eguth
pfm Member
Have Fun
There are a few bits I have in mind to post, and here may be the point at which to do it. You may find something of use re: alignment, but I am not sufficiently familiar with other arms and alighment protractors to make any recommendations other than below.
Cannonball Adderley- "Know What I Mean" RIVERSIDE LP (reissue - Fantasy OJC-105)
If I may add to comments I made elsewhere about this LP, if it is played on a good system, with a good turntable, the piano notes should sound very natural and pure with no audible wavering or degradation on long notes. This LP was very well recorded. On my (modified) Connesseur BD1 the reproduction of piano and other instruments on this LP is superb.
Other LP recordings of piano demonstrate what can sound like wow and flutter and other aberrations. This is due to causes other than the turntable (see below).
This LP- Track 1, Side 1- (Waltz For Debbie) is my primary system Test Record. If you hear ANY deviation from a pure natural piano note on this track suspect your turntable first, after that other causes.
A few years back I could not get this track to sound right, although it had done previously. I had started using the excellent Geo- Disc (made by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab) to align my cartridge. Unfortunately this disc depends on visual alignment with OFFSET & PIVOT. With my arm (Audio Kuzma Stogi) this is problematic. I switched back to the primitive mirror alignment gauge provided with my cartridge (van den Hul MC1). After realigning the cartridge, the piano sounded pure and natural and right once again.
If the TT and Cart alignment are eliminated as cause of any problem I would next look for distortion- most likely caused by the preamp and/or amp.
If you eliminate everything else (off centre record hole, damaged grooves, old belt - what have you?) and the piano on 'Waltz For Debbie' still sounds distorted the reason may be that the power supply to your turntable motor is just not good enough to do the job properly.
The (modified) Connesseur BD1 fitted with the supply detailed in my AC article is, I think, certainly good enough- and I have never been tempted to try a DC motor or to make further improvements to this supply.
As an addendum I can say that, although I bought in a supply of new BD1 motors before I wrote the article- in the expectation that a motor would only last 10 years or so given my usage- I am still on the same replacement motor. I think I overdid the oiling. I would suggest that the BD1 or BD2 should never be oiled unless it starts to make an untoward noise, and then only by putting two drops of Singer Sewing machine oil onto the felt pad under the pulley- not more than 2 drops initially.
Eguth
There are a few bits I have in mind to post, and here may be the point at which to do it. You may find something of use re: alignment, but I am not sufficiently familiar with other arms and alighment protractors to make any recommendations other than below.
Cannonball Adderley- "Know What I Mean" RIVERSIDE LP (reissue - Fantasy OJC-105)
If I may add to comments I made elsewhere about this LP, if it is played on a good system, with a good turntable, the piano notes should sound very natural and pure with no audible wavering or degradation on long notes. This LP was very well recorded. On my (modified) Connesseur BD1 the reproduction of piano and other instruments on this LP is superb.
Other LP recordings of piano demonstrate what can sound like wow and flutter and other aberrations. This is due to causes other than the turntable (see below).
This LP- Track 1, Side 1- (Waltz For Debbie) is my primary system Test Record. If you hear ANY deviation from a pure natural piano note on this track suspect your turntable first, after that other causes.
A few years back I could not get this track to sound right, although it had done previously. I had started using the excellent Geo- Disc (made by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab) to align my cartridge. Unfortunately this disc depends on visual alignment with OFFSET & PIVOT. With my arm (Audio Kuzma Stogi) this is problematic. I switched back to the primitive mirror alignment gauge provided with my cartridge (van den Hul MC1). After realigning the cartridge, the piano sounded pure and natural and right once again.
If the TT and Cart alignment are eliminated as cause of any problem I would next look for distortion- most likely caused by the preamp and/or amp.
If you eliminate everything else (off centre record hole, damaged grooves, old belt - what have you?) and the piano on 'Waltz For Debbie' still sounds distorted the reason may be that the power supply to your turntable motor is just not good enough to do the job properly.
The (modified) Connesseur BD1 fitted with the supply detailed in my AC article is, I think, certainly good enough- and I have never been tempted to try a DC motor or to make further improvements to this supply.
As an addendum I can say that, although I bought in a supply of new BD1 motors before I wrote the article- in the expectation that a motor would only last 10 years or so given my usage- I am still on the same replacement motor. I think I overdid the oiling. I would suggest that the BD1 or BD2 should never be oiled unless it starts to make an untoward noise, and then only by putting two drops of Singer Sewing machine oil onto the felt pad under the pulley- not more than 2 drops initially.
Eguth
