Advice on how to get the best turntable sound
The joys of vinyl only emerge if we look after our records properly (below) and correctly install the equipment we play them on (right)
Record players are arguably the most sensitive of hi-fi components. Even the best are easily upset by insensitive positioning, poor adjustment or an inadequate support.
Get everything right though, and your turntable will make your music shine in a way that makes you wonder why we ever bothered with digital.
Getting the right support
The ideal support is perfectly level, low-resonance and positioned as far away from sources of vibration as possible. And that includes your speakers.
On a hard concrete floor, a floorstanding support will work fine, though the same support will emphasise footfall on a suspended wooden floor. If you have such a floor construction we would recommend investing in a dedicated wall shelf. This kind of support avoids the footfall issue totally. Make sure you use proper heavy duty mounting screws and fixings, or the consequences could be expensive.
Most decks have some sort of isolation built in. At its simplest this could be rubber feet, or it could mean a fully suspended design. The better the isolation, the less fussy the deck will be about its support, but even the most sophisticated designs will perform better with careful placement and a good support.
Next, everything should be level – it’s important in order to ensure the stylus tip sits properly in the record groove. Use a small, light spirit level to check. Start with the plinth. If your support is already level (and it should be), there shouldn’t be much to do. But if you need to make adjustments, many turntables have adjustable feet to help you get things spot-on.
Now check the platter is level. It’s usually fixed relative to the plinth and should be parallel (so level) to start with. Suspended designs will allow a degree of adjustment.
Adjusting the tracking force
Back in vinyl’s heyday, it was common for people to mix and match decks, arms and cartridges. Today we tend to see more deck/ arm packages instead, with the choice of cartridge left open, though more affordable turntables will include the cartridge too. You’ll still have to do some set-up, though.
Arm and cartridge adjustments are usually done together. If your cartridge is pre-fitted then it’s relatively simple: all you have to do is set the tracking force. This is done by moving the counterweight on the back of the arm and adjusting the bias (sideways force) to compensate for the inward pull of the record groove.
The cartridge manufacturer will recommend a downforce range, usually between 1.5 and 2.5g, as an ideal weight. That should be your starting point but it is sometimes possible to get better sound with a bit of experimentation within the recommended range.
If the sound is a bit dull and lifeless you’ve gone too heavy, while a thin or aggressive presentation means the tracking weight is a little too light. If you overdo the lightness, the cartridge is likely to mis-track, damaging the record grooves in the process. If in doubt, go a touch heavier – the stylus tip will sit in the record groove with more stability, produce less distortion and cause less damage.
Adjusting the arm height
Many upmarket decks allow the user to adjust arm height. Usually the arm is set to be parallel with a record when playing, though sometimes a cartridge may have a particular preference depending on its design. Generally though, if the arm is too high you’ll get a bright, forward sound and the opposite if the arm is too low.
If the cartridge isn’t pre-fitted, you’ve a bit more work to do. Once it’s mounted, you’ll need to connect the thin, fragile arm wires to the cartridge. These are colourcoded but space is tight so you’ll need small long-nose pliers to help attach them. Take care – it doesn’t take much to damage the connectors or even break the wires.
Adjusting cartridge alignment
You’ll need a gauge to do this. While you can get expensive metal gauges, many manufacturers supply a simple but effective card-based alternative in the box. This usually consists of two points, each surrounded with printed parallel lines.
The idea is to get the cartridge body square to the lines while the stylus tip is placed on each point. This takes a bit of patience, but once done the stylus top will sit at the proper angle in the record groove, plus you’ll get lower distortion levels and minimal record wear.
Choosing a phono preamp
One of the side effects of the move to digital music has been the loss of a phono stage from many amplifier designs. Even if such a circuit is included, it’s often an afterthought, with little care taken to maximise sound quality. A phono stage provides extra amplification – the output of a cartridge can be around a thousand times less than a typical CD player – and equalises the tonal balance.
Vinyl isn’t physically able to accept large amounts of bass during recording, so the tonal range of the music has to be skewed heavily towards the higher frequencies to make things work. On playback, the phono stage’s job is to rebalance this. A good phono stage will let your record player shine. A poor one will have you wondering what all the vinyl fuss is about.
All but the most basic of phono stages can usually cope with both moving-magnet (MM) and moving-coil (MC) cartridges.
MM or MC cartridge?
Moving-magnet designs are usually more affordable, and produce a higher output. This is good news for the phono stage, as the signal requires less amplification and so any of the circuitry’s shortcomings are less magnified.
Moving-magnet cartridges tend to be consistent in terms of their electrical requirements, so phono-stage manufacturers can design a single circuit that will suit (almost) all. Things aren’t so simple with moving coils.
High-output MC designs aren’t far off their MM cousins in terms of level, while low-output variants produce just a fraction of that. This means adjustable gain in the phono stage is desirable to optimise the sound. While 40db of gain is fine for most moving magnets, MCS will sometimes need anything from around 50db to 70db.
Moving coils also vary in their impedance requirements. Get these things right and the interface between the cartridge and phono stage will be better, leading to improved sound. In the context of your system, it’s possible that different values may work better. Generally, the lower the resistance value the more solid and tonally dull the sound gets. Typical values will be in the region of 100500 ohms. If your system is transparent enough, these changes will be easily heard.
Yes, you can get decent sound straight out of the box, but take a little extra care and patience with your turntable to get things right and you’ll be richly rewarded.
”Even the best turntables can be upset by insensitive positioning, poor adjustment or inadequate support”