|   Phono question | 3LockBox
May 10, 2001 2:28 PM | | Does the last track (on either side) always sound distorted to anyone else, or is it my imagination?
BTW: I'm listening to a very good condition Neil Young/Decade, 3 LP compilation. I found in one of the inner sleeves a reciept from the original purchase. Actually, I think the owner said it was used when he bought it '83, for $4.99. That's probably right when CD fever hit. I wished I could go back in time when people thought LPs were history, and picked up some of these gems. A lot of these LPs have $2.99 and $3.99 price tags on them. I remember seeing a lot of TTs going for next to nothing in the mid-to-late '80s. Oh well... |
| re: Phono question | CZ
May 10, 2001 3:07 PM | | The lp does not spin any faster as you track toward the center, therefore the music is crammed into less linear space than the outside grooves. I don't know the exact diameters of the inside vs. outside, but it'd be easy to measure and figure out the difference in circumfrances. Might be on the order of 2 times.
Another thing has to do with how the arm tracking angle is set up. Unless you have a tangential/linear tracking arm, there is only one point when you the arm/stylus is tangent to the groove. Everywhere else you have an error (the cutting lathe tracks tangential/linear). Not sure where yours is set up to be perfect, but it certainly is not at the inner grooves! Probably the worst at that point.
Sooooo, yes - the inner grooves, and therefore the last cut, is the worst sounding.
Cheers,
CZ
ps. FYI, CDs have a variable spin rate to maintain the same efective linear velocity, so there is no difference where the song is located. The first track is on the INSIDE of the CD, not the outside like an LP. Ever notice when you are copying files or ripping CD songs how the drive is noisier for the first files, and seems to quiet down and work less hard at the end? The drive is spinning faster on the inside tracks. |
| Last track distortion (no answer, just sympathy) | RPM
May 10, 2001 3:15 PM | | <Does the last track (on either side) always sound distorted to anyone else, or is it my imagination?>
That's one reason why I got away from LP's a few years back. On certain albums (some high end pressings too) I would get exactly what you described. The last few minutes of a side (as the arm/cartridge got closer to the spindle) the sound got fuzzy and distorted. I messed around with the anti-skating but with no success. This didn't happen on many records just a few, but it was simply another nail in the analog coffin for me.
Call me a hypocryte, but I've recently decided to give analog another chance. I'm taking a quantum leap in hardware from my current rig and hope to hear that "analog magic" that the advocates talk about.
I'm curious to hear an explaination from someone about the distortion on the inside track
Rick |
| Last track distortion and turntable setup | hifitommy
May 12, 2001 3:14 PM | | setting the vta, alignment via protractor and enoough tracking force are all things to reduce inner groove distortion. im sure micro-ridge styli help and of course straight line tracking.
if you are serious about vinyl, the better the arm/tt combo, the less you worry about these things. a sota tt with air bearing arm (et) has been on audiogon.com for a while and i just looked, its still there. star saphirre (vacuum hold down for the LP) with air bearing tonearm for $950 plus shipping from canada.
i have a mapleknoll athena and the arm AND platter is air bearing, what a vivid sound!
good luck in your quest.
......regards....tr |
| re: Phono question | tj.
May 10, 2001 9:32 PM | | Is the cartridge aligned right? Indeed, CZ points out the reasons that the inner tracks are gonna be less quality than the outer tracks, but in practice with a good arm and properly set up cartridge this isn't gonna be a big deal. Do you have a good protractor or alignment device? |
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