Choosing the right things for vinyl

[mike70]

Tell us this science. Show us the "glued on " part. Show us a bad sensorsystem, tell us why. This is science, so prove it. Unless you are relying on old mythical bs from the old days, when "auto" was a bad thing no matter, based on "audiophile" beliefs. You are not my friend, and I don't think you will be.

oh! you broke my heart :-(

and, if this is scientific, well, prove yourself the nonsense ... that automatic internal mechanisms aren't capable to add vibrations to the tonearm.

i think i'm done here, have a nice ... and respectful ... day (if you can).

 

[HoJ76]

Isn't the same vta mechanism... check it out, mk7 have the older and better helicoidal version, with more grip and working "on the fly"

Autolift integrated means you have a mechanical device attached to the tonearm movement. I don't like it.

I also don't like the integrated preamp.

But you said that 100c doesn't have vta, that's directly wrong. That's what I was commenting on. That it can't be adjusted when it's not playing is not a problem at all. It just takes a few seconds longer. You made a statement about something you had no idea about. An apology is more in order. You're really messing up now. Get to know things before you make a statement.

 

[mike70]

But you said that 100c doesn't have vta, that's directly wrong. That's what I was commenting on. That it can't be adjusted when it's not playing is not a problem at all. It just takes a few seconds longer. You made a statement about something you had no idea about. An apology is more in order. You're really messing up now. Get to know things before you make a statement.

english isn't my mother language ... but "Isn't the same vta mechanism" means the sl100 have ANOTHER vta mechanism than mk7. Then, i said it doesn't have VTA? OMG.

i'm not doing any mess and i really know about what i'm talking, after more than 40 years using vinyl and many turntables: rega, dual, lenco, technics, garrard ... and many cartridges that i really don't remember all of them now.

please, forget about my participation here, continue with the topic as it goes.

 

[HoJ76]

You said "sl100c dosen't have vta adjustment" Your messing around. English is not my mother language, but I can't tell things that is not right..

 

[Ropeburn]

Pretty much the worst part of vinyl these days is the price of the actual music. It's never been cheap, but prices kept rising, and today we're approaching 20€ for a maxi single!

One of the big German electronic record stores. 16 for a maxi single. 40 for a "special" clear one. 70 for a 4x album. Just some examples. These are the usual prices.

You absolutely must keep this in mind. A nice little collection of 100 records - which is really little - will set you back 1500-2000 moneys easily. At least if you buy new.

 

[mike70]

You said "sl100c dosen't have vta adjustment" Your messing around. English is not my mother language, but I can't tell things that is not right..View attachment 488913

i tried to say "not the same" vta mechanism, as i later post it ... the focus / important part of whay i said is that the mk7 is more machine.
the sl100 is a mk7 with more budget functions at (more or less) the same price only to not have the "disco looks"

i respect everyone who likes and prefers the sl100, the idea was to reflect other opinion ... if the "disco looks" doesn't matter to you, i tink the mk7 is more machine for the same money.

More clear now? i hope so. If not, it doesn't matter anyway, i need more time for listen to records

 

[HoJ76]

In my country mk7 is more expensive than 100c. It's not the "same money".

 

[psemeraro]

There was no access to the folder on google drive. It's fixed now. Sorry.

Platearkiv - Google Drive

drive.google.com

Nice job on your vinyl captures! Just listened to Alice Cooper, sounds good to me. Something I learned during my theme park time (outlined on my earlier post) is the value of very accurately getting channel balance correct. Cartridges and styli can be all over the place and .3 - .5 dB variation between channels is not uncommon. My method was to use Serato control vinyl - a constant midrange tone in mono - then normalize up so I could read the top of the software meter range and make any adjustments needed at the input level settings. Doing this allowed me to get within .1dB channel match. Again, your capture sounded great, lead vocal well centered, etc. I'm just sharing that tip as something to think about as you get more serious capturing vinyl. A fozogometer can read channel imbalance but it's expensive, Serato record is $20. Another thing I would do is double the tracks, (simple copy/paste) high pass one pair of tracks at 100Hz, low pass the other set of tracks at 100Hz and blend the low pass tracks to mono. Mix the tracks back together and any low frequency noise disappears. No harm done to the stereo image. It was also easy to bump the level of the low pass tracks up or down if the record could benefit from some "EQ" in the low frequencies.

Cheers, Pat

 

[Ben Jenssen]

Nice job on your vinyl captures!

Thanks, Pat.

I did struggle a bit with the LR balance, it seemed to vary a bit between albums also. I found a better setting on the anti-scating, and I got a new REGA Fono MC with dip switches to set output level, that meant I could have the line input controls on the E2x2 at zero boost, and it helped.

My current workflow and signal chain is;
Record album.
Import into Pro Tools. (I could use any audio app, but PT is best for me.)
Create fade-in and fade-out.

On the track inserts:
12db/oct hipass filter at ~37Hz.
Gain plugin with L and R independent control.
Izotope RX11 Declicker set at 2.7 sensitivity and broadband mode.
Fabfilter Pro-L limiter set to only slightly touch the occational peak, i.e hardly any limiting at all - which means relatively low overall level, but that's ok.
SSL Meter Pro true peak (intersample) metering.

Select 'Commit' in PT, which renders the track in non-realtime. With these inserts, one side of an LP takes a couple of minutes on my M4 mac.
Properly name the file.

 

[psemeraro]

Thanks, Pat.

the LR balance, it seemed to vary a bit between albums also.

Yes, and that is a different problem to solve that moves into the realm of decision making. Because peak levels can be all over the place, if a track seemed to have a mis-match in levels between left and right, it the mis-match was blatant and obvious I would fix without much thought. If it was slightly off but still "out of tolerance" for what I was doing, I'd lock my head between the nearfields and adjust until the lead vocal was dead centered. Working on the actual track channel balance was simple enough once the cartridge input was perfectly calibrated for matching level between channels.

Because you sound like an advanced user, (I learned Pro Tools in the late 90s, nice to chat with another PT user) do consider mono-summing below 100Hz. As I outlined, copy past your captured tracks, high pass the first L/R pair at 100 Hz, low pass the second L/R pair at 100 Hz, sum the low pass pair to mono. All sorts of low frequency noise dissappears like magic. And that gives you the ability to raise or lower the low pass pair a dB or two if the track is thin sounding or too bass heavy.

As you also seem unafraid of compressor tools, consider trying a multi-band compressor on tracks that could really use some help. I'm not talking about heavy handed use like the awful "remastered" CDs, but a subtle application, just a few dBs overall where appropriate. It can really bring some life to a dull track, clarity to a muddy track, even transparently fix some un-tamed peaks in older recordings that were of no consequence in the analog world but wreak havoc in the digital world where zero is zero and that's all you get.

Cheers,Pat

 

[Ben Jenssen]

consider trying a multi-band compressor on tracks that could really use some help

Thanks for your input, but no. I'm not wanting to improve the sound at all, I'm just trying to capture the analog sound that comes from the records, stylus, and preamp. I like the sound, and I think that I'm now capturing it quite well. Any refinement, for special needs, I could apply in the future.

All I'm doing is; everytime I listen to a record, I hit 'rec' on the mac, and it's on its way into the digital domain. That's all I want for now. I don't even bother to cut the sides up into tracks. Just a little declicking and leveling. And certainly no compression, broad- or multi-band.

(Added: I'm sure the lofreq mono trick can be wonderful, but that's also a thing that is pretty invasive, and could be applied later if needed.)

 

[psemeraro]

Just a little declicking and leveling. And certainly no compression, broad- or multi-band.

Totally respect that, and you're a better man than me... I dont capture anything anymore, unless I'm comparing stylus profiles or doing something diagnostic. These days I put the record on, close my eyes, done. And again credit to you, your captures sound great - not so easy to do for those who haven't tried it or tried to do it seriously.

Cheers, Pat

 

[Ben Jenssen]

your captures sound great - not so easy to do for those who haven't tried it or tried to do it seriously

I'm so glad you say so. Wonderful to have the feedback.

I do think it's pretty easy; 95% of it, in my case, is a great stylus/cartridge, Ortofon MC x10, and the fantastic tech (AI?) of iZotope declicker. Last 5% maybe luke warm water and washing up liquid.