681 with jico shibata with sibilance

[cafe latte]

I had never noticed any problems before but my 681 with the Jico shibata was getting a turn and something I know quite will not to be sibilant was sibilant . I put my 881 back on also with a Jico shabata fitted and sibilance was gone. My carts are all perfectly aligned so it seems it is at the door of the cart or most likely the Jico shibata on the 681 (had very very little use). It cant be a big problem as I have not noticed it before but as both carts basically have the same stylus tip thay should IMO both track equally well. Unless of course there has been a major stuff up and the 681 shibata I bought from Jico is not actually a shibata at all.. I really hope this is not the case but I am starting to wonder.
Regards
CL

[dlaloum]

Hmmm - Might be worth checking for a compliance difference between the two?

Perhaps one is a better match for your arm than the other? A bit of LF resonance could easily account for a slight reduction in tracking ability which in turn might cause sibilance....

If you have a USB microscope - looking at the needle is possible too

Just a couple of thoughts

bye for now

David

[cafe latte]

Hmmm - Might be worth checking for a compliance difference between the two?

Perhaps one is a better match for your arm than the other? A bit of LF resonance could easily account for a slight reduction in tracking ability which in turn might cause sibilance....

If you have a USB microscope - looking at the needle is possible too

Just a couple of thoughts

bye for now

David

A USB microscope is on the shopping list, IMO thie stylus is the issue. It is not so bad but it does not track anything like the 881 when things get difficult.
Regards
CL

[Ldg]

Hi CL. You'll probably find a USB microscope doesn't cut it to see the nitty gritty bit that matters, only good for gross-outs I found. I'd suggest looking out for a lab mono optical which have fallen out of fashion and are pretty cheap. They can actually let you see the detail you're interested in, which is still right on the limit and largely determined by optical quality, which pastes the USB scopes IME. Easy enough to fit a normal digital cam for captures too.

In any event, I'd love to see good images of the various Jicos.

[cafe latte]

Hi CL. You'll probably find a USB microscope doesn't cut it to see the nitty gritty bit that matters, only good for gross-outs I found. I'd suggest looking out for a lab mono optical which have fallen out of fashion and are pretty cheap. They can actually let you see the detail you're interested in, which is still right on the limit and largely determined by optical quality, which pastes the USB scopes IME. Easy enough to fit a normal digital cam for captures too.

In any event, I'd love to see good images of the various Jicos.

Hmm I will have a google and see if I can find one cheaply. I cant help thinking that I may not have the shibata tip I paid for on the 681, I dont think it would have happened on purpose but I cant believe there would be this tracking difference. I will see what I find with the microscopes, anyone any good links?
Regards
CL

[Dismord]

I have no idea if your particular JICO model ever suffered from this problem but a few years ago I read of a batch that slipped through with excessive amounts of glue at the stylus/ cantilever interface. These were reported to induce problems in the upper treble. Another reason for getting yours under a good microscope?

[Ldg]

This particular example looks a tad pricey and under mag to me, but shows the sort of thing to look out for. And it is new - used examples are much cheaper. Generally they come with a range of eyepieces, and some means of getting to about x600 or x800 is in order really. Remember it's typically easy to lash a normal digital camera to the eyepiece, which can provide a bit more mag, but the detail of what is trying to see is near the limit of what can reasonable be obtained optically. Nevertheless it can be good enough IME. The quality of optics ultimately defines what detail one can see, even at relatively low mags the eyepiece/camera can always zoom.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Biological-Comp ... 0605997531

BTW, even if tip profile isn't the shibata, that's no reason for it to mistrack/be sibilent. It's possible to achieve excellent results in that respect even from spherical styli, it has more to do with the whole bundle of stlus/cantilever/suspension/armature than the tip IME. I suspect something has gone wrong in this case, and even with a loupe you might be able to see a gross-out......?

[cafe latte]

This particular example looks a tad pricey and under mag to me, but shows the sort of thing to look out for. And it is new - used examples are much cheaper. Generally they come with a range of eyepieces, and some means of getting to about x600 or x800 is in order really. Remember it's typically easy to lash a normal digital camera to the eyepiece, which can provide a bit more mag, but the detail of what is trying to see is near the limit of what can reasonable be obtained optically. Nevertheless it can be good enough IME. The quality of optics ultimately defines what detail one can see, even at relatively low mags the eyepiece/camera can always zoom.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Biological-Comp ... 0605997531

BTW, even if tip profile isn't the shibata, that's no reason for it to mistrack/be sibilent. It's possible to achieve excellent results in that respect even from spherical styli, it has more to do with the whole bundle of stlus/cantilever/suspension/armature than the tip IME. I suspect something has gone wrong in this case, and even with a loupe you might be able to see a gross-out......?

Thanks ld,
I will keep my eyes open as a scope will be very useful. I know it could be a shibata and have a problem, but now I look at the tip admittedly only with a loop they look different (the 681 seems larger) so my suspisions are growing there has been a stuff up. It still sounds great apart the slight sibilance on some tracks but I will do a search at the weekend and see if I can find a microscope then I can see what is going on.
Thanks again!
Regards
CL

[cairns4me]

Hey there Latte..If I had a microscope I would run it up the hill to you...

[cafe latte]

Hey there Latte..If I had a microscope I would run it up the hill to you...

Appreciated You must come up and say hi and have a bite to eat and a beer some time, but dont forget to bring some records
Regards
CL

[Dimal]

What about something like this? http://tinyurl.com/729nzas

Would the facility to adjust polarisation make it easier to view facets of the stylus?

Mal.

[cafe latte]

What about something like this? http://tinyurl.com/729nzas

Would the facility to adjust polarisation make it easier to view facets of the stylus?

Mal.

That is quite cool but I would still need the microscope as that is just the eyepiece.
Regards
CL

[Dimal]

That is quite cool but I would still need the microscope as that is just the eyepiece.
Regards
CL

Yes mate, realise that... But coupled with a suitable and inexpensive monocular microscope, I was wondering whether this would aid in the diagnostics of stylus anomalies...

Mal.

[steve195527]

out of curiosity is it one of the later 681eee(mk3?)or an earlier version,I have a mk2 and a mk3 and find the mk3 very sibilant(unlistenable on some records!),it may be down to whatever changes they have made to the cartridge body?