Everything Matters vs Nothing Really Matters

[Sal1950]

Because a friend has owned one for more than a decade. I've been the one to set it up for him 3 times now.

Must be a VERY GOOD friend.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Must be a VERY GOOD friend.

Yes, in fact he is. I wouldn't do that for just anybody.

 

[Fitzcaraldo215]

I've actually never invested in a record cleaner, but most of the vinyl I own is pristine, so not many dirty records.

That being said, there are those that argue that even pristine records need a good wash to get rid of manufacturing flash and other crud...and they're probably right.

But record cleaners are just so damn expensive for what they really do.

I don't know about new records needing a cleaning. It may be just a myth.

What I did know was that Dust Bugs, brushes, etc. just did not work. Static electricity is the enemy. In low humidity winter months in Philadelphia, you could hear the static electricity attracting dust even as a brand new LP was taken out of its jacket, and the ticks and pops were there from the first playing. I may have put Sam Goody out of business with all the returns I did.

But, it was not the LPs, just the static in my home. And, I hate,hate, hated the ticks and pops.

I tried wet playing with a LencoClean device. That was a revelation, delivering the smoothest, most artifact free playing. It was a bit of a pain waiting a few minutes for the LPs to dry before replacing them in the plastic liners. Still, highly worthwhile, though. But, the LencoClean fluid became unobtainable in those pre-Internet days.

So, I switched to a VPI vacuum machine for through wet cleaning + Last treatment on the LPs. The latter gave them anti static properties, so that a carbon fiber brush would actually work in lifting most new dust. Wet cleaning was also a bit of a pain, but I considered it absolutely essential - until the CD came out, of course. Game over.

 

[Blumlein 88]

What no Zerostat! Please, hard to believe you play records without one.

I guess this is the rather pricey new version.

https://www.amazon.com/Milty-503669...1&refRID=7P2VS8GCN270V62R0DAF#customerReviews

Surely you spray the carpet or floor around your LP rig with Static Guard spray. It really helps with static build up in the winter.

 

[Sal1950]

I guess this is the rather pricey new version.

WOW, $72, I always used one.
Along with the famous Discwasher. It did a pretty good job if you used enough fluid to well dampen the leading edge so you could see the disc getting damp as you applied it. Then rolling it back to the trailing edge till you watched the shiny dampness of the record dry. I bought a lot of fluid back in the day. LOL

 

[watchnerd]

Are you replacing the springs by a ball and cup or adding a ball and cup to the spring system?

Neither.

The Gyro towers look very much like a shock absorber + coilover spring on a car.

I got a new type of strut / shocker absorber that has a bearing inside. The originals didn't.

 

[watchnerd]

I think that Digital might be a bit more complicated. Does Roon come preconfigured exactly as you want it. How about correct cables. For myself I'm using a Chrome Cast-Audio. worked fine. My son comes over and installs Google Music on a PC in a different room and now my CCA isn't working the same.

Roon, yeah, pretty much comes preconfigured.

I had to:

1. Tell Roon what volume to look at it for my FLAC collection
2. Add my Tidal subscription
3. And Tune In URLs for any internet radio I care about
4. Add endpoints. It discovered the Devialet automatically over the network and the ADI-2 Pro via local connection.

That's it. Done.

 

[watchnerd]

The setup man, the setup experience. Try something like the old Souther Triquartz. Not ugly, made of Quartz rods and planes. The neat thing is every adjustment you make effects all the other possible adjustments. So you need the calm mind of a zen master to set one up. You have to pre-distort in your mind in three dimensions about 5 factors that will be effected by everything you do. So some early steps are in the wrong direction so the final result is right. You'll never be as satisfied as when you do get all the parameters of this arm where you intend upon the final step. Ask me how I know.....go ahead and ask?

It works wonderfully, and once adjusted everything stays put permanently. A pivoted arm is too easy. As well as having inherent inaccuracies built into the very idea.

So, guessing here, but:

1. Alignment doesn't matter, doesn't exist
2. Azimuth matters
3. VTF...matters, of course, but how do you set it?
4. Overhang...non-existent as it effects SRA / VTA?
5. Anti-skate...doesn't exist? Or wait, I guess it does...maybe even more so...

 

[Blumlein 88]

So, guessing here, but:

1. Alignment doesn't matter, doesn't exist
2. Azimuth matters
3. VTF...matters, of course, but how do you set it?
4. Overhang...non-existent as it effects SRA / VTA?
5. Anti-skate...doesn't exist? Or wait, I guess it does...maybe even more so...

Yes you pretty much have it. One thing you need to do on that arm is regularly clean the track the cartridge rides upon so there is no sticky spots to keep the cartridge from tracking laterally like it should. A little alcohol on a rag periodically does the trick.

The adjustments as done on that arm I should look at again before commenting. Other than remembering as mentioned each adjustment effects the others. It isn't a necessity in linear trackers just how this one was done.

 

[Wombat]

My Pioneer PL L1000 linear tracker must be dead-level.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Neither.

The Gyro towers look very much like a shock absorber + coilover spring on a car.

I got a new type of strut / shocker absorber that has a bearing inside. The originals didn't.

Sorry I don't understand exactly, does that mean the suspended mass is no longer isolated laterally? There are 6 degrees of freedom and the vertical is not the only important one to isolate, in fact it is arguably not as important as either lateral degree of freedom.

 

[Frank Dernie]

I have a Goldmund T3f parallel tracker. To avoid the single most negative aspect of most other quality parallel trackers, the excessive lateral effective mass, it actually has a pivoted arm but the gimbal is mounted on a traverse the position of which is servo controlled to keep the arm (very close to) parallel all the time whilst having a correct lateral natural frequency. It is not the only arm like this, both the (outstanding) B&O parallel trackers and the Technics SL series had a crusder version of this, but it is by far the nicest made of this type of parallel tracker.

 

[Wombat]

I have a Goldmund T3f parallel tracker. To avoid the single most negative aspect of most other quality parallel trackers, the excessive lateral effective mass, it actually has a pivoted arm but the gimbal is mounted on a traverse the position of which is servo controlled to keep the arm (very close to) parallel all the time whilst having a correct lateral natural frequency. It is not the only arm like this, both the (outstanding) B&O parallel trackers and the Technics SL series had a crusder version of this, but it is by far the nicest made of this type of parallel tracker.

The Technics SL10 linear tracker can be mounted in any position according to Technics. I haven't tried it with mine.

 

[watchnerd]

Sorry I don't understand exactly, does that mean the suspended mass is no longer isolated laterally? There are 6 degrees of freedom and the vertical is not the only important one to isolate, in fact it is arguably not as important as either lateral degree of freedom.

Buh...I'm not sure and it's too early in the morning for me to do vector math....

 

[Fitzcaraldo215]

Sorry I don't understand exactly, does that mean the suspended mass is no longer isolated laterally? There are 6 degrees of freedom and the vertical is not the only important one to isolate, in fact it is arguably not as important as either lateral degree of freedom.

Agreed, based on experience with a similarly suspended Oracle Delphi, now long forgotten. I never unpacked it from my last move years ago.

 

[Sal1950]

Never had any real issues with my HK ST8/Rabco Arm linear. I leveled the table any time I moved it with it's built-in bubble, then after my initial tuning of the arm speed control it remained spot on for a couple decades +. Only replaced the table and arm shaft belts a couple times. Just before selling it and my move in 2010 it played it's way thru my entire LP collection over a couple months while ripping them to the hard drive. Great linear TT in it's day.

 

[cjfrbw]

I went through the spectrum of record cleaning methods i.e. ultrasonic, steam etc. You can't really scratch the record with soft cloths as long as there is no hard dirt particles, and the labels will dry fine. As it turns out, certain ultrasonics can craze the plastic, and strong detergents aren't that great for the surface if left on too long.

I just spritz them now with a light detergent when they appear really dirty, wipe with soft sponge, rinse with plain tap water and wipe them quickly with a lint free cloth, towel, or even tissue. It is really fast to do that way, but seldom necessary. I will just run into the bathroom really fast and do it.

It works fine, no brushes for the grooves etc., records turn out glistening clean: Another anal obsessive audiophile ritual that has developed high priests and an arms race of expensive machines bites the dust as far as I am concerned.

Of course, if you have nightmares of "hidden dirt" in the grooves compromising your micro sound that make you toss and turn in a cold sweat at night, then you may need a record cleaning machine as a placebo.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Well it doesn't matter how clean a record looks, it is only the grooves themselves which need to be dirt free. The stylus doesn't contact anything else, except just before dropping into the run in of the spiral.

 

[tomelex]

What pops, what clicks, what is all this cleaning a record business ahahah

 

[cjfrbw]

Once upon a time, there was a particular wisdom circulating that even new records needed to be cleaned because of the lubricant used to release the records from the stamper.

I had two new sealed records. I played them once, they sounded fine. Then, I cleaned them with light steam, spin in an ultrasonic w/splash of surfactant/detergent, rinse, buff with light cloth and allow to dry. Afterward, both records had noise that wasn't there before, low level hash, that has never gone away.

My current prejudice is that record cleaning is mostly to make them shine, and that the grooves are ultimately cleaned by the stylus. I also wonder how many guys actually damage their records with their cleaning rituals. A second prejudice is that the various testimonials are meaningless, because nobody really has a valid comparison. Commercial products, of course, come with their mythologies attached as usual.

My current practice is "do no harm", which is don't clean them unless they are atrocious. Use brushes and buff fingerprints/grease/marks with soft cloth.