following A-T's settings recommendation.

Be certain the cart mounting screws are secure
and you have the counterbalance properly zero'd before
setting the tracking force.

A stylus force gauge may be in order..they can be inexpensive.
Increasing the setting and see what happens won't hurt.
I prefer to run a little on the high end of the recommended range
feeling the mistracking is far more damaging to vinyl than a little
extra force.

I'd also suggest that perhaps the cart is a poor match for the
arm but since it was a package by A-T, that should not be the
case. Still a test track to show cart/arm resonance might
be useful.

ScottW

I think I'd check the tracking angle too. A cartridge that's mounted so
that
the stylus plane allows the cantilever portion behind the stylus to touch
the
record or the cartridge body itself is allowed to touch the record, it can
cause noise.

I think the OP must have taken a good hard look at the
stylus/cartridge/tonearm combo making certain all remains clear of the LP
surface. Could it of happened that the stylus assembly became loosened when
a stylus guard was removed? I suggest pulling the stylus assembly out of the
cartridge body and then pushing it back in firmly as far as possible into
the cartridge body. (I suppose it's a P-mount cartridge so loosened
wires/lugs are out of the question.)

[Cartouche]

Wow, this is weird or I'm a complete idiot. I have a feeling it's the
latter. Before I made the 30 mile trek to the hi-fi store, I went to
my folks' house and hooked it up to their Pioneer receiver just for
the heck of it. No rattle at all, but the cartridge and headstock
still move around, (I doubt any LP is perfectly flat, as least in my
collection). OK, I think, then it's one of two things: my environment
or my other components. Again, I have a feeling it's the latter. The
TT makes this rattle whether I send it through the Phono or Aux inputs
on my receiver. Mind you, the receiver and speakers are 20 years old
and have moved between East and West Coasts 3 times. I planned on
replacing my entire system starting from the source, hopefully a new
receiver will clear this up. I can't imagine my shelving, walls or
floors could create this. Thanks everyone, I'm getting a real
education from all the great responses.

[Steven Sullivan]

Cartouche wrote:
Wow, this is weird or I'm a complete idiot. I have a feeling it's the
latter. Before I made the 30 mile trek to the hi-fi store, I went to
my folks' house and hooked it up to their Pioneer receiver just for
the heck of it. No rattle at all, but the cartridge and headstock
still move around, (I doubt any LP is perfectly flat, as least in my
collection).

So, all you've been talking about is the normal up-and-down motion
of the tonearm/cart assembly, as it rides the not-perfectly-flat surface
of the LP?

OK, I think, then it's one of two things: my environment
or my other components. Again, I have a feeling it's the latter. The
TT makes this rattle whether I send it through the Phono or Aux inputs
on my receiver.

You always need to route the signal through a phono preamp, so I
suggest not using anything other than Phono.

If you do buy new gear, makes sure the receiver (these days it's likely
to be an A/V receiver or 'AVR') has a Phono input.

___
-S
"As human beings, we understand the world through simile, analogy,
metaphor, narrative and, sometimes, claymation." - B. Mason