phonosandradios wrote:I think a way to test if there are any undesirable effects on the record would be to digitise it using a modern record deck then play the record with the fibreglass needle XX number of times and then digitise it again and listen to the two recordings to hear is there particular degradation in sound quality like a big increase in hiss or other noticeable wear.
There's a guy on YouTube who played the same record 100 times, changing the needle each time, and making a video every 10 plays. Here's a link to play #100, which has a link to play #1 in the description:
Now, granted, there are numerous factor affecting this - the camera, microphone, recording system, YouTube compression, etc., but since these things should be consistent, the comparison should be at least somewhat valid.
They sound the same to me but 100 times isn't much of a test. Others have more sensitive hearing than I do. I was planning on a thousand plays but got bored after 300 cause it was written into my DNA by then, and I wasn't sure if I was listening to Prelude La Traviata in the machine or in my head.
Daithi,
My modifications are less severe than yours.
I simply have chosen the best mica diaphragm available at hand, one that clinks clear as a glass when dropped on a table by its edge, one inch fall. This is my test for mica diaphragms.
Then I choose the softest rubber gasking, instead of the no4 special gasket, which is pretty stiff
Then I adjust the backplate in such a way that it exerts the minimum pressure on the gaskets, as needed for airtightness, but no more. This leaves a gap between the backplate and the front ring, with the screws not totally tight. Then I fix the screws with white vinyl glue, and I also seal the gap all around the soundbox with the same glue, removing any bubbles. When dried, I apply a second seal around the soundbox gap for complete airtightness.
Finally, I remove the backplate rubber connection with the tonearm, the one that has a brass insert, and I substitute by one of those red rubber rings that are prepared for a Meltrope soundbox. This is soft rubber, and fits the backplate collar perfectly. And if it is the right size for the thin tonearm, it also fits perfectly. Only by pressure, with said of a dab of vaseline or a drop of water. The additional advantage is that, as this rubber collar has no locking pin, you can easily modify the soundbox angle, the vertical angle of the needle on the record, so you can put any angle between, let's say, 55 and 70 degrees. So the tracking of the needle can be improved.
With these modifications and using triangular bamboo needles, I've achieved incredible results, the sound being very good with plenty of bass, and the tracking improved so that a bamboo needle can run several sides of non strident records without repointing! And I don't use counterweight!
Daithi, di you have any yt video where I can listen to your modified no4? I'm very curious about how it sounds...
I have a video of a 127 tabletop fitted with this tuned soundbox no 4 here https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ob11Uz6Iw5o
I have also another no4 tuned, installed on a portable 101, and it sounds wonderful. Maybe better than the 127... I'll upload a video of it playing.
I have never made a recording though I would like to. My setup doesn't sound that good even in person and certainly would not sound that good in a recording.
I recorded it on video with my Xiaomi mobile phone, just in front of the machine. It sounds good, isn't it? I uploaded the video on YouTube directly with my phone as I ended the recording of at the next day...
I'll reform also my setup. This last video I did with the Xiaomi... I don't like it. All the others were done with my former Huawei mobile, and I feel the sound is better, or not... ? Anyway, I've decided to keep the Huawei for recording at home, so maybe I'll redo the last video with it and reload it.
Besides that, I found an app, OpenCamera, which allows using an external microphone. I've used it in other videos, with the small micro of the mobile headphones placed just at the mouth of the horn, and the sound was good. Then the advantage is that you can go filming with the mobile moving around the machine without losing the sound
I don't know if I would really ever play records with fibreglass needles. RS sells mechanical pencils that can be equipped with fibreglass tips, and these are extremely abrasive and are used to remove all kinds of oxids or enamels and also to satin-finish all kind of materials.
One might argue that in turn steel is not a "gentle" material either, which is all right, but then again... why in the world replacing it with fibreglass since steel is what records were supposed to be played with? What's the purpose, which the advantage?
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