Interesting, but looking at the scope pics of VTA testing I am none the wiser. I know that GZ can vary effective VTA on the fly as that is part of the DMM magic salsa but not sure for regular laquer guys.
And does it actually matter? I have a TT that will be mainly dedicated to mono replay but I think I am loony fringe in that respect.
Edit: Scott got in before me on one of them.
And does it actually matter? I have a TT that will be mainly dedicated to mono replay but I think I am loony fringe in that respect.
Edit: Scott got in before me on one of them.
I guessed that could be the case. Is there page/post in this thread where the "final" or latest test tracks are listed?
Yes, you'll need to find the post with the link to the sign up sheet and sign up.
Can someone it into the first post? That would be a good reference. I'm trying to find it as well.
I'm sure the 200 number will be easily exceeded as you get closer to actually manufacturing it. Lot of people will jump on at the end. I've been waiting as well and I have a dozen audiophile friends who will jump on it.
I'm sure the 200 number will be easily exceeded as you get closer to actually manufacturing it. Lot of people will jump on at the end. I've been waiting as well and I have a dozen audiophile friends who will jump on it.
I'll try and find some time over the weekend to revisit my list of everything I might ever want to test with a test record and complete and pad it out a bit. Think of it as a top down view to then map against test tracks. I will need to re ask a couple of questions that I think fell down the cracks last time, mainly over analysis capabilities. And then the eclectic/research tracks can effectively be shouted down if I am the only person who sees the tiniest amount of value in them. But a clean 3150Hz tone and accurate low distortion sets of sweeps in reality can do and awful lot of what is needed.
All is not lost, there are two tone IM tracks that are "good" when VTA is right. This is easier to do than manually measuring a pile azimuth settings to get the best.
BTW I reviewed Dr. Feickert's manual on azimuth and find one thing that bothered me. He states the ear is more sensitive to phase than amplitude but he is looking at the phase of the two crosstalk components. In reality the crosstalk is 25db or so down so the vector addition has very little effect on the main signal's phase. I strongly suspect that the minimum mean amplitude crosstalk point is as optimum as anyone could perceive. As an additional point if one really wanted a signal exclusively in one channel the phase of the leakage would hardly matter at the -25dB level IMO of course.
In response to the above the Dr's. 0dB THD was quite good, noticeably better than the old STR series.
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Hm, my understanding was that phase of the crosstalk signal was more accurate for coil alignment than equal level (because output level/coil spec may differ between channels).
You can correct for that, and in any case most of the examples had nearly coincident nulls. I simply question the audibility of the extreme nitpicking of azimuth. The audibility of VTA on a good setup shocked even me.
Yes it's those stylus geometries. The sibilance you could generate would drive even me out of the room and that's saying a lot.
I haven't found azimuth to be as critical although it can make a mess of your treasured records if too far out and it does seem to affect channel to channel balance.
I am still struggling with VTA, the ET-2.5 makes it easy to adjust, in some cases it makes a shockingly obvious difference and in others not so much.
I'm currently in the throws of converting to a fully active system with six channels of amplification, one for each driver in the system. Vinyl has gone on the back burner until the system is voiced correctly, it wasn't right before the change and sounds worse now.
Honestly I wonder why we bother with vinyl, is it really worth the trouble? From a technical perspective it... just... sucks... Scott will attest that I am fairly insane and have really good playback hardware, but... am I, are we? wasting our time? The answer I think is yes, but for fun of it all.
The more I measure the less impressed I become, and the LAUREL/YANNI conundrum tells me what part of the problem is.. LOL
I am still struggling with VTA, the ET-2.5 makes it easy to adjust, in some cases it makes a shockingly obvious difference and in others not so much.
I'm currently in the throws of converting to a fully active system with six channels of amplification, one for each driver in the system. Vinyl has gone on the back burner until the system is voiced correctly, it wasn't right before the change and sounds worse now.
Honestly I wonder why we bother with vinyl, is it really worth the trouble? From a technical perspective it... just... sucks... Scott will attest that I am fairly insane and have really good playback hardware, but... am I, are we? wasting our time? The answer I think is yes, but for fun of it all.
The more I measure the less impressed I become, and the LAUREL/YANNI conundrum tells me what part of the problem is.. LOL
Hi Chris, I know Dr Feickert is a premium brand but many companies at some point decide to make hay on their brand name with products that wouldn't have given them their good name if they came out with it first. So I had doubts and wanted to clear them up. Anyway I don't want to go OT here. There's probably a speed controller thread somewhere . . . . probably a thousand of them. . . .: )
I agree. There's a Bruel and Kjaer test LP on eBay right now for ten bucks and many of the other standard test discs can be had for that or less if you're willing to wait for them to come around, either on eBay or the local used bins. Tests that lead to a deeper understanding of setup -> sound output is what I'm most interested in.
I'm saying nothing as I took delivery of a dozen new records today. Oldest was an ace of clubs mono and nothing after about 1975. Only minorly in the doghouse . My vinyl hobby is slightly out of control at the moment, but, however flawed the medium is the fact that we just might pull off a common reference here that we can all use to at least make the best of a bad job is making me excited that finally we might get some better figures of merit for what matters.
. My vinyl hobby is slightly out of control at the moment, but, however flawed the medium is the fact that we just might pull off a common reference here that we can all use to at least make the best of a bad job is making me excited that finally we might get some better figures of merit for what matters.
I certainly agree about audibility of VTA adjustments, though possibly not at the arcsecond level. I don't claim to have a world class vinyl system, but I was having trouble getting the back of the tonearm low enough, finally made a new thinner armboard and a thicker mat, and the change in tonality was dramatic, and it really tamed a hot top end.
There seems to be some disagreement about the stylus on my cart. In general I think more agressive stylus profiles are more sensitive to VTA. Some sources say this cartridge has a "line contact" stylys, others say it is the usual Denon "special elliptical". Anyway getting it closer to level made an improvement that was pretty audible (though of course no blind tests and my wife did not run from the kitchen).
And yes, it is just a lot of fun trying yo get nice sound out of these primitive slabs of vinyl!
Bill, you've got good attitude, I agree the test record will be helpful and may provide common ground for at least some of us. BTW, my wife has got this particular eye roll perfected and reserved for when I announce I have bought yet more vinyl.
I came back from Dallas with about a dozen "finds" some of those probably should have stayed in the bin, although I often find the stinkers of today become either gems over time or are appreciated for their entertainment value.. lol Some stuff should have died with their time..
I came back from Dallas with about a dozen "finds" some of those probably should have stayed in the bin, although I often find the stinkers of today become either gems over time or are appreciated for their entertainment value.. lol Some stuff should have died with their time..