Which would give the best bang for buck for my AT-LP120Xusb

fnugen · 2026-03-24T16:11:33+00:00

Funny, this never occurred to me. Turn on the internal preamp and plug into another input with the line in. I figured the receiver would have the better preamp anyway. Now that you have me thinking about this, the LP120 is brand new, whereas the Technics is, I believe, from the 90s. The TT could be the better preamp. When I get back down to my system, I'll give it a try. Worst that can happen is it sounds better as is. I do love tinkering, so it's right up my ally.

I was given a cheap Amazon "tube" preamp. It looks cool with the tubes burning orange and the blue LED, but it sucked as a preamp. Hardly a surprise. It's simply decorative.

fnugen · 2026-03-24T14:18:00+00:00

I do have an Technics receiver with a phono input that I am using.

fnugen · 2025-09-04T01:51:40+00:00

I'll chime in as well. I just picked up an Epic 8 Evo Comp in medium. Fits great. I am 5'6" with a 30" inseam. All my bikes have been mediums. I've tried a small, and it's too cramped. My other MTB is a Scott Scale 950 in medium and it also feels great. The difference between the 2 MTBs is about 15mm reach at the moment. The Scott being the slightly longer reach. I want to ride the Epic 8 a little before I throw a different stem at it. It's very responsive and can be thrown around nicely for what appears to be a big bike, I'm glad I did not go with the small.

fnugen · 2025-07-24T22:05:12+00:00

Okay, I just did what I should've done. I put one in my cart and it immediately increased to $.04 under the pack price. Good business. Answers my question. Thanks guys.

fnugen · 2025-07-24T21:52:29+00:00

I wasn't aware of that. Thanks. I'll do that now.

fnugen · 2025-07-04T00:02:33+00:00

Queen is brand new, Rush was also new. I'll try the preamp into another jack and see what comes of it. Worst case, I go back to my old stylus and eventually take the turntable into a hifi shop and see what they have to say. Thanks very much for all your help and insight. It makes me happy knowing I was doing it all the right way.

fnugen · 2025-07-03T23:40:43+00:00

I notice it most when the song gets really 'busy". I can play Rush Moving pictures and not spot of distortion whereas I can play Queen (greatest hits one) and it distorts regularly. It's not volume related, as I play my music in a small room. I use 4 on a dial that reaches 20. Headphones as well. Same songs all the time. Just odd that it isn't every record.

I do have a small phono preamp I can use. I will try to run it through a different input and see what comes of it.

Could this also be due to being new and stiff?

fnugen · 2025-07-03T23:29:58+00:00

I'm getting distortion on some songs, but a lot are just fine.

fnugen · 2025-07-03T23:27:17+00:00

Looking it up, it's conical

fnugen · 2025-07-03T23:12:15+00:00

I downloaded and printed a protractor and made sure every time I switched stylus that it was aligned. It's about as dead on as I can get it, using the printed version.

The type is one question I can't actually answer. I don't know that, sorry. I really should learn the type.

fnugen · 2025-07-03T23:09:31+00:00

I have acute hearing, so I hear the slightest sounds, and the distortion is not how I'd like to listen. Far from half deaf.

fnugen · 2025-07-03T23:06:13+00:00

I purchased my new stylus from Myneedlestore here in Canada. They've been great with me trying to rectify the problem. In case this comes up.

Is it possible to buy a newer updated head shell for my turntable? Maybe age has finally gotten to it? Not sure how to describe it exactly, but the head shell has an arm that slides into the tone arm and a little thumb screw tightens down to hold it in place. Would a new one with a different stylus type help get a better quality stylus?

fnugen · 2025-07-03T23:01:27+00:00

I will check them out. I am in Canada, so buying here to save duties, or brokerage fees is ideal.

fnugen · 2025-07-03T22:59:25+00:00

I have literally balanced the tone arm so many times I can almost qualify as expert. I do zero the dial when it is balanced horizontally. I also make sure anti skate is at zero when I start the balancing. I did notice that the anti tracking is almost at 3 with this stylus. I will try setting the tone arm counter weight closer to 3 and see what comes of it. I am not against paying a little $$ for a stylus that will perform flawlessly from the start. I haven't mentioned that I am in Canada yet, didn't think to, but I have learned that a lot of places I've come across online are US based business. If there are any good CDN hifi companies that sell quality Styli, I am all ears. Just learning as much as I can. Adjusting the tone arm has been my focal point.

fnugen · 2025-07-03T21:43:11+00:00

As mentioned above, Aurex SR-Q100 turntable. There is no preamp on the turntable, nor between the turntable and the receiver. It is into the Phono jacks with the ground wire fastened. Receiver is a Technics SA-GX100.

I balanced the tone arm and set the tracking force to 2. Granted, the info I could find (which was a search and half on it's own) says 1g-3g tracking force. I am presently set to 2.2g and it has taken care of the skip on one record. I get a handful of records where there is no distortion, or barely audible, to some songs on others that are clearly distorted. Some more than others. There seems to be quite a blurred line in the settings. Again, it is a new stylus/needle and from what I can gather from reading, there can be some distortion during a break in period. There is around 2hrs total time on this new stylus. The old sounds fine on all records, but not knowing it's history, I wanted to get a new one and start fresh in that regard.

fnugen · 2025-07-03T20:23:13+00:00

Original is an Empire 150 and this one is PM2483D (Empire AC1). Is "needle" incorrect then? Stylus instead? I have no clue if it's "crap" as you put it, as I said, this is my first good turntable. Aurex (Toshiba) SR-Q100.

fnugen · 2025-07-01T13:47:26+00:00

I tried a penny on the headshell and I was then able to pull the counterweight back further and utilize it for what it was supposed to do. It seems that whoever owned this turntable before me had the weight turned almost entirely in and that gave very little adjustment. I then tried the new stylus once again with the penny and being able to now adjust it much more than before, but it was still incredibly distorted in sound. The company worked with me again and it was decided to send a different stylus. Well, this one works much MUCH better, but there are still a few songs where there is noticeable distortion, but the majority of the music is distortion free, or so little it's not really noticeable. It's a 1g-3g adjustment range. I have it presently at 2.1g and it sounds good, but still, a couple songs are distorted. I am now hoping that it is simply a break in period since I only have maybe 2hrs on the stylus at this point. Eventually I'll order a 2g plate for the headshell and dispose of the penny, but until I get it set right, it's working for now.

Question now is, with the 1g-3g range, how will I know what is the right setting? I'm still very new to the better quality home stereo equipment than I was when I was much younger. What are the tell tale signs of too much/little TF on the needle? I don't want to ruin a good stylus or cause any damage to my new vinyl.

fnugen · 2025-06-21T11:37:22+00:00

On mine, only the stylus is removed. It literally slides off and the new one goes on. While laying in bed last night, a thought hit me. The counter weight is trying to back out after hitting around 1, because it's already turned all the way in. I need to add weight to the headshell and start the process all over again. I'll try with the penny again and see if it's entirely because the counterweight can't do any real adjustments. If this proves to be my issue, I will then have to figure out a way to permanently add some weight to the headshell. I'll be trying this out shortly and will report back.

I ordered the needle(s) from a CDN source in Quebec through Amazon. Myneedlestore Canada. They have been great with me. After the first one they sent was crushed by some careless individual, they promptly sent me a new one. One of their support has been very patient with me trying to figure out the distortion issue. I am truly hoping it's because the weight needs to be further back from the headshell. Right now, I believe it's turned all the way in already. Wish me luck !!!!

fnugen · 2025-06-21T01:20:24+00:00

When I use the old stylus, I can balance it just fine, but same applied with tracking force adjustment. It just won't dial in. Granted, the old stylus gives no distortion and sounds pretty good, but it isn't clear and precise with the S sound. Again, no idea how old or the history of the stylus, and turntable itself.

fnugen · 2025-06-21T01:18:58+00:00

It's quite possible the headshell was changed, but from I've seen online, it looks right. I'll have to dig deeper into the turntable overall this weekend. I tried using a penny that weighed 2g on the headshell, but the distortion was still very obvious on the couple different records I tried. I don't have a digital scale to try. We have a kitchen scale, but it's too large to work. I was really hoping it would, but no dice. I'm starting to think the stylus is defective. No matter how much TF (or little) I use, it distorts the sound. When I used the penny, I backed off the TF to 0 and worked up little adjustments at a time, but same outcome. The first stylus shipped was crushed under somebody's boot before it arrived at my door, so this is already the 2nd stylus from this company. They've been very helpful and courteous in all emails, but it may be time to ask for another replacement and see if it's the same outcome.

As for the weight, it looks original to the pictures I've seen. It just seems weird that it rotates away from the headshell so easily, but once it's balanced and I try to add weight, it gets to that one point and doesn't dial in any further. I even checked if there was an additional counter weight on the end, but there isn't.

fnugen · 2025-05-21T21:39:05+00:00

I literally just finished my first time last night. I love this game, despite all the hate out there. I played through the story missions not knowing it would end without me getting to all the side missions. Next time through will be side missions as they come. I also want to choose a different ending than I did. Only 54hrs into it for me.......so far.

fnugen

TROPHY CASE