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Stylus Wear – Mike Bodell’s “The Finish Line for Your Phonograph Stylus”

Stylus Wear in Vinyl LP Playback- Mike Bodell’s “The Finish Line for Your Phonograph Stylus” One thing all of us who play vinyl LPs share, no matter how basic or esoteric the turntable/tonearm and phono stage, is our reliance on the phono cartridge. These intriguing little devices not only make a significant contribution to the sound quality we experience, but are the first interface with the record, functioning as a transducer to convert tiny inscriptions in the groove into an electrical signal that eventually gets equalized, amplified and re-transduced from an electrical signal to a mechanical one at the loudspeaker. The stylus is the point of contact most likely to wear due to friction and its lifespan may be far shorter than most believe. We benefit from far more information and more sophisticated tools for set-up today than in the heyday of the LP. … [Read More...]

The Biggest Record Show in Texas (and the United States)- The Austin Record Convention 2019

The Biggest Record Show in Texas (and the United States)- The Austin Record Convention 2019 Yep, stuff is big here- trucks, some people (fit, not fat), buildings, hair, BBQ, hell the entire state is big. And the Austin Record Convention, which has been operating since 1981, was pretty great this year. Lots of dealers (over 300, according to the website) occupying 40,000 sq feet of clean, well air-conditioned modern space. The show takes place in South Austin, just a stone’s throw from the river in the middle of downtown Austin. It claims to be the biggest record show in the United States. I arrived before the show opened, for the early admission. Dealers were still loading in, but I was hardly the first person through the door when it opened. I made a targeted run at one dealer’s table for a specific “free jazz” album that’s recently been on my radar and … [Read More...]

Editor’s Note: Turntable Set Up Issues and a Forum?

Editor’s Note: Turntable Set Up Issues and a Forum? Turntable Set-Up Issues With the arrival of a new tonearm and tone arm pod, I’ve been juggling two tone arms, with the added mass of the arm support pods (each of which weighs about 30 lbs). Balancing this weight on the Minus K isolation platform is a little tricky. One basic step is optimizing arm position for ease of use and pivot to spindle distance. Other, more routine set up steps—alignment, null points, and anti-skate are par for the course. However, the lateral tracker doesn’t involve null points or anti-skate as such, but instead, in addition to alignment and overhang, requires a special technique for leveling that may be at odds with ‘level’ for the other arm and its cuing and anti-skate. It's a balancing act involving elements that require high precision in placement and adjustment. The … [Read More...]

The Grizzly Works Record Tote-Bespoke Luxury for Bin Divers

The Grizzly Works Record Tote I don’t do vinyl as a “lifestyle” and usually don’t offer fashion advice. But this luxe quality record tote--from "Grizzly Works"-- is the sort of thing you’ll want if you attend record shows, take records with you for listening purposes to someone else’s home, a store or hi-fi show or you simply want an easy, well-made way to carry some albums. It comes from a vendor in Australia, Anthony Sawyer, a very nice guy whose specialty is custom hi-fi racks and speaker stands. According to Anthony, the conception, fabrication and marketing of the record tote was not something he planned as a product: For a number of years, I've been making custom hi-fi racks and speaker stands as a very part time affair and outside of my 9-5 job (metalwork is my background) and thoroughly enjoy everything about designing and creating something unique from scratch. I had … [Read More...]

A Legend Confirmed- The Koetsu Jade Platinum

A Legend Confirmed- The Koetsu Jade Platinum Though this site is devoted to the medium and the music rather than the machinery it is played on, I have had to reckon with cartridge aging recently. I tried an inexpensive stop-gap in the form of an older, rebuilt cartridge while my Airtight Supreme goes off for surgery. In the meantime, I finally got my hands on a Koetsu stone bodied cartridge, a Jade Platinum. Much has already been written about these newer Koetsus, which take the legendary midrange sound of the old Sugano-made Koetsu and extends the frequency range through some changes in wiring, magnets and the use of exotic stone bodies. Having lived with some fairly well-regarded high-end phono cartridges for the past few decades, including Van den Hul, Lyra and Airtight, I was surprised by the sound of the Koetsu. I knew about the legendary midrange; I had … [Read More...]