Technical Difficulties Thread

Mather said:
Okay so, question. On the occasions that I happen to get fuzz or crackle on an album, it's almost always coming through the left channel. In most cases, a second copy of the same vinyl either eliminates or changes where the fuzz may show up, but it still shows up left channel if the noise remains on a second copy. Anti skate doesn't affect it either way. So IF it's a very slight azimuth adjustment to perhaps move the stylus off the left channel groove wall, am I turning the tone arm towards the CENTRE of the album, or away from it? I always get this mixed up...
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Away from the center.
 
HiFi Guy said:
I know you’ve been dealing with this for a while. Is there a possibility your stylus is worn?
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It is possible. Though I really don't think I'm anywhere near 800-1000 hours. But it's also not a constant thing by any means. It's just that when I DO get an album with a little fuzz or distortion, it's 90% of the time coming though the left channel. This happens almost exclusively on the average cheap pressing rather than anything from AP or Mofi or any of the high quality labels. And in the cases where I can get a replacement disc it frequently will have no noise, or if it still has issues, it won't be in the same spots. So it's likely the pressings in many cases but the fact that even if the pressing is the main issue, but the noise is still almost always left channel just makes me think that MAYBE a small adjustment away from the groove wall MAY eliminate it further.
 
HiFi Guy said:
I know you’ve been dealing with this for a while. Is there a possibility your stylus is worn?
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And if I wanted to try to adjust the anti skate in conjunction with a slight azimuth adjustment. On the 2Xperience would I be moving the hanging wire to the inner most peg closest to the tonearm? Or the furthest peg away from the tonearm? I'm currently on the middle rung which is technically the correct spot for my tracking weight.
 
Mather said:
And if I wanted to try to adjust the anti skate in conjunction with a slight azimuth adjustment. On the 2Xperience would I be moving the hanging wire to the inner most peg closest to the tonearm? Or the furthest peg away from the tonearm? I'm currently on the middle rung which is technically the correct spot for my tracking weight.
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inner most reduces and outer most increases. You can experiment, I needed to up my anti-slake to the outer (top) with the the 2m blue (at 1.8 it’s very close to the 1.9 for the outer).
 
Joe Mac said:
inner most reduces and outer most increases. You can experiment, I needed to up my anti-slake to the outer (top) with the the 2m blue (at 1.8 it’s very close to the 1.9 for the outer).
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And increases means it would pull the stylus away from the left channel towards the outer grooves yes?
 
Mather said:
And increases means it would pull the stylus away from the left channel towards the outer grooves yes?
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Yeah it will pull it towards the outside. I had to do it with the red & blue because for whatever reason my cartridge was travelling far too quickly through the run in and run out grooves
 
HiFi Guy said:
@siremobunny here’s a great explanation of what you are experiencing and why the TD-1200 works. Lifted from KAB:

All tonearms vibrate at the arm cartrige resonant frequency. This causes the speakers to motion in and out modulating the soundstage. Fluid damping stabilizes this behaviour and brings greater stability to the soundstage. Your amplifiers are also over reacting to this very low frequency signal and that can cause even more problems.

It would be better if we could call this behavior "Dynamic Ridgidity" for that better describes what is happening. Functionally when a tonearm reacts to the resonant frequency it produces a peak of output energy. This is seen as woofer pumping which is essentially the stylus over reacting to a small warp in the records surface. Fluid damping stops the stylus from over reacting. That is what is "damped". It all occurs at frequencies below 10 hz and has no impact whatsoever on audible dynamics. In otherwords, do not confuse damping of resonance with damping of dynamics they are not related in any way.

Above 10 Hz the arm is seen to be even more ridgid at any single point in time and as a result the stylus traces the groove with even more precision. The biggest sonic effect is to make the sound stage more "Still". This can be subtle to some, overwhelming to others. It all depends on your listening priorities.
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siremobunny said:
yeah, it's something funky with their page...if you try to link to the right one, the link takes you.to the wrong one. Rest assured, I know which one I actually need (TD-1200)...lol
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I don't know how I missed all this, but I've had the damper on mine for a good while and it delivers an audible difference. I didn't have a bearing issue, but was curious about the damper and picked one up. It's such a simple install with results at a small-ish price. I'd recommend it without hesitation. ;)
20210513_183312.jpg
 
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HiFi Guy said:
In that case, I’d look seriously at the KAB TD-1200 tonearm damper. It’ll solve both issues. I ran one on my PLX-1000 and loved it.

KAB Electro Acoustics http://www.kabusa.com

www.kabusa.com
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So, I added the KAB and it definitely does have an effect...makes non-problem records sound better and punchier, and dampens but doesn't remove the thumping on the record from the video I posted originally. Tried flattening another record today and it was even worse, even with the damper in place (though I tried removing the damper paddle to see how bad it was without and it was quite a bit worse). Frustrating issue that is making me doubt whether or not I should use the Vinyl Flat anymore.

One question that I do have related to the damper. The fluid level...I put the entire syringe of fluid in the damper, and to my eyes, it looks lower than half full...

20210514_154628.jpg

Not sure if it really makes a difference, but looking at the picture in the previous post, the trough looks fuller there (could just be an optical illusion with the different angle though).
 
siremobunny said:
So, I added the KAB and it definitely does have an effect...makes non-problem records sound better and punchier, and dampens but doesn't remove the thumping on the record from the video I posted originally. Tried flattening another record today and it was even worse, even with the damper in place (though I tried removing the damper paddle to see how bad it was without and it was quite a bit worse). Frustrating issue that is making me doubt whether or not I should use the Vinyl Flat anymore.

One question that I do have related to the damper. The fluid level...I put the entire syringe of fluid in the damper, and to my eyes, it looks lower than half full...

View attachment 99386

Not sure if it really makes a difference, but looking at the picture in the previous post, the trough looks fuller there (could just be an optical illusion with the different angle though).
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Can I ask the process you're following with your Vinyl Flat?
 
kvetcha said:
Can I ask the process you're following with your Vinyl Flat?
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I was following a process I saw somewhere in the Vinyl Flat thread.
-Clean record
-Preheat the vinyl flat for 45 minutes (seems to take that long to warm up the plates)
-Bake the record for 75 minutes
-Turn off the heater and allow the vinyl flat to cool completely before opening (I open up the heater pouch at this point to to allow it to cool down quicker.
 
siremobunny said:
So, I added the KAB and it definitely does have an effect...makes non-problem records sound better and punchier, and dampens but doesn't remove the thumping on the record from the video I posted originally. Tried flattening another record today and it was even worse, even with the damper in place (though I tried removing the damper paddle to see how bad it was without and it was quite a bit worse). Frustrating issue that is making me doubt whether or not I should use the Vinyl Flat anymore.

One question that I do have related to the damper. The fluid level...I put the entire syringe of fluid in the damper, and to my eyes, it looks lower than half full...

View attachment 99386

Not sure if it really makes a difference, but looking at the picture in the previous post, the trough looks fuller there (could just be an optical illusion with the different angle though).
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You won’t completely eliminate the subsonic energy. If it sounds better and reduces the woofer pumping, it’s working.

I’m not a fan of warp flatter devices. The rest may be your method.
 
siremobunny said:
I was following a process I saw somewhere in the Vinyl Flat thread.
-Clean record
-Preheat the vinyl flat for 45 minutes (seems to take that long to warm up the plates)
-Bake the record for 75 minutes
-Turn off the heater and allow the vinyl flat to cool completely before opening (I open up the heater pouch at this point to to allow it to cool down quicker.
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I do not preheat the plates. I put the record in cold and heat the entire shebang. Takes longer, but I think it's gentler on the record.

The issue you're having could be the result of heating too quickly. This is just intuition speaking, though.

I've never had the issues you're experiencing except with records where I was flattening very sharp, otherwise unplayable edge warps.
 
kvetcha said:
I do not preheat the plates. I put the record in cold and heat the entire shebang. Takes longer, but I think it's gentler on the record.

The issue you're having could be the result of heating too quickly. This is just intuition speaking, though.

I've never had the issues you're experiencing except with records where I was flattening very sharp, otherwise unplayable edge warps.
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I tried it without heating the plates first and 75 minutes wasn't long enough to take a significant warp out. Then I saw the method suggested in the thread and it did take the warp out. Maybe I just needed to start from cold and do multiple passes.
 
siremobunny said:
I tried it without heating the plates first and 75 minutes wasn't long enough to take a significant warp out. Then I saw the method suggested in the thread and it did take the warp out. Maybe I just needed to start from cold and do multiple passes.
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just add an extra 20-30 and give it extra passes or more time as necessary. it’s a gentle, slow process. you’re coaxing the vinyl into the shape you want.

also double check the temperature in the Groovy Pouch.
 
kvetcha said:
just add an extra 20-30 and give it extra passes or more time as necessary. it’s a gentle, slow process. you’re coaxing the vinyl into the shape you want.

also double check the temperature in the Groovy Pouch.
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what should the temperature get to? Mine gets to about 130-140 near the fold and cooler as you go out from the middle....just seems to take a while to get to that point. Almost seems like preheating the pouch, but not the plates might be the way to go.
 
siremobunny said:
what should the temperature get to? Mine gets to about 130-140 near the fold and cooler as you go out from the middle....just seems to take a while to get to that point. Almost seems like preheating the pouch, but not the plates might be the way to go.
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That’s about right. Maybe put the part you’re looking to flatten most closer to the fold. Gradual heating is your friend. There’s no hurry.
 
Anyone know if the KAB tonearm dampener would fit a Reloop rp7000 tonearm? It's very similar to the Technics 1200 and Pioneer PLX-1000 tonearms, but may not be identical?
 
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