Regarding turntable mats: I tried a lot but for me an acrylic one makes a great difference. The bass is much less boomy and more detailled with my cartridge Denon DL 160. Fantastic! Soon I'm going to try a Carbon mat. Greetings from Holland 😀
I've never visited this channel before today and I'm glad I did. He has lots of great ideas and tricks that I've never thought of before or have even heard of. Thank you very much for this simple and very useful info. Subbed! 👍
Nice Vid Kelvin, My turntable is a STD 305M with an Infinity Black widow tonearm which has the damping trough , cartridge is a Adc XLM MK111 gold fitted with a ZlM Shibata stylus ABSOLUTE HEAVEN. Set up is the most important aspect of good vinyl replay. The whole turntable set up cost £575.97 which is a bargain. There are so many excellent pieces of audio just waiting to be restored and given a new lease of life. Keep the the vids coming so refreshing seeing a true Audiophile giving advice.
This has to be one of the most helpful turntable videos I've come across. Being on a bit of a budget, I'll definitely be implementing your tips to make the most of the turntable I've got! For starters, the speakers need to be moved away from next to the turntable, and then I'm cutting up some papers and getting out my spirit level. Thanks so much!
1. correctly level the turntable and platter. 2. put a record onto the mat. 3. Set up a stylus protractor on the record and set the overhang. 4. Tighten the cartridge on once the correct overhang is achieved. Do not over tighten, it damages the arm and the cartridge. 5. Balance the tonearm i.e. set the tracking force to zero, set the bias side-force to zero and adjust the counterweight to the point where the arm floats parallel to the platter. 6. set the tracking force. 7. loosen the arm pillar and aim to get the cartridge and headshell parallel with the surface of the record by raising and lowering the arm by small increments. Temporarily lock the arm so that you can lower the arm into the groove to see how parallel the cartridge and the record are. Do this until it looks parallel. 8. if you can listen on headphones, listen to the record playing. Listen to a recording that has cymbals, drums, bass guitar, acoustic guitar. aim to hear the stick strikes and the metallic shimmer and decay of cymbals. Aim to refine the sound, it shouldn’t be splashy or, dull adjust the arm pillar height until the sound becomes focussed and dynamic. 9. Small adjustments of tracking force around the recommended value will improve the end result.
I can tell you are a man with a good deal of audio experience and... (to quote a famous vintage British speaker manufacturer's slogan) "experienced ears are rare".
Good information here. Turntables as the source component can sound good or bad based not only on their design but on how they are set up. You can also adjust whether the tonearm is parrallel to the record by using turntable mats of different thickness. Cartridge alignment is also important, but probably a bit beyond the scope of most people setting up their tables, so just getting the overhang right and fully tightening the cartridge mounting bolts and headshell collar will help a lot.
Great video. I try to avoid tonearms with a headshell. Best you can get is Hadcock. One additional tip. If you own a turntable with a springed subchassis, adjusting those springs, gives you also a possibility to improve the sound. Tight springs promote short resonances, loose springs, longer resonances in your turntable. It depends what sounds better, just try.
The newspaper mat idea is a new one on me - I'll certainly try it (I love clever tweaks that cost nothing). It strikes me that if you wanted a neater appearance you could use some coloured (or tasteful black) paper from an art supplier as the top layer - 80 gsm should do it - make it fractionally larger than the newpaper to hide the edge.
I don't always agree with what you say but you look genuine so I appreciate the effort. There are reviewers with less knowledge that talk about things they don't know and maybe are deaf too. "The Audiophile Man" is one of those who says nonsense and delete negative comments even if they are polite.
Well I like the idea of layers of newspaper. I tried the Financial Times first but found it gave a richer sound. 😆 Good stuff I do like your channel but you do far more on the speakers and amps than the turntable unless I've missed those videos.
If you're leveling up a turntable that doesn't have adjustable feet a coin (or coins) can be placed under the appropriate feet; they're the right diameter, rigid, cheap (literally pennies!) and available in various thicknesses. Just make sure it doesn't wobble when you're finished; from this perspective three feet are always better than four; as Roy Gandy (Rega) used to say: "you can't rock a tripod" I tend to think that stability is more important than absolute level and, for instance, with a suspended chassis turntable it's beneficial to level up for best suspension bounce (this should have been adjusted already on a level jig but they're all going to vary by a gnat's) rather than worry too much about being a millimetre or so out of level. Indeed if you have an accurate bubble level you'll find that the level actually varies slightly depending exactly where you place it on the deck; particularly so with wooden armboards, plinths and rubber feet. Absolutely agree with the wall shelf concept but most turntables will benefit from a supplementary light, rigid sub-shelf decoupled (loose - not screwed down to the main shelf) to assist with the rejection of sub-sonic vibrations (trucks on the road outside, for instance) transmitted through the wall structure. If you make a newspaper mat and you're bored with the music at least you'll have something to read but watch it doesn't make your neck hurt trying to read at thirty-three and a third R.P.M! ;0)
Changing the tracking weight will have a slight effect on the bass/treble balance but that is not the optimum solution as there is a risk of miss-tracking, suspension fatigue, and increased record wear. The safest and the scientific approach Is adjustment of the Vertical Tracking Angle (VTA) and Stylus Raking Angle (SRA) that determine the position of the stylus relative to the groove and the ideal of matching the angle of the original lathe cutting head. The height of the arm at the pivot point is the main Adjustment but spacers in the head-shell can influence the angles to a lesser degree. The lower the VTA the greater emphasis on bass and conversely the higher the VTA the tonal shift towards brightness.
Thanks. I would like to ask if a high quality cartridge and stylus could decrease feedback sound on high volume vs a low/mid quality cartridge and stylus?
EXCELLENT VIDEO, I making a newspaper matt today! I was wondering what would cause my stylus to skip, after the record is finish play when it is coming back to the post? It has automatic return? Does something need to be adjusted or oiled? My turntable is a vintage Kenwood KD 2000 from the 1970,s Any help would be cool!
I'd like to mention one more free sound improvement; if you have a receiver with a "Restorer" function set it to "Low" to uncompress the signal and unlock the full dynamic range of the recording. All music, but especially music with a lot of dynamic range like hip hop has to be compressed so the needle doesn't jump out of the groove and the restorer setting does just that, it restores the signal back to it's full dynamic range. My receiver is a Denon and that feature is a life saver.
My favorite turntable tweaks involved swapping cartridges, replacing the stock built in interconnects with high quality double shielded cables and lastly using vibrapods isolators to isolate the turntable from vibrations. I'd consider swapping out my stock rubber mat for another type but not sure which works best as there are differing opinions on that subject.
Yes feet are important on turntables everything on turntables makes a difference it’s such a sensitive instrument And Matts oh my God It’s great fun with Turntable so cause you can tweak it for what you need and thanks for your comments cheers mate
Many thanks. I have just started my turntable again after a few years.. Top end is lacking . I have tried a different cartridge, might have improved. I shall try lower weight as at higher end 2 grams. Table is a Garrard zero 100 SB. Carts Fidelity Research FR6SE Now Shure M55ME.
4:33 I like your number 4, you should say that to the average audiophile that likes expensive mats. They probably have various types of metal "mats" in their collection, like the Micro Seiki CU-180 or the Oyaide MJ-12, which are basically vibration conductors. Same goes for the MDF platters and those fashionable transparent acrylic platters where the record goes on the bare platter, no damping at all - bad idea if you'd ask me.
Hi I've got a technics SU-V450 stereo integrated amplifier I have connected it to my TEAC TN 350 (turntable with built in pre amp) no sound what so ever! Can you help?!!
Well the amount of times I thought it wasn’t working and all it is I haven’t connected the speakers haven’t selected the speakers haven’t pressed the right button something isn’t connected just do all that connection stuff spend 20 minutes on it most likely it’s something simple
It is always good to get advice to help get better sound from turntables but are you saying only vinyl records on a turntable can provide a good sound stage effect and digital formats do not?
Careful with over tightening screws. Not only can you strip the threads but you may crack the cartridge itself. I wouldn't worry to, to much if you have one of those cheap P-mount shells. I'd worry more if you have a regular cartridge that requires set up. Turntables work better when placed on a good, dedicated stand and not living room furniture. No stand will stop the vibration of a wooden floor? Ever hear of mass loading? Nice, heavy stands made from reputable manufacturers using vibration eliminating materials work a treat. Also the better TT's use mass loading for their tables as well. Setting your tracking force toward the higher range will generally (generally) glean more information from the grooves since they literally dig deeper into them. Actually, its better to use stylus profiles which are thinner than the nude elliptical used by the Ortofon 2M Blue which by definition dig deeper into the grooves. They are of course, more expensive that the Blue. The 2M Black uses a Nude Shibata stylus which is far better at pulling information from the grooves. The more expensive cartridges use line contact profiles on their cartridges which is better still. The problem with setting your cartridge to the lower down force range is the cartridge will chatter in the grooves causing record groove damage. If you go over the desired tracking force range is you risk irreparable damage to the cartridge suspension. Take the tracking force range seriously. Softer mats, such as rubber, felt and acrylic deaden the sound. Harder mats (generally) tend to harden the sound. Yes, you want to absorb energy from the record (generally) but not deaden or harden the sound. The Funk Firm's Achromat and the Millennium Carbon Fiber mat are fine examples of mats that don't deaden the sound but disperse energy from the record. Newspaper will leach newsprint onto and into the record grooves that WILL hard bake through friction. Also, any dirt on records will also hard bake into the grooves, which is why records should be thoroughly cleaned before play and dust removed while it's on the platter. Audioquest style brushes using carbon fiber or goat hair are the best when used correctly. However, only an ultrasonic record cleaner, the Kirmuss record cleaning method or proven enzyme cleaners will clean any hard baked dirt out of the grooves. Leveling the TT starts with leveling the stand its placed on then leveling the TT BEFORE you place the cartridge in and setting it up. Arms parallel to the platter almost never sets the proper VTA. Parallel is just the beginning point for proper set up. It's always best to set the arm a tad above level. The reason for that is that the proper VTA angle is 92 degrees. That means the back needs to be a bit higher than the front. However, that is just a very rough approximation. Getting to exactly 92 degrees requires work and the proper equipment, usually done by a professional (or if you have that equipment). Setting it by ear just sounds like random voodoo.
@Raine Wilder Correct Here's my proposal : Wagner : Mûnchener Nachrichten ; Mahler: Wiener Zeitung (Brückner : Linzer Tageszeintung) verdi: La Stampa; Ravel/Debussy : Le Figaro; Boulez: Libération ; Steve Reich/Glass/Adams : Libertarian; Purcell : Strattfordshire Gazette; Elgar: The Time. Ths choice should improve the range of dynamic. At least
@@RaineWilder Thanks . It is only a proposal. we need people to check the advantages. I am note so sure about Olando Gibbons and the Weximborough Messenger. Fat Boy slim and The GUARDIAN / AMAZING..?
Number one rule: No Air Supply!!! Make sure the surface is level. My Rega sits on an oak cab on glass. The rubber suction isolation feet keep her steady.
All good advise.. About mats ... Different thicknesses of mats will change the stylus rake angle and that is why they can sound different It is not necessarily what a mat is made of. It's the thickness of a given mat which is all important.
Height is an issue but the material a mat is made of is also important. It affects everything from it's ability to couple or decouple the record to the platter to it's damping properties at different frequencies. Much research has been done in mat design and can be found in better audio publications (particularly British ones) dating back to the 70s and 80s.
Some interesting things I like the newspaper idea. but have to disagree with the arm that it is not the best place to be level yes in most circumstances this has to be the case without modification but physics says no to this and should be at the pivot point at record level or close to. So get a piece of bolster Wood half an inch thick and put it 5 degrees slope so the rake angle is brought back again, that is the reason why they say that arm should be level because of the rake angle. I might go into manufacturing Arms you interested in trying a prototype would like some feedback. Best upgrade for any turntable get yourself 5" ideally of cellulose open cell foam, take your feet off the turntable and and attach it to the turntable bottom with double-sided sticky tape making sure the foam is tight around the main bearing put a cross in the foam, and enough room for the arm wires to have free movement, buy an 1" bamboo chopping board from IKEA and attach your feet to that works perfectly. if you have a bad floor that is bouncing maybe doubling up to 10" if it's really bad floor and get it dumbbell weight 10 kilos or more some strong fishing line hang the dumbbell below the Ikea chopping board as low as possible is best. And a paving slab 2 inches thick by12 inches on the bottom shelf should be anyway the case for any rack.
I find the Sun newspaper has more treble extention and more pronounced dynamics than the paper used in the Financial Times. However, three layers of a Cornflakes box does a fine job.
Use a 12 inch arm and set the cart alignment to make the inner null point the best , ignore the outer null point , the longer arm will give a reduction in tracing distortion of 20% compared to a 9" arm , there will always be degradation at the inner point but a longer arm and even a line contact stylus will take it to inaudible levels of difference across the playing side.
You should try an Audio Technica vm540ml cartridge. It basically pretty much eliminates igd by really getting into the groove using a Microline stylus. I have the previous model vm440ml and has changed my thinking about the issue. Of course there will always be a few lps where igd remains an issue, but this cartridge has made a huge difference in listening, specifically when approaching the end of records.
ANOTHER ONE I HAVE ENCOUNTERED WHEN PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SAVE A BIT OF CASH IS EVEN IF YOU HAVE THE SPEAKERS AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES FROM THE AMP, ALWAYS HAVE THE CABLES THE SAME LENGTH AT ALL TIMES, IF YOU HAVE ONE SHORTER CABLE YOU WILL SUFFER A "TIME DELAY" IN SOUND, IT'S A MISTAKE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE MAKE, SOME SAY THAT IT DOESN'T MATTER, BUT EVERY LITTLE HELPS, AS THE OLD LADY SAID AS SHE PEE'D IN THE SEA.
No 1. WHY ARE YOU YELLING?? and No 2. That's not how audio wire works. It's not like water running through a hose. This sounds like something someone just thought up because they think electricity in wire must travel like water does. *facepalm*
I want to hear how a cartridge will bring the snare drum to the middle of the sound stage if the recording put it in the right like in the first 6 Beatles stereo albums. Careful what you tell people.
Mate I couldn't tell you how many of your video's I've watch over the past 18 months firstly just let me say I value your opinion that's why I watch and I learn off you but please please in the name of the good lord can't you just drop the opening . We know you have collected and listen to heaps of audio stuff over the years . Do we got hear that every time its like a broken record .My wife thinks I'm watching the same video's over and over I have to tell her this is how you start your video's and you are talking about something different ...Try this ...G'day viewers Kelvin here ,today we are going to look at ?????Just cut to the chase ...Anyway Mate all the best.
Six reasons why the newspaper tip is nonsense. First, good mats have a concave space for the record label (which sits higher than the record surface) to fit into, to make sure the record sits flat on the mat. Putting a couple of layers of newspaper on a bare platter will cause a gap between where the record label contacts the newspaper and the edge of the record as it flops down to contact the platter edge. Same thing if you put the newspaper over the mat, thereby negating the cutout for the label. Second, using nothing but paper and no mat will not dampen any ring the platter has to it like a rubber mat would. Third, adding another layer of material and chainging the height at which the record sits will change the stylus rake angle. Depending on whether your stylus rake angle was correct before you added the material, you may degrade the sound by throwing the rake angle off, or you might be improving it if the additional material puts the rake angle closer to where it needs to be. Fourth, regular newsprint and glossy newsprint paper ink is petroleum or soybean oil based. Anyone who has handled newsprint for a long time knows that it will come off on your hands. Do you really want an oily contaminant on your records? Fifth, paper is subject to holding a static charge, like when two pages of a magazine are attracted to each other. And lastly, sixth, paper sheds microfibers of cellulose which end up in the record grooves and making them dirty.
Was quite interested in this video until he got the bit about newspaper as slip mat. Seriously!!! I do everything I can to avoid my vinyl coming into contact with paper to avoid static and particles. And this guy is using it as a slip mat. Switched off after that point.
Regarding turntable mats: I tried a lot but for me an acrylic one makes a great difference. The bass is much less boomy and more detailled with my cartridge Denon DL 160. Fantastic! Soon I'm going to try a Carbon mat. Greetings from Holland 😀
Try the Soundeck platter mat.
I've never visited this channel before today and I'm glad I did. He has lots of great ideas and tricks that I've never thought of before or have even heard of.
Thank you very much for this simple and very useful info. Subbed! 👍
Extremely helpful for my setup. Thanks!
Nice Vid Kelvin, My turntable is a STD 305M with an Infinity Black widow tonearm which has the damping trough , cartridge is a Adc XLM MK111 gold fitted with a ZlM Shibata stylus ABSOLUTE HEAVEN. Set up is the most important aspect of good vinyl replay. The whole turntable set up cost £575.97 which is a bargain. There are so many excellent pieces of audio just waiting to be restored and given a new lease of life. Keep the the vids coming so refreshing seeing a true Audiophile giving advice.
This has to be one of the most helpful turntable videos I've come across. Being on a bit of a budget, I'll definitely be implementing your tips to make the most of the turntable I've got! For starters, the speakers need to be moved away from next to the turntable, and then I'm cutting up some papers and getting out my spirit level. Thanks so much!
You’re welcome
I tried the adjustment of the tone arm weight. What a difference that made! Thank you.
1. correctly level the turntable and platter.
2. put a record onto the mat.
3. Set up a stylus protractor on the record and set the overhang.
4. Tighten the cartridge on once the correct overhang is achieved. Do not over tighten, it damages the arm and the cartridge.
5. Balance the tonearm i.e. set the tracking force to zero, set the bias side-force to zero and adjust the counterweight to the point where the arm floats parallel to the platter.
6. set the tracking force.
7. loosen the arm pillar and aim to get the cartridge and headshell parallel with the surface of the record by raising and lowering the arm by small increments. Temporarily lock the arm so that you can lower the arm into the groove to see how parallel the cartridge and the record are. Do this until it looks parallel.
8. if you can listen on headphones, listen to the record playing. Listen to a recording that has cymbals, drums, bass guitar, acoustic guitar. aim to hear the stick strikes and the metallic shimmer and decay of cymbals. Aim to refine the sound, it shouldn’t be splashy or, dull adjust the arm pillar height until the sound becomes focussed and dynamic.
9. Small adjustments of tracking force around the recommended value will improve the end result.
10. The strobes speed, it should be the first thing to check, if it's wrong, nothing else matter, for some tables, it's fatal, no need to go further.
I can tell you are a man with a good deal of audio experience and... (to quote a famous vintage British speaker manufacturer's slogan) "experienced ears are rare".
Good information here. Turntables as the source component can sound good or bad based not only on their design but on how they are set up. You can also adjust whether the tonearm is parrallel to the record by using turntable mats of different thickness. Cartridge alignment is also important, but probably a bit beyond the scope of most people setting up their tables, so just getting the overhang right and fully tightening the cartridge mounting bolts and headshell collar will help a lot.
Great video. I try to avoid tonearms with a headshell. Best you can get is Hadcock. One additional tip. If you own a turntable with a springed subchassis, adjusting those springs, gives you also a possibility to improve the sound. Tight springs promote short resonances, loose springs, longer resonances in your turntable. It depends what sounds better, just try.
Thanks Kelvin I have increased the weight on my Rega Bias cartridge in a Rega Planar 2 turntable and the bass and tracking ability is much better.
Your tips make perfect sense... thx
Best video on tips for spinning records, thank you.
What brilliant suggestions thank you
Took your advice with shure pick up big improvements thank you.
Love the vids, keep them coming 'yeah'
I’m here for the ‘yeahs’ too.
Really helpful, thanks.
The newspaper mat idea is a new one on me - I'll certainly try it (I love clever tweaks that cost nothing). It strikes me that if you wanted a neater appearance you could use some coloured (or tasteful black) paper from an art supplier as the top layer - 80 gsm should do it - make it fractionally larger than the newpaper to hide the edge.
I don't always agree with what you say but you look genuine so I appreciate the effort. There are reviewers with less knowledge that talk about things they don't know and maybe are deaf too. "The Audiophile Man" is one of those who says nonsense and delete negative comments even if they are polite.
Interesting Just to say I’m more or less never delete a comment apart from one bloke who was raving mad
Great stuff thanks mate
Well I like the idea of layers of newspaper. I tried the Financial Times first but found it gave a richer sound. 😆
Good stuff I do like your channel but you do far more on the speakers and amps than the turntable unless I've missed those videos.
If you're leveling up a turntable that doesn't have adjustable feet a coin (or coins) can be placed under the appropriate feet; they're the right diameter, rigid, cheap (literally pennies!) and available in various thicknesses. Just make sure it doesn't wobble when you're finished; from this perspective three feet are always better than four; as Roy Gandy (Rega) used to say: "you can't rock a tripod" I tend to think that stability is more important than absolute level and, for instance, with a suspended chassis turntable it's beneficial to level up for best suspension bounce (this should have been adjusted already on a level jig but they're all going to vary by a gnat's) rather than worry too much about being a millimetre or so out of level. Indeed if you have an accurate bubble level you'll find that the level actually varies slightly depending exactly where you place it on the deck; particularly so with wooden armboards, plinths and rubber feet. Absolutely agree with the wall shelf concept but most turntables will benefit from a supplementary light, rigid sub-shelf decoupled (loose - not screwed down to the main shelf) to assist with the rejection of sub-sonic vibrations (trucks on the road outside, for instance) transmitted through the wall structure. If you make a newspaper mat and you're bored with the music at least you'll have something to read but watch it doesn't make your neck hurt trying to read at thirty-three and a third R.P.M! ;0)
Changing the tracking weight will have a slight effect on the bass/treble balance but that is not the optimum solution as there is a risk of miss-tracking, suspension fatigue, and increased record wear. The safest and the scientific approach Is adjustment of the Vertical Tracking Angle (VTA) and Stylus Raking Angle (SRA) that determine the position of the stylus relative to the groove and the ideal of matching the angle of the original lathe cutting head. The height of the arm at the pivot point is the main Adjustment but spacers in the head-shell can influence the angles to a lesser degree. The lower the VTA the greater emphasis on bass and conversely the higher the VTA the tonal shift towards brightness.
Very informative !
Hi Kelvin. Love your idea for a turntable mat. I have 5 copies of Melody Maker, so can i use these ?
Thanks. I would like to ask if a high quality cartridge and stylus could decrease feedback sound on high volume vs a low/mid quality cartridge and stylus?
EXCELLENT VIDEO, I making a newspaper matt today! I was wondering what would cause my stylus to skip, after the record is finish play when it is coming back to the post? It has automatic return? Does something need to be adjusted or oiled? My turntable is a vintage Kenwood KD 2000 from the 1970,s Any help would be cool!
Thanks!!
I'd like to mention one more free sound improvement; if you have a receiver with a "Restorer" function set it to "Low" to uncompress the signal and unlock the full dynamic range of the recording. All music, but especially music with a lot of dynamic range like hip hop has to be compressed so the needle doesn't jump out of the groove and the restorer setting does just that, it restores the signal back to it's full dynamic range. My receiver is a Denon and that feature is a life saver.
Cracked me up when you got the newspaper out, but so true.
Question please, what do you think of acrylic mat's?
What a great set of ideas. I just discovered this channel. I also discovered a new drinking game lol. Every time he says, yeah take a drink.
How’s the hangover😜
@@stereoreviewx
🤣🤣🤣🤣 Great stuff man thanks!
Thank you, sir!
Thanks for watching
My favorite turntable tweaks involved swapping cartridges, replacing the stock built in interconnects with high quality double shielded cables and lastly using vibrapods isolators to isolate the turntable from vibrations. I'd consider swapping out my stock rubber mat for another type but not sure which works best as there are differing opinions on that subject.
Yes feet are important on turntables everything on turntables makes a difference it’s such a sensitive instrument
And Matts oh my God
It’s great fun with Turntable so cause you can tweak it for what you need and thanks for your comments cheers mate
Rigidity is definitely one of the keys to satisfying reproduction...... as the actress said to the bishop ;0)
TEChnics sl1200 and older denon turntables like the dp1000 and dp3000 have ridges and gaps on their rubber mat. so its best to replace them?
Brilliant ! A Newspaper dampening mat. How many pages wil be adequate you think ?
the technics 6mm mat from a 1200 or 1100 works great for getting TIGHT big bass and lower feedback at high volumes
Hahaha
Many thanks. I have just started my turntable again after a few years..
Top end is lacking . I have tried a different cartridge, might have improved.
I shall try lower weight as at higher end 2 grams.
Table is a Garrard zero 100 SB.
Carts Fidelity Research FR6SE
Now Shure M55ME.
Nice ! I still use the Original Technics Rubber Matt to listen records.
Same here, heavy rubber on a metal platter dampens very well!
Same here but im thinking about other mat options, maybe cork or acrylic.
put the TT as far away from the speakers as possible , the best upgrade ever
4:33 I like your number 4, you should say that to the average audiophile that likes expensive mats.
They probably have various types of metal "mats" in their collection, like the Micro Seiki CU-180 or the Oyaide MJ-12, which are basically vibration conductors.
Same goes for the MDF platters and those fashionable transparent acrylic platters where the record goes on the bare platter, no damping at all - bad idea if you'd ask me.
intersting stuff thanks
Cool
Hi I've got a technics SU-V450 stereo integrated amplifier I have connected it to my TEAC TN 350 (turntable with built in pre amp) no sound what so ever! Can you help?!!
Well the amount of times I thought it wasn’t working and all it is I haven’t connected the speakers haven’t selected the speakers haven’t pressed the right button something isn’t connected just do all that connection stuff spend 20 minutes on it most likely it’s something simple
🤘
Kelvin, the audio guru, yeah? Thanks.
It is always good to get advice to help get better sound from turntables but are you saying only vinyl records on a turntable can provide a good sound stage effect and digital formats do not?
Well I wouldn’t go as far as that but what can I say to me turntables equals soundstage it’s what they do best
A newspaper mat! I gotta try it! Thank you very much for the advice.
Sir paper mat is best for turntable
What's a ''broadsheet newspaper" and where can you find one? Do I have to go to the antique mall?
First get a time machine
Careful with over tightening screws. Not only can you strip the threads but you may crack the cartridge itself. I wouldn't worry to, to much if you have one of those cheap P-mount shells. I'd worry more if you have a regular cartridge that requires set up. Turntables work better when placed on a good, dedicated stand and not living room furniture. No stand will stop the vibration of a wooden floor? Ever hear of mass loading? Nice, heavy stands made from reputable manufacturers using vibration eliminating materials work a treat. Also the better TT's use mass loading for their tables as well.
Setting your tracking force toward the higher range will generally (generally) glean more information from the grooves since they literally dig deeper into them. Actually, its better to use stylus profiles which are thinner than the nude elliptical used by the Ortofon 2M Blue which by definition dig deeper into the grooves. They are of course, more expensive that the Blue. The 2M Black uses a Nude Shibata stylus which is far better at pulling information from the grooves. The more expensive cartridges use line contact profiles on their cartridges which is better still. The problem with setting your cartridge to the lower down force range is the cartridge will chatter in the grooves causing record groove damage. If you go over the desired tracking force range is you risk irreparable damage to the cartridge suspension. Take the tracking force range seriously.
Softer mats, such as rubber, felt and acrylic deaden the sound. Harder mats (generally) tend to harden the sound. Yes, you want to absorb energy from the record (generally) but not deaden or harden the sound. The Funk Firm's Achromat and the Millennium Carbon Fiber mat are fine examples of mats that don't deaden the sound but disperse energy from the record.
Newspaper will leach newsprint onto and into the record grooves that WILL hard bake through friction. Also, any dirt on records will also hard bake into the grooves, which is why records should be thoroughly cleaned before play and dust removed while it's on the platter. Audioquest style brushes using carbon fiber or goat hair are the best when used correctly. However, only an ultrasonic record cleaner, the Kirmuss record cleaning method or proven enzyme cleaners will clean any hard baked dirt out of the grooves. Leveling the TT starts with leveling the stand its placed on then leveling the TT BEFORE you place the cartridge in and setting it up.
Arms parallel to the platter almost never sets the proper VTA. Parallel is just the beginning point for proper set up. It's always best to set the arm a tad above level. The reason for that is that the proper VTA angle is 92 degrees. That means the back needs to be a bit higher than the front. However, that is just a very rough approximation. Getting to exactly 92 degrees requires work and the proper equipment, usually done by a professional (or if you have that equipment). Setting it by ear just sounds like random voodoo.
‘It’s in a floppy situation’….that’s what the mrs said to me 😣
Point 4: Due to Brexit The Guardian ot The Times are difficultly avaible in EEC. Could this work with Le Monde or Frankfurter Allgemeinee Zeitung?
well, if you want your vinyl sound to get a French or German inflection - by all means
@Raine Wilder Correct Here's my proposal : Wagner : Mûnchener Nachrichten ; Mahler: Wiener Zeitung (Brückner : Linzer Tageszeintung) verdi: La Stampa; Ravel/Debussy : Le Figaro; Boulez: Libération ; Steve Reich/Glass/Adams : Libertarian; Purcell : Strattfordshire Gazette; Elgar: The Time. Ths choice should improve the range of dynamic. At least
@@marcamant7258 LOL, perfect pairings, you sure thought it through XD
@@RaineWilder Thanks . It is only a proposal. we need people to check the advantages. I am note so sure about Olando Gibbons and the Weximborough Messenger. Fat Boy slim and The GUARDIAN / AMAZING..?
@@marcamant7258 That's a great experiment that everyone should get involved with! People have been in the dark about this stuff for way too long!
Hey Kelvin, thanks a lot for the tips..As I'm so far away, do you have a Brazilian resident friend well versed in Vintage audio as you do ?
I've got a kam turntable and my records are in good condition but the sound a little bit distorted and lispy
Well it could be many things but I will try cleaning the stylus first then check the set up of the arm
More bass is actually obtained by adjusting the tracking force. Not the weight itself..
Number one rule: No Air Supply!!!
Make sure the surface is level.
My Rega sits on an oak cab on glass.
The rubber suction isolation feet keep her steady.
I think that counts me out from contemplating buying a new turntable. Theres no way I can have it anywhere else to avoid feedback.😐
All good advise..
About mats ...
Different thicknesses of mats will change the stylus rake angle and that is why they can sound different
It is not necessarily what a mat is made of. It's the thickness of a given mat which is all important.
Yes that’s true the height issue is so easily overlooked by also think the materials matter to
Height is an issue but the material a mat is made of is also important. It affects everything from it's ability to couple or decouple the record to the platter to it's damping properties at different frequencies. Much research has been done in mat design and can be found in better audio publications (particularly British ones) dating back to the 70s and 80s.
Some interesting things I like the newspaper idea. but have to disagree with the arm that it is not the best place to be level yes in most circumstances this has to be the case without modification but physics says no to this and should be at the pivot point at record level or close to. So get a piece of bolster Wood half an inch thick and put it 5 degrees slope so the rake angle is brought back again, that is the reason why they say that arm should be level because of the rake angle.
I might go into manufacturing Arms you interested in trying a prototype would like some feedback.
Best upgrade for any turntable get yourself 5" ideally of cellulose open cell foam, take your feet off the turntable and and attach it to the turntable bottom with double-sided sticky tape making sure the foam is tight around the main bearing put a cross in the foam, and enough room for the arm wires to have free movement, buy an 1" bamboo chopping board from IKEA and attach your feet to that works perfectly. if you have a bad floor that is bouncing maybe doubling up to 10" if it's really bad floor and get it dumbbell weight 10 kilos or more some strong fishing line hang the dumbbell below the Ikea chopping board as low as possible is best. And a paving slab 2 inches thick by12 inches on the bottom shelf should be anyway the case for any rack.
Linn recommend placing your turntable on the lightest structure possible.
you left out many things like adjusting the carthage using a Bearwald arc protractor setting the anti skate
What about cartridge alignment?!!!
I find the Sun newspaper has more treble extention and more pronounced dynamics than the paper used in the Financial Times. However, three layers of a Cornflakes box does a fine job.
Yes the Sun can be just sensational
@@stereoreviewx Haha, sensationalised.
Yea
U forgot plugging into the mains as number 1 tip!
That’s Snakeoil
Have done all for the past 30-40 years..but still my main issue is inner groove distortion..some albums are so bad that i hv to play a cd...
Yes I know sometimes you can’t do anything to stop it
Use a 12 inch arm and set the cart alignment to make the inner null point the best , ignore the outer null point , the longer arm will give a reduction in tracing distortion of 20% compared to a 9" arm , there will always be degradation at the inner point but a longer arm and even a line contact stylus will take it to inaudible levels of difference across the playing side.
You should try an Audio Technica vm540ml cartridge. It basically pretty much eliminates igd by really getting into the groove using a Microline stylus. I have the previous model vm440ml and has changed my thinking about the issue. Of course there will always be a few lps where igd remains an issue, but this cartridge has made a huge difference in listening, specifically when approaching the end of records.
ANOTHER ONE I HAVE ENCOUNTERED WHEN PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SAVE A BIT OF CASH IS EVEN IF YOU HAVE THE SPEAKERS AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES FROM THE AMP, ALWAYS HAVE THE CABLES THE SAME LENGTH AT ALL TIMES, IF YOU HAVE ONE SHORTER CABLE YOU WILL SUFFER A "TIME DELAY" IN SOUND, IT'S A MISTAKE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE MAKE, SOME SAY THAT IT DOESN'T MATTER, BUT EVERY LITTLE HELPS, AS THE OLD LADY SAID AS SHE PEE'D IN THE SEA.
No 1. WHY ARE YOU YELLING??
and
No 2. That's not how audio wire works. It's not like water running through a hose. This sounds like something someone just thought up because they think electricity in wire must travel like water does. *facepalm*
@@proteusblack8913 NO1, I'M ONLY REPEATING WHAT A HI-FI BUFF TOLD ME FOR THE BENEFIT OF OTHERS ,
AND
NO2, LIKE I GIVE A FUCK WHAT YOU THINK, WANKEMOJI
Wall mount to a load bearing wall
What happened no sound
I want to hear how a cartridge will bring the snare drum to the middle of the sound stage if the recording put it in the right like in the first 6 Beatles stereo albums. Careful what you tell people.
Coen Heydenrych Well it’s in the middle on 99% of songs I’m happy to go with that
I wish I could get a turntable wall shelf for free. They are at least £130.
Mate I couldn't tell you how many of your video's I've watch over the past 18 months firstly just let me say I value your opinion that's why I watch and I learn off you but please please in the name of the good lord can't you just drop the opening . We know you have collected and listen to heaps of audio stuff over the years . Do we got hear that every time its like a broken record .My wife thinks I'm watching the same video's over and over I have to tell her this is how you start your video's and you are talking about something different ...Try this ...G'day viewers Kelvin here ,today we are going to look at ?????Just cut to the chase ...Anyway Mate all the best.
Hi Bobby Kelvin here from London 🤭
The static must be horrific with a newspaper mat, FFS what are you on man?
Six reasons why the newspaper tip is nonsense. First, good mats have a concave space for the record label (which sits higher than the record surface) to fit into, to make sure the record sits flat on the mat. Putting a couple of layers of newspaper on a bare platter will cause a gap between where the record label contacts the newspaper and the edge of the record as it flops down to contact the platter edge. Same thing if you put the newspaper over the mat, thereby negating the cutout for the label. Second, using nothing but paper and no mat will not dampen any ring the platter has to it like a rubber mat would. Third, adding another layer of material and chainging the height at which the record sits will change the stylus rake angle. Depending on whether your stylus rake angle was correct before you added the material, you may degrade the sound by throwing the rake angle off, or you might be improving it if the additional material puts the rake angle closer to where it needs to be. Fourth, regular newsprint and glossy newsprint paper ink is petroleum or soybean oil based. Anyone who has handled newsprint for a long time knows that it will come off on your hands. Do you really want an oily contaminant on your records? Fifth, paper is subject to holding a static charge, like when two pages of a magazine are attracted to each other. And lastly, sixth, paper sheds microfibers of cellulose which end up in the record grooves and making them dirty.
Lol when you struggle to define better sound
......you really know f'all
Using a newspaper would be misleading your audience unless you stuck to the funnies.
Don't put a turntable atop a receiver.
I agree
Was quite interested in this video until he got the bit about newspaper as slip mat. Seriously!!! I do everything I can to avoid my vinyl coming into contact with paper to avoid static and particles. And this guy is using it as a slip mat. Switched off after that point.
It’s just to demonstrate how important matters without buying one it’s actually one of the best sounding mats I’ve heard five sheets of newspaper
I know great way of getting a better sound,stop watching CZcams
vinyl has worse "soundstage" (stereo separation) than digital file (cd)
I would say only really high-end CD Ivers fine detail in the top end like Turntable
So ,..it's ok to have a really shitty amplifier & shitty vinyls...but all will be improved with turntable sound improvements .......very interesting !