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Could someone with a flat cartridge please...

C

cgallery

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Would someone with a flat cartridge (like one of the Shure V15 models) and a copy of the "HiFi News Analogue Test LP Producer's Cut" album please make a recording (or 30-seconds at least) of the side #1 track #3 ("Stereo Channel Balance") track to share with me? Hopefully through a decent RIAA phono stage?

I'd like to use this to make a calibration file for REW, which is what I have historically used for quick and dirty checks of my phono cartridges/styli.

YES, I should be using the script, but it will be some time before I can reliably start down that path.

I'd sure appreciate any help.
 
JP said:
Calibration file to do what?
Click to expand...

My plan is to take the supplied file and import it into REW, then export the curve as a CSV file. I'd take the value read @ 1000-Hz and subtract it from the value at every other frequency, then set the resulting file as my calibration file under Preferences/Cal Files.

Now if I import the same supplied file into REW again, I will get a nice flat line. And if I import files of cartridges I've measured, I'll see how they compare to a known-flat reference.

I've performed these steps with the AT152LP + VMN40ML, but I really need a capture of the track with a known flat cartridge/phono stage to make my calibration file worth anything at all.
 
JP said:
If what you're attempting to do is use the calibration file as RIAA compensation, then: https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/phono-preamp-test-for-mortals.1050790/post-16895201. It's rather simple math, but as Wyn already did the work...
Click to expand...

Actually what I'm trying to do is make a silk purse from a sow's ear. We all know the album has "issues," I'm trying to create a calibration file that removes those issues from the equation by getting the most accurate read of the track possible.

So if I can get the track recorded with a cartridge and phono stage known to be flat, I can compensate for the anomalies in the recording itself by creating a companion calibration file.

I'm struggling with my words lately so don't hesitate to tell me if I'm still not making sense.
 
Last edited:
Apesbrain said:
If no one comes through, you may be able to generate a similar test tone using Audacity:

Generate Menu - Audacity Manual

manual.audacityteam.org manual.audacityteam.org
Click to expand...

That wouldn't help.

What I'm trying to do is create a calibration file for track #3 (side one) of the HiFi News Test LP Producer's Cut album.

In order to do this, I need the best capture of the file possible.

If I know the phono cartridge, stylus, and preamp used to create the file are confirmed flat, I can then assume that any deviation from flat found in the resulting capture are the fault of the track itself, and I can then compensate with a calibration file I'd create.
 
cgallery said:
Actually what I'm trying to do is make a silk purse from a sow's ear. We all know the album has "issues," I'm trying to create a calibration file that removes those issues from the equation by getting the most accurate read of the track possible.

So if I can get the track recorded with a cartridge and phono stage known to be flat, I can compensate for the anomalies in the recording itself by creating a companion calibration file.

I'm struggling with my words lately so don't hesitate to tell me if I'm still not making sense.
Click to expand...

So you're trying to make a kind of transfer function to correct the test track?
 
Not sure if anyone have this one I only have mk1 which does not have the sweep.
 
I think it would be easier just to use Trace Arithemwric in REW, you subtract two files from each other using |A|/|B| . The difference is the deviation from the linear cartridge. I have done that to compare music played with different cartridges. I do not have the requested test record , But I do have a perfectly linear cartridge by using EQ.

Most pink and white noise test records tracks are far from linear, most are horribly wrong in fact. But the difference method will work anyway.
 
Apesbrain said:
Pink Noise_Stereo_60s.flac

How will you know this? (Is any such combination "flat"?) Use the synthesized file above if you want flat.
Click to expand...

Well presumably they'd say "I checked this setup using the script (discussed at this site) and whatever test record's sweep file, and found the result to be very flat. SO, I then recorded a copy of S1/T3 for you and here is the resulting file.

I'm trying to determine how flat the test record's track is.
 
Balle Clorin said:
I think it would be easier just to use Trace Arithemwric in REW, you subtract two files from each other using |A|/|B| . The difference is the deviation from the linear cartridge. I have done that to compare music played with different cartridges. I do not have the requested test record , But I do have a perfectly linear cartridge by using EQ.

Most pink and white noise test records tracks are far from linear, most are horribly wrong in fact. But the difference method will work anyway.
Click to expand...

Well it takes literally about thirty seconds to create a calibration file, which can then be installed and enabled/disabled quite easily.
 
That is not quite how you described it, exporting CSV file and normalising it to 1000hz etc would take ME more time than that.
For some reason REW calibration files I edit or make manually will not look right ( slope of 6db/octave for pink noise correction is not a (linear ) line but a curved line between every data point) , but when I calibrate using the REW function it is linear line, in the latter case the data points are many more and logarithmically spaced it seems.

I would like to learn how to do it right…

Anyway could make you a file from the original first Hifinews record and share but it probably deviates from yours. The record is poorly made , like so many test records.
 
Right. I have the Producer's Cut version of the album, so I'd need the capture to be made from that version.

Thank you very much, though.
 
If someone finds that the “producers cut” has a good sweep and pink/noise track I might buy it, can you post a REW curve to evaluate, ? Please.
 
I believe I've read that the sweep isn't great, and my capture abilities are limited to 44.1k at this time, but if that is okay I'll capture the sweep and post it later today.
 
I read somewhere that the pink noise are better than the sweep which is supposed to be bad
 
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