Hi all,

I just got a great mint condition Beosystem 6500 from eBay, looking and sounding all great, except for one thing: Playing records with Beogram 6500, the high frequencies are notably distorted / overdriven (sorry, I don't know the right English expression to describe it).
I am a bloody beginner with this, so I hope for some input. 

I'm worried, that the stylus is worn - could this be the reason? I got the System shipped, but it was wrapped very very very well, and the MMC2 came in an extra box. Was described as fully working, with no flaws.

Or could it be anything else than the stylus? I tried adjusting the tip pressure, but it does not make a real difference, lowest pressure seems to result in slightly more distortion somehow. Also, the slider to adjust the pressure was set beyond the highest value when I got the Beosystem, but that might have happened when the seller disconnected the system from the tone arm. Of course I already wrote him, let's see if he knows more.

I also hope that I can get some advice here what this could be or by what it could be caused. I hope it's just a simple solution.
Thanks a lot!

Johannes 

I would suggest that the stylus is damaged/worn.  They usually are!!

From experience, I normally assume that the stylus is knackered when I buy turntables on eBay, no matter what the seller says in the advert or subsequently. It avoids disappointment.

I have all my stylus/cartridge refurbished by Axel Shuerholz  in Germany. You can contact him by sending an email to:-

info@schallplattennadeln.de

When I adjust the weight on my SMMC4, between 1.0 Gr and 1.5 Gr, i can hear a lot of diff. with a MMC 2 you should hear that too.

If not, I must agree with Joeyboy. I think the 6500 has preamp build in , check the caps there.

Thanks for the fast responses. I'll look into the retipping thing. But Soren, could you explain further, what you mean by caps? What are they and how do I check them?

He means capacitors on the RIAA pre amp board. You check them with difficulty.

There is a school of thought by some members of this forum that you should change any capacitors  that you see as a matter of course. I and many others don't subscribe to this point of view.

I have never known this pre amp board to cause any problems and in my opinion you should leave well alone.

I didn't tell to change the capacitors, but as Graham has a lot more experience as I, lets just presume they are OK, do you have a posibility to check with another good known MMC, just to be sure the failure actually is the MMC2, before you start paying for an expensive item.

I am sure Graham is correct - remember your stylus will probably be well over 10 years old and will be worn. Axel does a splendid job and is rightly recommended.