A while back I was given a copy of DS Brothers in Arms from Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs, I have played it many times on my old Rega P3 without any issue at all, it sounded great.
Last week I played it for the first time on the LP12, having enjoyed side 1 , I settled down to listen to side 2 only to find part way through ‘Walk of Life’ that the record got stuck. Played the next track and the rest of the album without issue.
The LP was cleaned just in case a bit of muck was causing the problem but sadly no improvement. I’m now disappointed.
After discussing with Mrs O I ordered a replacement.
This has now arrived and after a clean was the second LP up for a play. After an excellent side one I looked forward to ‘Walk of Life’, but not for long, the same fault appeared.
Clearly this is a pressing issue, has anyone else had the same problem or heard about the problem.
I have e-mailed the supplier so will wait to hear what they say and if they offer a solution.
It means the cartridge on your deck may not be aligned correctly, there may be other reasons to but this is the most likely assuming tracking force and bias are correct - which you have already checked.
So I had a similar thing a couple of years ago. I bought a new TT (Pure Fidelity) with an Origin Live tonearm and MC cart and some of my LPs that used to play fine started sticking. The table had been set up by the head of Pure Fidelity so it was fine although I did adjust the weight a little.
Some of the LPs resolved themselves with a good cleaning using either a VPI or a Huminguru cleaning machine but I still had one or two records (out of over 1000) that for one reason or another just wouldn’t stop sticking in the same place. The vinyl looked fine (and played Ok on my older TT) so I had no real answer. I traded them away.
A problem with suspended decks against rigid I’m afraid. I had a few LP12’s over a number of years and though they can sound fantastic and excell in many areas they can be slightly fussy in others and if the record is skipping in the same place everytime then it’s an imperfection in the pressing that a rigid deck like your Rega won’t react to in the same way as the LP12.
Update - I was checking Discogs and have found that there is a known problem with Mobile Fidelity’s BiA, various solutions offered including adding a penny to the head shell.
Hi Oxfordian. I went to your profile and see that your turntable is very near the speaker. Maybe could you put it on a wall shelf. A lots of vibrations near the turntable is not good.
I don’t think it’s a pressing issue. I also have that record (DS Brother in Arms, by Mofi, the 45rpm record), it’s played well end to end on my TT.
In fact, just before, right after reading your post, I tried playing it again especially on Side 2 where you had problem, thank God it worked well on my TT.
You may want to check your cartridge/TT, sorry to hear your problem, hope you can solve it pronto.
Cartridge is a Hana MH and was installed by the dealer 3 weeks ago, I am presuming that everything is set up correctly as I have played about 75 LP’s since the TT arrived without any issue at all, the sound from the TT is just superb, it is only this Dire Straits album that is causing an issue.
The dealer is with me tomorrow to install speakers so he can double check everything on the LP12 whilst he is here.
The deck is close to the speaker but no other LP has created this issue, so yes I could put the TT on a dedicated wall mount but I would prefer not to as it is a plasterboard wall and getting to brick requires a long bolt.
The setup was installed by the dealer who was aware from the outset of just how the system would need to be set up, he had images of my old P3 in this location and was confident that there would be no issues.
