I have also added a ferrite core to the RCA cable from the TT to my phono input stage to cancel out all RF & EMI noise (if any) getting induced by other heavy transformers close to the TT. There is quite a significant reduction in noise floor due to this.
Hi Hari,Recently i tried cleaning my records using "Collins liquid soap spray" and found them to be 100% effective in cleaning records. I have noticed that casual cleaning will not help. You need to scrub them with a micro-fibre cloth (similar to how you scrub your utensil while washing them) and VIOLA they sound as good as new.
I have also done the following calibrations / cleaning of my Dual player,
1. Aligned the tone arm to be exactly horizontal with the base.
2. Cleaned the cartridge joining the tonearm with alcohol.
3. Cleaned the stylus joining the cartridge with alcohol.
4. Adjusted the counter weight with precision.
5. Adjusted the anti-skating to prevent drag of the tone-arm using a "Blank" portion of one of the records. The anti-skating markings in the player can be wrong after years of wear and tear.
6. Added the correct weight of around 1.4grams for the cartridge.
7. I have also added a ferrite core to the RCA cable from the TT to my phono input stage to cancel out all RF & EMI noise (if any) getting induced by other heavy transformers close to the TT. There is quite a significant reduction in noise floor due to this.
The above activity consumed almost and entire day on a weekend but the outcome is more than satisfactory. I now am listening to vinyls daily with no hiss, pop or scratches which was not the case earlier.
Cheers,
Hi Hari,
Do you wash the records with distilled water after using Colins, or only Colins spray and scrub?
Brilliant innovation Hari, can you share some further light on the design and placement within the chain. What kind of ferrite core have you used? The same type used in regular baluns, I would assume?
Ferrite cuts high frequency noise at the expense of dynamics. You will hear much less pop and crackle but the life also gets sucked out
Agreed Hari. It's possible that alignment reduced the pops and crackles. But ferrite for sure reduces dynamics
5. Adjusted the anti-skating to prevent drag of the tone-arm using a "Blank" portion of one of the records. The anti-skating markings in the player can be wrong after years of wear and tear.
Hi Hari, you mean that the 'Blank' portion: Before of the first track of the record? Please clarify. Thank you.
Regards,
Sundar.
I have one original sound track record where there is only two song on side B and the rest of the record is 'Blank'. This portion should be used to setup the anti-skating. When the anti-skating is precise then the tone-arm should also not move when playing this blank section either forward or backward. If it does either ways you need to adjust the anti-skating to make them precise and not to move. There are some videos in youtube explaining how to do this in detail.
If you have contacts you can get 'Blank' records from some DJs in studio.