Rebuilt reproducer question....

[Butleran]

I just received the last of the parts I needed to finish the rebuild of my Victrola No. 2 reproducer. I have put it all back together. It sounds pretty good now, but is quite a bit louder. Is this due to the new gasket and diaphragm? The records sound a lot clearer, but seem to "blast" at times. How do I know if I put it all back together right? I followed the instructions to a T. Any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[Tinkerbell]

I know there are others who are FAR more knowledgeable in this area than I am, and perhaps they will provide better/more advice...

Just a quick question tho... in terms of any adjustments you made after your rebuild, how is the needle tracking in the record groove? If the reproducer isn't tracking properly, I have found that it can cause blasting.

[Henry]

Here are two recent threads on this topic: http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... f=7&t=5832 and http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... f=7&t=5812. I don't know whether the Exhibition thread would have any relevance to the no. 2, but I threw it in just in case. I've rebuilt my Exhibition but I have no experience with the no. 2.

[Butleran]

Thanks for the advice/link guys. For the most part, the needle seems to be tracking well. No skipping, other problems etc. In order to adjust, and see if I can get better tracking, is the issue in the springs or? I wanted to keep as much of the original parts, to keep as original as possible. I didn't replace the mica, but it seems in good shape. No craks chips or anything like that. Not sure if that was a mistake...Thanks for the assist in advance!

[Brad]

It may be louder due to the new gaskets sealing any air leaks.

I would recommend using soft tone needles rather than Loud. If find the listening much more enjoyable with them.

[Guest]

[quote="Brad"]It may be louder due to the new gaskets sealing any air leaks.

I would recommend using soft tone needles rather than Loud. If find the listening much more enjoyable with them.[/quote]

My experience coincides exactly with Brad's. In fact, I use only soft-tone needles. On rare occasions I use a medium-tone for older acoustics. Loud-tone needles would blast me out of the house, in addition to the added distortion. I have several packets of Bry-O-Phonic loud-tones I'll never use!

New gaskets will certainly make a huge difference, especially if the old ones were hard. The newer gasket materials are much more compliant and allow the diaphragm to pulsate over its entire surface, not just at the center, and the air seal should now be just about perfect: thus the loudness.

[Henry]

What Brad said. I use soft-tone needles for almost all plays; very occasionally a medium-tone for really old, faint acoustics. Keep in mind that medium- and loud-tone needles not only make the recorded sound seem louder, they also increase the distortion and surface noise, so I'm not sure much is really gained. It's like standing really close to a violin player: you're going to hear a lot of non-musical content (bow scraping). If you get farther away from the source, the noise is covered by the music. Same with records: a lot depends on the size of your listening space. The larger the space, the better the louder needles are tolerated, as their noise gets covered up if you are further away.

[Valecnik]

What is the vintage of the record you are listening too? Something from the late 20's or early 30s (electrically recorded) is much more likely to blair, esp. if you are using a loud or medium tone needle...