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As most of you know I dabble at trying to get a diaphragm that plays well for the disc machine.

Things are always up and down it seems.. I need to ask a question on this board as answers are far and few between on the Edison one. Here is what I am experiencing, and not sure the exact cause. I have a couple diaphragms that play very clearly with little external noise from the reproducer with the lid up. It was particularly noisy on some piano pieces in loud parts. When I tried to get the third to work as quietly as the first two it kept producing that sort of rattling sound you hear from the heads at times. No matter how I changed the linkage, or my hook system it still persisted. Finally as has happened before I switched it to one of the heads that was playing though the same passages pretty much without external noise. Well, of course all of a sudden in that head the same diaphragm that I thought faulty over and over played nearly perfect. I put it back in the one that I was having issues with and the noise returned.

I am using a head with a new needle that is silent for the most part. The nosier of the two is an original needle, that does not leave a mark on records but may be worn. I know that I have read that the stylus bar pin can cause issues as well but it seems firm? Some of the people I have sent out test units too have experienced that same noise. It sure makes it hard to know if its the diaphragm or not?

Has anyone run into this effect one reproducer to the other?

Larry

Larry,

I have experience what you are describing, however, I nave nover got around to really trying to trouble shoot it.

Since you are bit of "repro-man" with Diamond Disc's, I would suggest that you swap the various parts around between the good and rattling to you cover all the combinations. I am sure you will find the culprit that way.

Once found, the next question is why?

Brad,

Thanks, I may give a try at just changing the weight around, that would isolate it to the needle or stylus bar. One thing I am have had to give up is some of the over the top volume I was getting. I just played the Pipe Organ version of the Prelude in C Sharp Minor that with the old styles was breaking up badly in the loud parts. I rather had thought they had just over cut it. Too my surprise the more muted diaphragm played though it very well. That was a first at least.

Larry

Larry:
I experimented last year swapping out various stylii and diagragms, and every diaphragm, whatever it was made of, whether original material, cardboard or plastic, sounded better with certain stylii than with others. Some stylii were new, others were original, and I can't figure why there's such a variance in sound. I've ended up using my best-sounding stylus in the machine I play most often, matched with what I consider my present best-sounding diaphragm. Good luck with your continued experiments!
Bob

Hi Bob,

Well thats good to know. It is somewhat consistent with my findings as well. Over time I have know that there for some reason is a pretty wide result in sound depending on who, or how it was played. This latest example is just father proof that a first impression with any given reproducer or diaphragm is often wrong.

Working as I have to get something that works well has been tedious at best. At times I have nearly called it quits. And it seems that when I find a diaphragm design that seems to work well here, often it won't produce the same result elsewhere. I can only wonder how the sellers of generic replacements find the public responses because it would seem that your always at the mercy or the condition of the records, needles, gaskets, adjustments, and the reproducer it self!

Yet when I do return to using one of about 7 original diaphragms I have, I always find that its about the same with them. They can appear fine, do very well in many places, and then fail miserably in others? I thought I had a good one installed the other day when I was trying to confirm how a piano piece would sound originally. It worked great on the old diaphragm. But when I put on a good classical piece, the same part blasted badly in places mine played with no distortion. It makes it really a frustrating goal. I would really be curious just how many people really have a "perfect" original? Or do they just hear it as perfect? I know from my testing that things that might bother me some others totally overlook, and things I managed to miss someone else will find highly objectionable. But then you have to go back to the above list of possible problems related to sound, and wonder if any of those are playing a part as well?

Larry

I did some more testing today with the offending reproducer since I was trying an entirely different type diaphragm..

I made three swaps between a known clear sounding reproducer and the one in question with three diaphragms.

All played clearly in one and exhibited the external buzz kind of noise in the other.

I tried to adjust the pin in the stylus bar from side to side to see if it made any difference, it really didn't. It may be that a slightly larger pin might do something. I think I have yet a another reproducer here with a needle that is leaving very obvious lines so I am not using it, but it does have a new pin, when I get too it I may try and switch it and see what happens. I guess if that makes no difference then a worn needle almost has to be the answer even though it appears from visually watching the record that it is?