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FAQ

#1 problem is "very low sound" from the speakers.
You MUST have a phono input as depicted above.  If you are hooking up your turntable to any input other than one specifically labeled "phono" you will need a preamp.

#1 Question is

where can I get my stereo fixed? 
Try http://www.stereorepair.com/




Special Note for our Customers Outside the USA ONLY.
Our "Home" Currency = US Dollar$.
Prices on our site are clickable. All other currencies displayed are for informational purposes only. You may be charged a slightly different amount due to fluctuating currency rates.


Why is my order on hold?

Your item may be oversold, we may have a question about your shipping address, the fitness of your item for your model or, if you are a 1st time customer and placed a very large credit card order, we will likely perform credit card security measures that will take 1 to 3 or more business days to complete. Please keep this in mind if considering Express Mail/Fedex Overnight. This only applies to credit card orders, not Paypal.

Where is my order?

We ship from Oregon.  1st class mail in the US could take 1 day or even 1 month in rare cases. We always recommend purchasing tracking at $4.00 for 1st class mail in US.  We cannot "find" your order without it.  Other than the obvious which is to provide the right address, the #1 preventable reason for assuring that your order will never be seen again.....is to send it to a hotel!!  Don't do it. Your order has a 90% chance of disappearing forever in a hotel; tracking or not.  Package insurance to a hotel will be refunded prior to shipment.



LOYALTY PROGRAM REWARD POINTS:

We are delighted to have you as a customer!  We show this via five star customer service and with 10% back through our loyalty rewards program as follows:

  • A TurntableNeedles.com account is required to accumulate points, no exceptions.
  • You *must* be logged into your account when placing your order online.
  • Rewards expire after three years and are valid on this website only. 
  • Points do not accumulate for phone or mail orders regardless of whether you have an account.
  • All items except gift certificates accumulate reward points.


Points can be redeemed in two ways.  Either through gift certificates or by purchasing items directly but you must have enough points for any given item.  They cannot be used "towards" an item like credit card points at this time.  But if you are patient and motivated lets say you have 100 points.  You could purchase a $10 gift certificate for example and then place another order later using said certificate towards say a $50 item and indeed pay $40 at checkout.
  • Example: $100.00 worth of past purchases creates 100 rewards points in your store account. 
  • 100 points will buy you a $10.00 gift certificate pin which can be used towards future purchases of any item (except more gift certificates).
  • Enter your gift pin during checkout by clicking the  button at the top of this website.
  • Alternately when you surf while logged into your account, if you have enough points to buy any given item with points directly, a "BUY WITH X POINTS"  button appears under the add to cart button.
  • So, if you have 100 points, then a "BUY WITH X POINTS" button will appear for a $9 product but will not appear for an $11 product.

Site Navigation:

How is this site organized, I can't find anything?
There are multiple ways to find what you need.
1) Simple Search: Just above the McAfee SECURE button to your left, you can try typing in your model or part number or just a brand name.
2) Category Navigation: To the left just click on your area of need and follow the steps. This will often lead you to:
3) Visual matching: Works great for needles and cartridges. Let's say you just clicked on "NEEDLES", once there, you will see all the needles or you can with the various "by visual match" selections.
4) "Find my Player": Our pride and joy, 8 years in the making and the centerpiece of our 3rd major website release in late 08. Find any one of OVER 100,000 models with ease. will take you to over 140,000 cross reference solutions. This button shows you which of our 3300+ parts are right for your model. We have models listed dating back to the 1940's. Our listings include phonographs, record players, turntables, consoles, portable turntables, reel to reels, 8-tracks, cassette tape decks, walkmans etc etc. We greatly appreciate corrections to current info or new info you may have.  Finally, look for other specialized searchpop buttons in the categories section for those with a cartridge or needle number. This info will yield the most targeted results to ensure you get the right part the 1st time. (always verify a model to needle match visually as needles are actually supposed to be matched to the cartridge itself)

I ordered a genuine OEM ADC/Pickering/Shure/Audio Technica/Stanton etc. brand name needle & I got a cheap generic copy! What gives?

please note on the needle product page you'll see something like:


Choose Options and Quantity

Quality Level: Aftermarket Elliptical Exact Replacement
OEM Genuine (As Pictured Above) [add 10.00]

if you got a generic copy, it is because you clicked on that button prior to adding to cart. Genuine must be proactively selected to receive a factory original replacement.


Certain shopping cart functions kick me back to the home page.
This is due to your cookie settings. Any modern shopping cart will use cookies to keep your cart current as you navigate the site. Our server will save any item you added to your cart for 50 days.

Needles:


What do all these suffixes after the "-" hyphen stand for after the 3 to 4 digit prefix on your part numbers?
The really really old records from early 1900's are acetate. They are the 78rpm mono records. Usually 10 inches in diameter. They require what's called a 3mil tip, which means .003 inches! (mil = 1/1000th of an inch, not millimeter!) This type of tip is almost always made of sapphire which lasts a rough average of about 100 hours of play. When selecting a needle on our site, the suffix of our stock number will need to have the number 3 in it in order for it to be the right choice to play 78's.

Quickly moving on to vinyl LP which is always 16, 33 or 45 rpm aka microgroove records. This record type requires a .0007 inch (.7mil) tip, which is about 4 times smaller than the tip required for the old 78rpm records. This type of tip is almost always made of diamond, which lasts a rough average of about 400-600 hours of play (sometimes up to 800-1000hrs for a really high quality perfectly cared for needle on a magnetic cartridge). When selecting a needle on our site, the suffix of our stock number will need to have the number 7 in it in order for it to be the right choice to play LP's. The most common suffix for magnetic cartridges from about the 1970's to present is "-D7" which means 'diamond .7mil conical tip'. Prior to roughly the 1970's, most needles where a flat flipover double tipped style. The most common suffix for this is our "TWIN" style "-DS77" which means that one side is Diamond, one side is Sapphire, and both sides are .7mil for LP only! Not for 78rpm records.

Note: A small number of records usually from the 1950's were LP mono. This type of record requires a 1.0mil needle. This means you will need a needle with a "-D1", "-S1", or "-SS13", or "-DS13" suffix.

So to rounds things out, a single tipped 78rpm needle would end in "-D3" for diamond if you're lucky or more likely "-S3". A double tipped flip over type needle referred to as "DUAL" in our dropdown product selection menu, will usually have the suffix "-DS73" this means diamond on the LP(16/33/45) side and sapphire on the 78rpm side. The cheaper version will be "-SS73"

What is the right needle for my turntable, model # ABC-123?

Please visit the stylus seekers page or click Find any one of OVER 100,000 models with ease.

What is the difference between a needle and a stylus?

Nothing. Manufacturers have long since used the two words interchangeably. It includes the diamond tip, pin thingy (cantilever), and plastic housing which allows it to click or snap into the front/bottom of the cartridge (which is the box like object at the end of the tone arm).

What is the difference between spherical, conical, elliptical tips?

Spherical and conical are the same. They are basically a round tip. (like a ball point pen) This is the standard type tip shape. Elliptical (aka Biradial) is an elongated tip kinda like a football. This type is a significant upgrade from the conical type. It has a much more efficient contact with the groove of the record. Other names like FineLine, Aliptical, Stereohedron, Hyperelliptical, Hyperbolic, are are generally even better than elliptical tips.

What is the difference between a cartridge and a needle?

Please visit the stylus seeker's page.


Cartridges:

Do I need to replace the whole cartridge?

In almost all cases, NO. Unless your cartridge looks like its been run over by a steam roller its virtually guaranteed to still be good. We only recommend replacing it if:
A) It's 'impossible' to find the right needle. (In which case a more popular cartridge with a more easily replaced needle will serve you better)
B) You want to do a substantial upgrade (for sound improvement) or a substantial downgrade to save money on a replacement needle.

I have bad or distorted sound out of ONE CHANNEL only, other channel is good.

Several possibilities:
A) Swap red and white connectors going from turntable into amp (power off during this) if problem moves, then cause is in the turntable. If problem stays on same channel, problem is in amp. If in older amp, turn off power and rotate all switches rapidly to 'clean' contacts and retry.
B) Could be bad needle. On some needles for modern magnetic cartridges, but not all, once you remove the needle assembly from the cartridge you can see a pair of little 'fingers' sticking up at the base of the cantilever in the shape of a 'peace' or 'victory' sign. If one is missing or damaged, then this is the cause of your dead/distorted channel. Time to buy a new one from us:)
C) Check tracking pressure and anti skate.
D) IF you are qualified with an ohm meter, there should be approx. 400-1400 ohms between the center pin and the outer shield of both the red and white RCA connectors coming out of the turntable. If present it shows the coils of wire inside the cartridge for each channel have continuity and that the leads/connections from the cartridge, thru the turntable and all the way out to these connectors are good. (Unless there is an intermittent connection that is temporarily good during this test).


Players:

How much is my unit worth?

try ebay to see if a similar model sold recently to get an idea of "street value.  Try the government if you know the original purchase price and approximate month purchased decades ago to see what the purchase price would be in "today's" dollars.

When was my unit made?
we don't have this info but often players made in the 50s through 70s have a date stamped on the chassis somewhere inside, often visible when the back service panel is removed after the unit is unplugged.

Will you repair my player?

No, we don't repair players.

where can I get my stereo fixed? 
Try http://www.stereorepair.com/ for possible local listings in your area.



Belts:

How do I install my belt?

Visit the Belt installation page.

Will your belts last a long time like my original did?

Yes! But, you need to clean the belt path! You must use household rubbing alcohol (isopropyl) or a similar solution to clean the old belt residue from your unit so it doesn't contaminate the new belt.
Also note that original genuine belts are no longer exist & if they were, they'd be too old to sell. The original belts were outsourced to a specialist manufacturer, like ours are today. Our belts are of recent manufacture. They are made using state-of-the-art vulcanization chemistry to form highly crosslinked polymetric structures which ensure long-term elastic stability even under the harshest conditions.

My turntable turns slow, what gives?

Usually the belt needs to be replaced. But if you just replaced yours and it's still slow, then sometimes there is dried lubricant at the center spindle that binds and increases resistance on the rotation of the platter. See our belt installation page for detailed instructions about how to remove the platter. You can test for this by removing the belt then reinstalling the platter and giving it a spin with your finger. If it spins a long time then the platter is free of excess resistance. If it slows down in just a few seconds, then it likely the dried up grease. Remove platter and use isopropyl 70% solution alcohol to clean the spindle and the hole at center of platter. Then replace it with the best grease you can find around the house. There is no need to go out n try to find special turntable grease unless you have a $500 or more turntable.

My turntable turns fast, what gives?

Sometime a belt that's too w-i-d-e will 'ride up' on the brass pulley spindle of the main drive motor. You will need a narrower belt.

I cannot get my platter off to replace the belt.

often the platter is held in place with a retainer clip which may be hidden by an aluminum disc. Once you remove the cosmetic disc from around the base of the spindle, then usually a flat blade screw driver is needed to remove the 'Jesus clip' (cause he would be the only one to know where it flies off to if you don't cover the area with a towel). Once the clip is off, the platter should come off. If not, you may need to lightly tap the top of the spindle with a hammer while someone else lifts up simultaneously on the platter.



Do you have a dust cover for my turntable?

The answer is no. They are obsolete. The only place you might be able to get one might be Ebay. We also have one suggestion for making your own! This video will show you what you would be getting into if you wanted to tackle the job yourself. However you can hire TapPlastics.com to complete the project for you.
Basically you would just have to visit or call the store with your dimensions of the top of your turntable and tell them you need a cover a couple of inches high or so. Have them make the back side a little thicker if you want to screw on your old hinges. Then send us a picture and let us know how it turned out with the cost.



Where do you get the part numbers that you use for your inventory?

They are based on Pfanstiehl's numbering system. Pfanstiehl is a major supplier of aftermarket and genuine needles. Please understand that if you select a genuine needle from the dropdown menu options, you will get the genuine needle made by the original manufacturer (Shure, Pickering, Audio Technica etc.) although we use the Pfanstiehl numbering system because of it's wide acceptance, we sell the highest quality needles available . Hi-end needles are either genuine OEM or BLISSpro™ in almost all cases.  

My motor is bad?

Motors almost NEVER go bad. See above two answers for other more likely causes. Also check voltage going to motor (if you're qualified) If motor doesn't turn freely when turntable is UN-plugged then motor may need lubrication.


How do I adjust tracking pressure and anti skate?

If you are lucky enough to have these two adjustments, move tracking force counter weight until the needle hovers perfectly balanced above the record. Now rotate the dial with numbers (not the weight itself) to zero. (this is zero grams pressure on record) then rotate weight AND numbers together to the recommended tracking pressure for your needle.  Then rotate anti skate to have a setting of equal value. Basically you want the least amount of needle pressure pushing down on the record as possible without it skipping or sounding bad. That will give you the longest life from your needle and records.

NOTE: Anti skate is adjusting side to side pressure *within* the groove of record. Tracking pressure is how hard the needle is pushing down inside the groove.  If your tonearm has a height-adjustable base, make sure the arm is parallel with the record surface.


Why is my needle skipping across the record?

A) If you have adjustable tracking, see above section.
B) The other likely cause is some dust on the tip of the needle.  This can happen almost instantly if your brand new needle is put on a dusty record.    A stylus brush may be in order.
C) Azmith: when viewed from the front of the player at 'eye' level, the tip of the needle must be pointing straight down in the 6 o'clock position.  If it is pointing at "5:30" or "6:30" then channel volume will be uneven and it will very likely skip as well.


Why do I get no sound at all from my turntable?

A) If possible try a known good turntable to eliminate the rest of the stereo.
B) Make sure receiver/amp works on other devices like tape deck, CD etc.
C) Turntable MUST be plugged into a PHONO input, it will not work in a tape or aux input, unless you have a very recently built turntable that has a built-in pre-amplifier, which would allow it to be plugged into non-"phono" inputs.
D) If you have an older turntable that you are trying to use with a newer receiver/amp that has no input specifically labeled "phono", then you will need one of our phono preamps.
E) The cartridge might be bad but they very very rarely fail and rarer still both channels.
F) Wiring could be bad in the turntable or if you have a 1/2 inch mount then the little wires depicted below may be crossed.
G) If you hear the record faintly right at the needle contact with the record, then the needle is generally making good contact with the record.


E) Use a continuity tested (bug light) with entire stereo turned off, and you should have continuity from above pictured wires to the RCA connectors

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