Sutherland 20/20 Load and Gain Settings

forkandspoon said:
I recall now that I used this the last time, so I sprayed a little in and q-tipped it after. The Vandersteens are still shaking, but the rumble sound is gone.

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Spray lithium greases often have a tendency to dry out after a couple of years. A switch to an ester-based grease or a silicone oil PTFE grease is likely to go longer without drying out.
 
Angsty said:
@forkandspoon - any luck yet?
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Funny you should ask. I just got the super lube in the mail today. I q-tipped out the spray greese and put some super lube in.

Now the platter is sitting much higher than before because I assume there's air trapped. So I'm spinning it at 45 rpm with nothing playing and waiting for the platter to settle.

I'll keep you posted.
 
I would test another input (digital, CD) to see if the rumble is indeed coming from the analog input.
If you get the shaking on the digital side it could be the amp.
Try to isolate the issue.
Something also sounds wonky in your OP, about the sound etc. Coming from a tunnel? Maybe check everything from the cart all the way back. Could be some kind of artifact from a bad connection?
 
Digital recordings typically do not have subsonic content and are bandwidth limited to 20 Hz. If there is subsonic activity, it’s almost always from the vinyl analog side. Generally, it’s the fault of the turntable.

In rare cases, it can be the integrated amp but that probably means you’d see it with any input. The digital source test can help to isolate the issue, as @theflattire said.

If putting the Phono Box rumble filter in alleviates the problem, then there are a few courses of action to consider.

You can have the turntable repaired or replaced - it should not have a high level of rumble. Warps have been known to create subsonic noise; is the platter sitting completely flat when running? Contact MoFi for their advice, too.

You can go the inline filter method, but that seems odd to me with a high-end phono. I wouldn’t expect for that to have a completely neutral impact on the sound, but others may have had a different experience.

Or, you can exchange for a different high-end phono with a subsonic filter. The Phono Box RS2 fits that bill.

It’s hard to imagine that the 20/20 itself is causing the issue versus uncovering it. Someone else may have an idea about this that has not occurred to me. @HiFi Guy ?
 
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I overlooked an obvious potential problem: acoustic feedback. Where does your turntable sit relative to your Vandersteens? Do you experience a problem when listening using headphones?

When you said “the turntable seems to be picking up some vibration (it's very isolated)”, I had interpreted that to mean that the turntable is vibrationally very isolated from the speakers.
 
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theflattire said:
Something also sounds wonky in your OP, about the sound etc. Coming from a tunnel? Maybe check everything from the cart all the way back. Could be some kind of artifact from a bad connection?
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This was because I didn't have the gain and load settings properly set. That had been resolved :)
 
Angsty said:
I overlooked an obvious potential problem: acoustic feedback. Where does your turntable sit relative to your Vandersteens? Do you experience a problem when listening using headphones?

When you said “the turntable seems to be picking up some vibration (it's very isolated)”, I had interpreted that to mean that the turntable is vibrationally very isolated from the speakers.
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The turntable is a good 10 feet from the nearest speaker. Also, I have the ultradeck on a marble slab, and the marble slab is on top of a foam drawer liner sheet. When I knock on the cabinet that the turntable is on, you don't hear it through the speakers. So it seems to me to be isolated enough. Perhaps that is a false assumption.

CORRECTION: Just measured. It's 5 feet away.
 
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I tried those one; see below. But my placement was different because I was using an integrated amp with an onboard phono. Putting the filter in between the turntable and phono input was a fail. Putting them between the phono output and the integrated may work better.

Direct Metal Mastered Masterpieces

Ive had a few of the jazz releases over the years but they were always bit thin and bright for my ears tbh so got traded in once replaced. When I did a Google search on “DMM Blue Note”, I found lots of discussions out there I was previously unaware of. I’d summarize what I found to say that...
www.needlesandgrooves.com www.needlesandgrooves.com
 
Angsty said:
I tried those one; see below. But my placement was different because I was using an integrated amp with an onboard phono. Putting the filter in between the turntable and phono input was a fail. Putting them between the phono output and the integrated may work better.

Direct Metal Mastered Masterpieces

Ive had a few of the jazz releases over the years but they were always bit thin and bright for my ears tbh so got traded in once replaced. When I did a Google search on “DMM Blue Note”, I found lots of discussions out there I was previously unaware of. I’d summarize what I found to say that...
www.needlesandgrooves.com www.needlesandgrooves.com
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Hmm... I'll hang on to my optimism for now, but I certainly won't lie to myself if it degrades the sound in a noticeable way. I'll certainly report back with my findings.

It's so disappointing because I was very excited to get a 20/20.
 
The inline filters can’t hurt anything to try out, especially since the Tube Box did not have this issue.

From Audio Advice:

“Many of the better phono preamps are prepared for feedback. Since feedback in a turntable is created from very deep bass notes, the better ones have a low-frequency filter built in. This will allow you to cut off the very deepest bass notes to prevent a feedback loop from occurring.”

I think about the big passive radiators that point backward on those Vandersteens.

www.audioadvice.com

Why Does My Turntable Make A Loud Feedback Sound When I Turn Up the Volume?

If you are getting a "hum" sound from your turntable when you play records, this is likely due to feedback. It's a common problem -- here's how to fix it.
www.audioadvice.com www.audioadvice.com
 
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dansomeone said:
Have you contacted Sutherland about this issue yet? You'll likely get a response from Ron himself, and he might be able to help you figure out what's happening.
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Angsty said:
If you dial the support number in the user manual, it rings Ron’s cell phone.
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That's good to know. I will reach out and see if they can assist.

Alternatively, does anyone know anything about this device (link to site below image)?

1682102078226.png

 
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