Making my record player sound better
 

mick wrote:
On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:56:57 +0000, Keith G wrote:

D.M. Procida wrote:
Keith G wrote:

My record player sounds pretty good, on the whole (it's a Linn Basik
with Linn arm and cartridge that I got about 17 or 18 years ago).

However, on some records, it can sound a bit glassy.
Valve amplification and/or phono stage usually cures most ills with
vinyl replay kit, but what cartridge are you using?
It's a Linn K5.

I hadn't thought it would be an amplification problem, but more likely
to do with the mechanical set-up.

Daniele

OK. First step is to try a new stylus - an AT-95E will fit and work
fine, if look a little strange. 22 spons from Mantra:

https://shop.mantra-audio.co.uk/acat...ca_stylus.html


But double check the fit first, to be certain...


I don't think you can do that. IIRC the K5 stylus is bonded in.

Are you sure? Perhaps you were pulling it forward instead of down.
The K9 stylus isn't glued in.

--
Eiron.

Making my record player sound better
 

On Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:13:58 +0000, Eiron wrote:

snip

Are you sure? Perhaps you were pulling it forward instead of down. The
K9 stylus isn't glued in.


Nope, that's why I said IIRC! ;-)
I've never had a K5 so I can't be sure. I just thought that I read it
somewhere.

Ha... Looks like I was wrong. Just found this:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/analo...ement-linn-k5-
stylus.html
It seems that the ATN95E leaves a (harmless) gap between the stylus
housing and the cartridge body. It can be just left or filled with blu-
tack.

--
Mick (Working in a M$-free zone!)
Web: http://www.nascom.info
Filtering everything posted from googlegroups to kill spam.

Making my record player sound better
 

mick wrote:

Are you sure? Perhaps you were pulling it forward instead of down. The
K9 stylus isn't glued in.


Nope, that's why I said IIRC! ;-)
I've never had a K5 so I can't be sure. I just thought that I read it
somewhere.

Ha... Looks like I was wrong. Just found this:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/analo...ement-linn-k5-
stylus.html
It seems that the ATN95E leaves a (harmless) gap between the stylus
housing and the cartridge body. It can be just left or filled with blu-
tack.

Wouldn't filling it with blu-tac completely change its mass and balance
and other significant properties?

Daniele

Making my record player sound better
 

"D.M. Procida"
wrote in
message

mick wrote:

Are you sure? Perhaps you were pulling it forward
instead of down. The K9 stylus isn't glued in.


Nope, that's why I said IIRC! ;-)
I've never had a K5 so I can't be sure. I just thought
that I read it somewhere.

Ha... Looks like I was wrong. Just found this:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/analo...ement-linn-k5-
stylus.html
It seems that the ATN95E leaves a (harmless) gap between
the stylus housing and the cartridge body. It can be
just left or filled with blu- tack.

Wouldn't filling it with blu-tac completely change its
mass and balance and other significant properties?

The amount of Blu Tack and its low density suggests that there would
probably be some difference, but you should be able to rebalance the arm for
good results.

Making my record player sound better
 

D.M. Procida wrote:
mick wrote:

Are you sure? Perhaps you were pulling it forward instead of down. The
K9 stylus isn't glued in.

Nope, that's why I said IIRC! ;-)
I've never had a K5 so I can't be sure. I just thought that I read it
somewhere.

Ha... Looks like I was wrong. Just found this:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/analo...ement-linn-k5-
stylus.html
It seems that the ATN95E leaves a (harmless) gap between the stylus
housing and the cartridge body. It can be just left or filled with blu-
tack.

Wouldn't filling it with blu-tac completely change its mass and balance
and other significant properties?

Daniele


Yes, possibly for the better if the arm/cart setup was properly adjusted
but just don't bother - you get a little gap, you forget it 20 minutes
later!

Better yet - bin the K5 and grab a new AT110E for notta lotta money....

Making my record player sound better
 

mick wrote:
On Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:13:58 +0000, Eiron wrote:

snip
Are you sure? Perhaps you were pulling it forward instead of down. The
K9 stylus isn't glued in.


Nope, that's why I said IIRC! ;-)
I've never had a K5 so I can't be sure. I just thought that I read it
somewhere.

Ha... Looks like I was wrong. Just found this:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/analo...ement-linn-k5-
stylus.html
It seems that the ATN95E leaves a (harmless) gap between the stylus
housing and the cartridge body. It can be just left or filled with blu-
tack.



I have done the AT stylus thing myself and it works fine, but I can't
remember now if it was a K5 or a K9...!!

Making my record player sound better
 

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...
"Trevor Wilson" wrote in message

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...
"D.M. Procida"
wrote in

I'm quite happy taking things apart and making
mechanical adjustments, but I haven't done much messing
about with record players.

Obtain a good test record (technical tests of tracking
and the like) and see which tracks are actually giving
you problems. The titles of the tracks will give you a
clue as to a more specific definition of the problem. It
will then at least be fairly easy to determine when the
problem is addressed.

**IGNORE THIS ADVICE! This is extremely bad advice.

Trevor's out making trouble again. Tit-for-tat and all that.

**Well, no. Your advice is monumentally stupid.


Any
faults with the existing equipment will permanently
damage any (expensive) test recording (IOW: Subsequent
playback will likely reveal faults that do not exist, due
to prior damage).

Only if the problems are really severe, and usually only after a number of
playings.

**WRONG! A chipped stylus will cause immediate and permanent damage.


Let's face it, the most expensive test records cost only a fraction of the
cost of a decent LP playback system, and are in some sense expendible.
I've usually bought them in pairs, and hold one in reserve.

**WRONG! A good test record will typically cost more than an average stylus.


OTOH, if you find a problem, fix that problem and continue to have
unexpected problems playing a test record, there is a possibility that a
damaged test record is the source of the problem.

**The way to fix the problem is to perform ALL the static tests and checks
FIRST. I've run across alleged techs like you in the past. They end up
costing clients money. You're the sort of person who tells a client to swap
speaker connections, if one channel is down. In the automotive business,
you'd tell a person whose front tyres are being scrubbed, to try a new set
of tyres BEFORE performing the requisite static checks to steering geometry.
It's wrong and you are wrong. Pull your head in, admit your error and we can
move on.


The equipment MUST be fully and
completely checked, BEFORE using any form of test
recording.

Begging the question, why use a test record at all if the equipment has
already been thoroughly checked?

**A test record is really only useful for determining the absolute
performance of a fully functioning TT. It is not desirable to use one to
determine a fault that can be determined by other, less destructive,
methods.


Other than this, quite seriously bad piece of
advice, Mr Krueger is correct.

Ah, I am dispensed a little mercy.

**Like a broken (analogue) clock, you are not wrong 100% of the time.


A test recording is a good idea. AFTER performing the requisite
mechanical checks
and adjustments, of course.

I'm going to take a flyer here and hope that you wouldn't use a test
record until some basic checks have been made.

**I use test records VERY, VERY rarely. They're not necessary most of the
time. Static tests and measurements solve the vast majority of problems. A
test record merely allows one to guage absolute performance.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au

Making my record player sound better
 

Trevor Wilson wrote:


Like a broken (analogue) clock, you are not wrong 100% of the time.


Are you implying that a broken (digital) clock would be wrong 100% of the time?


--
Bill Coombes

Making my record player sound better
 

"bcoombes" bcoombes@orangedotnet wrote in message
...
Trevor Wilson wrote:


Like a broken (analogue) clock, you are not wrong 100% of the time.


Are you implying that a broken (digital) clock would be wrong 100% of the
time?

**Possibly. It depends on the failure mode.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au

Making my record player sound better
 

Trevor Wilson wrote:
"bcoombes" bcoombes@orangedotnet wrote in message
...
Trevor Wilson wrote:

Like a broken (analogue) clock, you are not wrong 100% of the time.

Are you implying that a broken (digital) clock would be wrong 100% of the
time?

**Possibly. It depends on the failure mode.


Ok. What's an excapsulated active cicuit as a matter of interest.

--
Bill Coombes